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It made some wonderful memories for us after the war was over. I am sewing a feed sack quilt right now, but using fabric squares from Etsy instead of the old feed sack fabric my grandmother used. I was also born in 1951 and remember several of my favorite dresses were made by my paternal grandmother from feed sacks. So sacks were still being used to make dresses. In what weights did flour sacks come? African American History Curatorial Collective. Even before prestigious labels ever appeared on jeans and blouses for ordinary little girls, the origins of clothes were a status symbol. Ill be 80 on Friday. Executives of Plant Milling saw this as a prime marketing opportunity, thinking people will see the Gingham pattern and will instantly know it is from their company. Lets go back to a time when everything was all about scrimping and saving on behalf of the war effort. Check out these books: Take better care of your own family heirloom pieces, whether they are photos, vintage fabrics, documents or other objects. Flour sack dresses show how resourceful housewives of the past made do with whatever was at hand. Not only did distributers find these cotton bags useful, but it was only a matter of time before homemakers saw a use for these bags. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Related industries developed, such as the printing of booklets with instructions on how to create garments and other household items from the sacks and specifying how many sacks of a certain size were needed for a particular item and patterns specifically designed to utilize feed sacks. "[2][3] Finding bags that matched was important as many patterns required more than a single sack. Oh how I longed for store-bought dresses. I have worn feed sack shirt as my brothers (5) and (5) sisters had skirts and dresses made from feed sacks then it was the normal thing to do. I still have the quilts.. My quilt interest developed into writing magazine articles and two books with original patterns. Their were 6 children two boys and four boys. Constitution Avenue, NW [2] She called the feed sack garments part of the "cultural heritage of rural America. ", "I was born in 1936 and spent my growing up years in/around my parents' feed mill that produced its own brand of feeds for poultry/hogs/beef and dairy. The plain white ones were valued as dishtowels and Mom would take several and sew them end to end put them on a rolling towel bar, thus giving the crews a chance to a clean section of a towel when washing up for those big harvest meals that were prepared for them. See http://www.goodminds.com/flour-sack-flora-out-print. [2] The first commercially produced sacks were made in the late 1800s of osnaburg, a coarse white or brown cotton, and were stamped with a logo or label, and burlap. Many households would cut the ugly, plain bags into chunks and would use them for dish towels. This sparked families to get incredibly creative with how they handled meals, clothing, and rationed water and utilities. In the 1980s Wallace Homestead Book Company published my two quilt books, "Patchwork Plus!" Changes were coming, thanks to a young man named Asa. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions. Washington, D.C. Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use), International Media Interoperability Framework. With all this extra fabric laying around the house and the barns people were starting to get creative with uses. Click to view. This trend quickly caught on and once the flour companies got word of this, they chipped in by beginning to print patterns on their bags -- and even adding color! 50? There is a record from one of their A.G.M.s that they introduced this system of putting the labels on the bands of the bags and sacks so that the fabric could be used by women, they said it "proved exceedingly popular". Symposium conducted at the Third Symposium of the Textile Society of America. [2] In 1933 the US Department of Agriculture described the bags in a booklet as having "a high salvage value. My grandmother always went to the feed store to match patterns on the sack I am 69 years old.I remember my dresses and my brothers shirts were made out of colorful flour sacks.My mother saved either our clothes or some of the flour sack material.She had me a quilt made out of them.I love my quilt.Im reminded of the beautiful memories of my child hood every time I look at it. she would layer the faabric two to three layers deep and cut the main dresses fromt he same pattern. [2][3][4] By the end of the decade Bemis Brothers in Tennessee, Fulton Bag & Cotton Mills in Georgia, and Percy Kent of Buffalo, New York were producing decorative sacks. [2] Families sometimes saved sacks and traded with neighbors to get sufficient sacks in a particular print. I had to smile while reading these wonderful comments. [14], There was an element of shame experienced by those dressed in flour sack clothing, as it was seen as a mark of poverty, so efforts were often made to hide the fact the clothing was made from feed sacks, such as soaking off logos, dying the fabric, or adding trim. In the 1800s, flour, and other bulk products began to be distributed in cotton