First off, lemme just say, I stumbled across this whole carpet bag thing while browsing YouTube (where else, right?). Someone—Saith, apparently—made a whole dang series on TikTok about recreating the iconic Mary Poppins bag. Like, full-on dedication! That’s kinda what spurred me on. I mean, if *they* can do it, why can’t *I*?
Now, finding the *right* carpet bag fabric? That’s the real challenge, man. You can try hitting up Etsy or eBay for “vintage carpet bag” stuff. There’s a ton of sellers with antique ones or even fabric scraps that could work. I saw one with Dalia flowers – super cute! Be prepared to cough up some dough though, the real good stuff ain’t cheap. And sometimes, the descriptions are kinda vague, you know? Like, “vintage-ish” … what does *that* even MEAN?
Another option? Go rogue and just find some *really* cool, sturdy tapestry fabric. Think floral prints, maybe something with a bit of a retro vibe. The key thing is making sure it’s THICK. You don’t want your bag falling apart after, like, five minutes. I saw someone mention a vintage rose frame purse pattern that used floral fabric. Maybe you could steal some ideas from that? I personally think a good mid-century modern design would totally work.
Right, so after you’ve wrestled your perfect fabric into submission, you’ll need a pattern. Now, here’s where things get… fuzzy. I haven’t found, like, a *perfect* “sew your own Mary Poppins bag” pattern. But, you can definitely find a lot of vintage purse and bag patterns online for free. You just gotta adapt them. I’d suggest looking at ones with metal frames — that seems to give it that authentic vintage feel.
Now, I gotta be honest, I’m still in the “gathering supplies and procrastinating” phase. But my grand vision is: sturdy fabric, a vintage metal frame, maybe some fancy lining. It’s going to be epic!
Oh! And a word of caution: sewing metal frames can be a real pain in the you-know-what. Seriously. Be prepared for some frustration. But hey, think of the bragging rights when you’re done, walking around with your own practically perfect carpet bag.
