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I recommend lining the bag, if possible. It takes very little additional fabric, makes the bag stronger, and gives it a much more finished look inside and out. If you simply must make an unlined bag, however, here's the procedure.

Zig-zag over the very ends of the strap, and along both short and one long side of the flap.

Lay one body piece right-side up. Position your strap above that, with one quarter inch of each end of it overlapping the body piece three quarters of an inch from one side edge. Put the flap, right-side down, on top of that, so that its unstitched edge is aligned with the top edge of the body piece.

Pin the pieces together, through all layers, and then stitch along that edge through all three, close to the bottom of the strap, starting half an inch from one side of the flap and stopping half an inch from the other. Zig-zag through all three layers just to the edge-side of the stitches.

Stitch through just the flap and body piece, just below the ends of the strap, again starting and ending a half inch from the sides of the flap. Fold the flap up along that line of stitching, and firmly press it flat. Turn the pieces over, fold the body piece up along the same line of stitching, and press it flat.

Stitch through all three layers again, just beyond the top edges of the flap and body piece (so that all the raw edges are enclosed). Start and stop stitching a half inch from the sides of the flap. Fold the flap up along that line of stitching, and firmly press it flat. Turn the pieces over, fold the body piece up along the same line of stitching, and press it flat.

Place the two body pieces wrong-sides-together and pin. Stitch down one side, across the bottom, and up the other side, leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance. Take care not to stitch into the strap or flap. Clip the corners and trim the seam allowances as close to the stitches as you can get without cutting into them. Turn the bag wrong-side-out and press the seams flat. Stitch the body pieces together again, down one side, across the bottom, and up the other side, leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance. Take care not to stitch into the strap or flap. Turn the bag right-side-out and press the seams flat.

Fold the unstitched edges of the flap in (wrong sides together) by a quarter inch, press, and fold them in again by the same amount. The zig-zagged edges should be completely enclosed. Use an invisible hem stitch to secure the fold.

Add tassels or pom-poms, if you like, using the images from the Maceijowski bible as a placement guide.

A printer-friendly version of these directions is available, in PDF.

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