Take 3, and I think I’m happy with this. Cutting the top zip a little bit shorter means there’s space for the zipper tabs to poke upwards and the side seam to be sewn down neatly. I moved the turning gap to the exterior edge of the zipper, which is counterintuitive but means I can get a nice clean finish by sewing from the outside with full visibility. Interior pockets have a variety of size and closure options, and the big ones will fit an e-reader nicely. There’s a key ring on the inside and a pull tab in the exterior pocket to help you grab stuff that’s dropped to the bottom. No more pen pockets but nothings stopping you from putting your pens in the short narrow pockets, and those are a bit more multi-functional. The origami corners in the lining are my favorite pocket trick - so much easier than messing around with box corners when you have a stiff pocket corner in your way. I keep fretting about whether the hang tabs sewn into the side seams are going to be secure enough but 1) they’re reinforced and 2) this is so small that unless you’re filling it with lead shot it’s not going to weigh more than 5 lbs.
I still need to noodle a bit on some of the sequencing on the top zipper edge, but that’s mostly to make my life easier.