Is there a standard direction for the zip slider on a bag with a side handle? I think I have put it the wrong way around on this one! How long is too long a thread for saddle stitching? I have been practicing a few things on this bag. Rolled edges, piping (I made it by hand skiving a peak down the middle of a longish strip of leather and folding), attaching zips, just using what I have to hand. The handle is too low but it gets a bit too bulky to where I had intended to put it. To get around piping part of this bag in one go it would have taken 4 meters+ of thread. I tend to not go above 2 meters at a time as it seems so much slower to go bigger that an arms span. Is this just me being a newbie? Does it make sense to do it in 1 go?
Yes, thats correct. Standard is opening left to right with zippers.
For a retourne bag you dont see the stitching so its no big deal if you dont want to use only one length of thread to sew the entire panel, but its always good practice :-)