How-To: Farmer’s Market Carpet Bag

 Make a rugged yet stylish carry-all with this farmer’s market carpet bag tutorial.

I think Spring is finally trying to creep in, and I for one couldn’t be happier about it’s arrival.  One of my favorite parts of Spring is my local farmers’ market which pops up every Saturday morning with offerings of locally-grown produce, amazing meats and cheeses, and fresh cut herbs and flowers.  A serious visit to the farmer’s market, though, requires a serious tote bag, and today, I’ve got the perfect one…and believe it or not, it’s made from a doormat.

Supplies: 1 Flat-Weave Rug (approx 2′ x 3′), Heavy Cotton Twine, Upholstery or Darning Needle, 56″ of 1″-Wide Leather Strap, Hole Punch, (8) Rivets and Rivet Setter, Hammer

Fold the rug in half on the longer side with the right-sides facing one another.  Hand sew the sides together using the needle and twine. A simple whip stitch will do, but keep the stitches relatively close together (i.e. ~1/4″).

To box the corners and give the bag some volume, match the side seam you just sewed with the bottom fold to make a point.  Mark a line perpendicular to the side seam about 2″ from the tip of the point.  Hand stitch along this line using a running stitch.

Stitch the tip of the point to the side seam allowance.  We don’t want to cut the rug and have the whole thing unravel, so this will just keep those corners out of the way when you’re trying to fill the bag up with lots of fresh goodies.

For the straps, cut (2) 24″ and (4) 2″ lengths of leather strap using a craft or utility knife.  On each end of the longer straps, punch 2 holes 1″ apart starting about 1/2″ from the end.  On each of the shorter cuts of leather, punch 2 holes about 1″ apart roughly centered on the strap. Each hole should be just big enough for the rivets to slip through.

To affix the straps, sandwich the carpetbag between the longer straps on the outside and one of the small cuts on the inside.  Choose a rivet about the same length as the thickness of your little leather+carpet+leather sandwich.  Set a rivet in each of the holes using a rivet setter and a hammer on a hard surface.  If you’re not familiar with using rivets, don’t be scared!  They’re so easy.  I love them and recently did a whole 101 post on them here (http://www.fabricpaperglue.com/2013/04/rivets-101.html).

For a little something extra, use your twine to make a set of tassels.  Now, you’re ready for a major farmers’ market haul because this baby is roomy.  I took it out for a spin recently and fit 3 accent pillows and a tripod in it…not even kidding.  It’s amazing!