sacks. [2] Working with the Millers National Federation it encouraged home sewing projects using feed sacks. Many of them were quite beautiful! I'd love to have a photo of that! Get Denise Levenicks popular bookHow to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia and Genealogy Records. I always consider buying the cornmeal/beans/flour that it is used for just to get the fabric but since I don't bake much nor cook the volume of beans required to make it reasonable I have refrained. I actually made hair bows, pants and dresses from the sacks." It meant you were poor and low class. [2] However, it is the activities of these farm wives, clothing their families in feed sacks, that offer a view of life that was unique to rural communities during this time period. Flour sack dresses were all the rage up until around the 1960s. I do have the ribbon I won. I was told. From pastels to novelty prints, the competing mills would play the game of who can develop the most attractive pattern?. [2] The bags of the time were hand-sewn at home from rough cloth made of hand-spun yarn, sometimes stamped with the name of the farmer. I do not have a picture because I wore it so much I wore it out. [2], During World War II, as textile shortages limited production of both commercially made garments and the retail yardage to make garments at home, feed sacks were still available. It was important to match the feed sack with the last one so you would have enough material for the dress.The same was true for fertlizer bags in the late 40's and 50's. If you require a personal response, please use ourContact page. I can remember her with 'yesterday's' newpaper spread on the dining table in preparation of cutting out a new pattern.Does anyone have or can someone refer me to someone who could make me a pattern for the dress in the article? [4], After World War II, use of cloth sacks for packaging declined and was replaced with less expensive paper. "Mama made me pinafores out of flour sacks. So frugal housewives of the 1930s turned feed and flour sacks into everyday clothing for themselves and their families. If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. They might have been embarrassed but nobody was kinder or sweeter than these two girls.". Rhoades, R. (1997). [1] According to the Textile Research Center's Willem Vogelsang, "A bag that contained 5lb (2.3kg) of sugar, for example, provided 1ft (30cm) of cloth, while a 100lb (45kg) bag provided slightly more than 1yd (91cm) of material, with four sacks providing enough for one adult womans dress. [2], The use of the sacks in garments meant brand decisions were often being made by women rather than men. She used it anywhere it wouldn't show. But, lets take a quick look at the history behind those flowery flour sacks! It didnt take long for manufacturers of flour and feed to start printing their sacks with colors and patterns that women would want to buy. ", "I LOVE that dress! According to that article, World War II caused a cotton fabric shortage. [2] They sponsored design competitions and fashion shows, plus sewing contests in every state to find the National Cotton Bag Sewing Queen,[4] and hired prominent textile designers to create their prints to prop up demand. ", "I was born in 1935 and well remember the adorable dresses Mom made for me and shirts and pants she made for my older Brother. I have pictures of Mom and family members in their flour sack dresses and thank God that she knew how to sew so we had nice clothes to wear to church and everyday play. [8], By the 1930s companies regarded the sacks as a crucial part of marketing product. Women even sold off their extra flour or feed sacks to others who wanted them. They were made at home, usually by women, using the cotton sacks in which flour, sugar, animal feed, seeds, and other commodities were packaged, shipped, and sold. I cant find any today that comes close to the quality of those. Using her treadle sewing machine, she fashioned adorable sunsuits for me, maybe even a dress. [3] By 1936 the Staley Milling Company of Kansas City, Missouri was marketing "Tint-sax" in pastel shades. [5], Several educational institutions taught classes in how to use feed sacks, including The Household Science Institute, which produced a monthly newsletter called Out of the Bag and a series of booklets called Sewing with Cotton Bags, which gave instructions on how to use feed sacks. I thought material was attached to a flour sack to be used as a kitchen towel? Around 1985 I found a printed fabric resembling a feedsack and made my son a shirt which was a big in our high school and other young men wanted one like it. This Time LIFE photo shows a warehouse worker packing up some of the patterned bags for delivery. [6], In 1925 the Textile Bag Manufacturers Association was created to increase industry sales. Fast forward a few years to the 1940s, and the United States was engaged in World War II. I was born in 1946. Since the sacks were created with clothing in mind, Bales patent noted that the markings on the package, such as brand name, would wash away. My grandmas house dresses werent made from flour sacks, but theyre from the same era. My Aunt even made me Barbie clothes when the Barbie first came out