I used some 1000D Cordura left over from my pizza oven backback, lined with fleece and protected from impact with a tough but flexible plastic sheet.

When all you have is a laser…

Naturally I laser cut the plastic inserts to size, but I also experimented with using my laser to cut out the fabric and make holes for the stitching. As I hoped, this successfully melted the edges and prevented them from fraying. Not only was the fabric piece perfectly cut to size, but the edges were sealed. The reason I laser cut the stitching holes was not because the fabric was too tough to be hand sewn; it was to ensure the stitching was perfectly even. Having a row of perfectly spaced holes to stitch made the process much more pleasant.