What is a vintage feed sack?

Feed sacks were initially made of heavy canvas, and were used to obtain flour, sugar, meal, grain, salt and feed from the mills. They were reusable, with the farmer bringing an empty sack stamped with his mark or brand to the mill to be filled.

How can you tell if a fabric is a feed sack?

How do you know if what you find is really a feed sack? The most obvious way is if it's still sewn into a sack shape. If it's not, then the best way to tell is to find the stitching holes around the selvedge edges and across the width of the fabric. You'll often see the remnants of a curved seam, as well.

When were feed sacks used?

In truth feedsacks were used for sewing well before the depression and for several years after. The evolution of the feed sack is a story of ingenuity and clever marketing. Initially farm and food products were shipped in barrels. Between 1840 and 1890 cotton sacks gradually replaced barrels as food containers.

What is feed sack quilt?

In quilting: The golden age of American quilts. … of the 1930s popularized the feedsack quilt. Cloth sacks in which animal feed and flour and other staples were packaged were produced in a wide variety of cheerful prints.

What is a vintage Feedsack?

In the mid-19th century, heavy canvas or linen feedsacks (sometimes spelled as “feed sacks”) replaced many barrels and tins for the storage and transport of flour, animal feed, and other bulk goods.

THE HISTORY OF FEEDSACKS, how feedsacks were used in everyday life || Historical Ponderings

What were old feed sacks made of?

Feed sacks were initially made of heavy canvas, and were used to obtain flour, sugar, meal, grain, salt and feed from the mills. They were reusable, with the farmer bringing an empty sack stamped with his mark or brand to the mill to be filled.

When did they stop using flour sacks?

Sadly, packaging changed in the 1950s. Flour companies found an easier and cheaper way of packaging their products with paper sacks. This decreased the use of flour sacks, but it is a trend that has not completely died. In fact, flour sack towels are a vintage item that is found in homes all over the world.

What size are feed sacks?

Sacks were eventually produced in sizes of 49, 24, 12, 6, 2 lb (22.2, 10.9, 5.4, 2.7, 0.9 kg), and during World War II sizes were standardized to 100, 50, 25, 10, 2 lb (45, 23, 11, 5, 1 kg) to aid the war effort by eliminating waste and making it easier for millers and housewives to estimate required material.

Why do horses have feed bags?

A feedbag, feed bag, feeding bag, nosebag, or morral, is a bag, filled with fodder, and attached to the head of a horse, enabling it to eat. The main advantages are that only a small amount of the feed is wasted, and it prevents one animal consuming the ration of another.

What can you make out of old flour sacks?

Did people make clothes out of flour sacks?

Farm families were used to "making do" with what they had, wasting nothing that could be recycled or reused. With feed sacks and flour bags, farmwomen took thriftiness to new heights of creativity, transforming the humble bags into dresses, underwear, towels, curtains, quilts, and other household necessities.

When did printed flour sacks start?

During the First World War (1914-1918), American and Canadian flour companies were producing printed flour sacks that were sent (with their contents) to The Netherlands (which was neutral) for distribution in war ravaged Belgium and beyond.

What was a sack dress?

a loose, unbelted dress that hangs straight from the shoulder to the hemline.

What kind of material is flour sack?

A flour sack, feed sack, or flour bag is a cloth sack, usually made of cheap cotton, used to store flour or animal feed. Flour sacks are often printed with simple designs and trademarks to indicate the millers and companies making or selling the flour.

Are feed bags good for horses?

Feed bags are an easy way to deliver the proper portion of grain or other horse food to horses that are living in a herd- since feed bags prevent bossy horses from stealing other horse's food. Most horse feed bags have a mesh panel or grommet holes to allow the horse to breathe freely while the bag is being worn.

What are grain sacks made of?

Every grain sack is unique! Each is made from either pure hemp or flax, or of a linen and cotton mix or blend. The material and the weight of the yarn and retting process determines the overall tone and texture of the grain sack, which can vary from very coarse to smooth.

Who created the sack dress?

A popular story, traced back to the correspondence of Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, Duchess d'Orléans, is that the earliest form of the sack-back gown, the robe battante, was invented as maternity clothing in the 1670s by Louis XIV's mistress to conceal her clandestine pregnancies.

Is flour sack and cheesecloth the same?

Flour sacks are not really sacks at all, but sheets of fabric made of very thin cotton threads. The weave is tighter than cheesecloth, but loose enough that you can see through the cloth. They're not really intended to be used as dish towels, except for maybe polishing streaks.

What is the difference between a tea towel and a flour sack towel?

Tea towels are known for being a fairly thin towel with the primary purpose of drying and polishing delicate things or as decoration for the kitchen. Whereas flour sack's are typically a thicker, sturdier material that's also more absorbent and versatile.

Why are they called flour sack towels?

Flour sack dish towels are called "flour sack" because they're modeled after the thin woven cotton bags that flour and grains used to be packed in, which were re-used as towels. That thin cotton yarn and the looser weave make for a towel that's extra absorbent.

What did pioneers use for towels?

Knitted pads, rabbit fur, even grass were all used by women to handle their periods. In America, Johnson & Johnson developed their own version in 1896 called Lister's Towel: Sanitary Towel's for Ladies.

Why do you think quilts were popular during the Depression?

Quilts were popular during hard times because quiltmaking was a cheap hobby that made use of small scraps left over from other sewing. Makers often incorporated feedsack fabrics, which appear today to be the ultimate in recycling and frugality.