Ta Dah! Chunky bag done and dusted

My chunky bag is lovely, and very comfortable to use. I got the strap wide enough not to scrunch up and not so wide as to be irritating.
However, the problem with knitted or crocheted bags is that they stretch with use, and earlier this week as I rushed impatiently to use it, I noticed the length increasing as the width decreased Fatal! And so not what I wanted!
So there was nothing for it. I ordered my lining from ebay, this rather lovely sounding red cotton with green polka dots, and waited for it to come. By the way, did you know that you can spend your nectar points on ebay? Cracking! All the points I save from Sainsbury's where we do our main shop can now be spent on ebay (washi, material, yarn....)
And on Saturday I got up early and set to work.

 The lining goes beautifully with the bag, the green dots were almost a perfect match for the Aspen (jade green) Stylecraft chunky I used.

 I have lots of bits I carry in my bag. This is my tablet and my phone in its current case. Because I like to find them easily I need pockets in the bag.

 You can see I am a bit of a Jazz sewer. Close enough will do; I measured the bag by putting it on top and cutting the seam allowance on each side. And before you get sarky, no, the scissors are not magic and cutting by themselves, I just paused mid cut especially to show you. It's as close to an action shot as I get.

 The handle needed lining for strength and stability, so I cut it out just like this! It went to just below the straight edge of the bag and the main lining would be sewn in over it to seal in the raw edge.

 I watched the Fall of the Roman Empire as I worked. I'm sure Ridley Scott must have watched this when he was young; in so many ways the plot mirrors that of Gladiator, except I like Gladiator better.

 The pockets were made by sewing three sides of a folded piece of material. The folded edge was the top of the pocket, and the other three sides would be sewn onto the lining.

 A small gap allowed for the pockets to be turned outside out. Sometimes I am so lazy and just use the pocket now without ironing, but I was feeling diligent so I got the iron out and made it neat and tidy.

 Then I positioned them on the lining, approximating position and sewed them on. One is a full pocket for the Tablet, the other I split into two for my phone and keys.

 The handle lining was stitched by hand, and the bag lining seams machine sewn before I put it in place, folded over the top and stitched it again by hand. It's good enough , and works.

And here it is in action! You can just see my green purse peeping out, along with batteries for the ubiquitous camera. I downscaled the stuff I carry so that my camera can capture another beautiful summer season.... I hope!

It's just big enough/small enough for a daily bag. I'm considering making one in black, perhaps madly decorated with flowers etc. Don't know. But if I do then it will have to be made in the summer, since black is just horrible to work with in the winter.