My great getaway bag - Part 3

I am sorry if I kept you waiting for this post, but it has been a very hectic week. I took part in a local arts and crafts fair on sunday and this needed a lot of preparation.
I will tell you more about it in one of my next posts.

Now back to THE bag.
I did not add corner trims.
I already made the pocket tab and pocket tab loop and now attached them to the exterior pocket flap, following step 11 on p. 117.
Step 12 and 13 clearly explain how to make the exterior pocket and stitch pocket and flap to the exterior main body piece. I did this very carefully as this is the most visible part of the bag.
I stitched my ready made handles to the exterior by hand, after ironing a double layer of interfacing to the WS behind the pattern markings. This is important as these 4 attachment points of the handles carry all the weight.

Next, I stitched the zip pulls to the zip bottom panels (step 16) and attached the zip bottom panels to the already assembled zip top panels (step 17). Here is the result:

Now, I could assemble the bag exterior. 
In my previous post I told you I would attach the handle loops in a different way. Here it is.
I did not like the way the handle loops are stitched to the exterior in Lisa's book . I think that, in the end, these will be the weak points of the bag. So, I did it this way:

I brought zip top panel and one main body piece RS together (step 18) and sandwiched a handle loop, upside down, between them at a rounded top corner. 
I started stitching 1 cm from the bottom edge with a 0.75 cm seam allowance. When I arrived at the handle loop, I gradually increased the seam allowance to 1 cm. This way , the handle loop will come out upright and not oblique . 
Have a look:

Slowly I returned to a 0.75 cm seam allowance. 
Everywhere else, I used the suggested 1 cm seam allowance.
I repeated this with the second handle loop on the opposite side.
I inserted bag feet into the bag base after adding extra local interfacing.
Finally, I stitched the bag base to the exterior bag by bringing the long edges together first. This way, I found it easier to align bag and base more evenly.
With both exterior and lining bag assembled, I was ready to join them.
More about it in my next post.
Kristien