from scraps my Grandmother had saved in her sewing machine, a Singer I still own today and it still works. [2] Mary Derrick Chaney, writing in 1997 in the Christian Science Monitor, recalled that the feed sacks were coarser than the flour sacks, but it was difficult to get enough flour sacks in the same pattern to make a dress. "[11], A study by fashion historian Jennifer Lynn Banning analyzing 37 garments made between 1949 and 1968 by one Louisiana farmwife found that the garments and textiles were similar to those being shown contemporaneously in Good Housekeeping magazine to its middle-class reading audience and "had many of the same fashion features as mass produced garments that could be purchased in department stores nationwide". By the 1920s, these sacks had gotten a little cuter, some with gingham checked or striped patterns. [2] One feed store owner complained about purchase decisions moving from the farmer to the farmwife, saying "Years ago they used to ask for all sorts of feeds, special brands now they come over and ask me if I have an egg mash in a flowered percale. The towels really absorbed the water well when drying dishes. 20 or 25 pounds? Newspapers and publishers also began printing patterns and ideas for getting the most out of the small yardage of a flour or feed sack. This was to enourage the farmer husband to buy a specific brand. I remember one hank of feedsack that was so garish to our eyes, Mom made it into pj's for Dad, saying once he takes his glasses off, it won't keep him awake. This Swiss Roll Trifle is the perfect large dessert for a crowd with layers of chocolate pudding, fluffy marshmallowy topping and tons of sliced Swiss rolls! Specifically, Asa was assigning his patent to the George P. Plant Milling Co. in St. Louis for their new line of Gingham flour. All available cotton and wool was diverted to the war effort. [5] In October of 1924 Asa T. Bales, a millworker from Missouri, filed a patent for "a sack, the cloth of which is adapted to be used for dress goods after the product has been removed or consumed. "Mama always sewed on a Singer treadle sewing machine and made our dresses from flour sacks. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. Mama had 17 quilts when she passed in 1962. I wrote a story which is published about the Feedbag dress I made for a 4-H competition around 1946. In 1927, three yards of dress print cotton percale (the typical amount of fabric needed for an average size adult dress) could cost sixty cents when purchased from the Sears and Roebuck catalog. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. The lining is a larger print with blue grapes and red and yellow flowers on a white background. This ad from 1948 shows how the trend evolved. These dresses were worn by women young and old. Our collection database is a work in progress. What weight sack would be enough for a dress for a petite 5 year old ? [3][4] By the late 1930s most companies were using water-soluble ink or paper labels which could be soaked off. The sides would be stitched together with bottoms and tops hemmed and openings for their arms (which were turned under and stitched, of course). She used to tell me that her mother had a slip made out of a flour sack. What a response from everyone there and on Facebook! "Dresses made for my sister and me were sometimes made out of cotton feed bags (I guess my brothers were lucky)." ", "I was born in 1942. In comparison, three yards of dress quality gingham used in Gingham Girl Flour sacks from the George P. Plant Milling Company could be salvaged after the use of two or three one hundred pound bags of flour. I believe they held almost 100 pounds of seeds. The Amazing Story of Kentucky's Horseback Librarians (10 Photos). It ain't natural. [2] In 1933 the Textile Bag Manufacturers Association published a booklet, Sewing with Cotton Bags, which provided instructions on how to get company logos out of sacks by soaking the inked area in lard or kerosene overnight. A woman named Denise posted a neat memory at the end of the Smithsonian article. They werent thought of as precious at all, so no one ever thought to keep them!. The quilt top sacks are red, white and blue, small prints. These plain cotton sacks would be used until 1922, but the impact and usefulness of them would continue long into the future. You might have seen a viral image with a man sitting smiling with a heap of beautifully printed flour sacks claiming that the sacks were used to create clothing for kiddos in times of need and wondered if it was true The simple answer is yes! Some of my older cousins even have their photos taken wearing the feed sacks. We had ruffles, ties and puffed sleeves, and of course, these all had to be sprinkled, rolled and then the bushel basket of ironing had to be ironed!! She would then add different details to each dress. These dresses have an interesting past behind them, all dating back to when the world was at war and Americans were dedicated to recycling. The second Feed sack quit is a nine patch design. My grandmother made all of their clothes out of seed sacks. But, According to Feed Sack Secrets: Fashion from Hard Times, In just a few short years, however, both the city and rural housewife would