Ok, now that we've strengthened the shape of our shells we are going to line up our lining's inner edge with the edges of the shells. Once you're satisfied we are going to clamp it down and begin sewing. Remember, our lining is elastic so it doesn't matter if its a little suspended over the inside of the shell; we're just going to push that down as we sew.

I recommend you start sewing the bottom shell first as it should be a little more stable and is a good way to get started before we move on to the tricker upper shell. At this point we can only sew the two inner edges of the of the shell. As you sew firmly press the lining down and feel free to stretch it to make sure the lining is even spread. We don't want it to be too loose on one side and too taunt on the other side. Because of how I designed this bag there will be a gap in the sewing of the lining as we sew the hump on bands 2 and 3. If you don't like this look feel free to add some extra holes in the leather and fill in this gap. Once you reach the other side of the shell you need to backstitch at least twice and then tie off the thread underneath the lining where it will be hidden. Finish the job with a bit of contact cement and move onto the next band.

As I said, the upper shell is a little tricker to sew since its larger and mobile and therefore more flexible. Place the lining on top of the shell as you did with the lower shell. Just as before, work your way across gently but firmly moving the lining to make sure it fits nicely as you sew. Since we are not sewing the bands directly to each other we will not have the same gaps in the lining as we did with the lower shell.

Notes: Before or after this step you can sew the hump side of bands 4 and 5.