see the old flour sack in a new light. Our moms could also make matching panties, to cover our underpants, for when we wanted to twirl on the bars on the play ground.I dont think there were leggings or tights, then. There were even sewing competitions where women would go head-to-head and show off their sewing skills. She spoke of her mother, an excellent seamstress, sewing pants for toddlers in the neighborhood, with the "Pillsbury's Best " emblem centered on the seat! This fabric is still available, I see it when I go to my local mexican market. Back in the 40s and 50s, my Dad would buy chicken feed in cloth bags that we called feedsacks.. My Mom would have House dresses and dish towels made from them. Desperate for fabric for clothing, homemakers crafted clothes out of the cotton sacks. After the war, women continued to make these dresses, encouraged even further by national sewing contests. They became an iconic part of rural life from the 1920s through the Great Depression, World War II, and post-World War II years. They were keen innovators and often traveled abroad to get ideas, including to America. Americans who were not on the frontlines made sacrifices so the soldiers could have provisions. ", "I was born in 1941 & lived on an IL farm. The photo on the right shows the instructions that were printed on many of the bags, many of which came with ink that could be dulled or washed out completely. Flour sacks were made of cotton with pretty prints." It is amazing the different uses the women had for the sackcloth. I think a lot of people have fondor at least vividmemories of old dresses like these. T. Bales.. "Feed sacks in Georgia: Their manufacture, marketing, and consumer use". "[4], Sacks were eventually produced in sizes of 49,24,12,6,2lb (22.2,10.9,5.4,2.7,0.9kg), and during World War II sizes were standardized to 100,50,25,10,2lb (45,23,11,5,1kg) to aid the war effort by eliminating waste and making it easier for millers and housewives to estimate required material. This 1940 photo of a family shows some of the flour sack clothes up close and in full color. We may update this record based on further research and review. [2][3] A barrel held 196 pounds (89kg) of flour, and the first commercial feed sacks were sized to hold fractions of that amount. Flour sack clothing was a staple for many from the 1920s-1960s. She was born in N. Florida in 1919 and was an accomplished, self-taught seamstress. These were only skirmishes, however. I just have a few photos. This afternoon, my grandson and I had an enjoyable family feed sack history lesson as I arranged the squares. The men had both been born just before the turn of the century, and the women within the following 20 years. [12], The fabric and bags have variously been referred to as feed sacks, flour sacks, commodity bags, and chicken linen. Both are out of print today. The real conflicts arose when the material happened to come, not from the fabric store, but from the feed store. It's fun that this system reached the other side of the Atlantic. My mother grew up during the Great Depression. She still used it though. Mr. Bales, Roscoe, Missouri, filed a patent in October 1924 for cotton sacks to have interesting patterns and to be of a decent size, so they could be used for clothing. [7][13] One participant in an oral history project stated that "everything on the clothesline was from feed sacks. Until I saw some photos of them as children wearing the feed sacks. She made sure Dad would get two sacks just alike. The motto of the Depression Era was "making do" while making sure nothing was wasted and everything was re-used or recycled. Some sleeveless, some with little puffy fifties sleeves, some with self collars some with contrasting solid collars. I vividly remember embroidering tea towels as a child made from flour sacks and the many quilts made using the pretty flour sacks and the added material that used to be on the end of the flour sacks. This page was last edited on 25 December 2020, at 06:21. I personally do not recall the dresses being made from the sacks, rather the material that was attached, we lived in a remote and i do mean remote area of west Tennessee. If only he had hung on to those embarrassing shirts! I cherish the memories of Mama's beautiful Quilts and my Feed Sack dresses.By 1950 I guess we had moved up in the world because all that was left of my dresses were in pictures and I could identify squares of feed sack prints from a dress I had cherished and in a couple quilts mama had left when she died. I also have memories of feed sacks. Thank you so much for sharing your memories here in this forum. This trend continued through the WWII era as people aimed to extend their money and materials as long as possible. Theres a cute childrens book about these dresses. And as late as 1955 or so we were selling feed in bags that had bright colors and flower patterns that were made into pillow cases, some unused bags that I still possess.Most were made by the Bemis Bag Company, but other big bag makers such as Fulton and Chase made theirs as well.The other heavy duty seamless bags for grain and ground feeds were reused many times, and often had patches over patches by the frugal families of that period.