Originally Posted by Linsoblu
Very interesting forum today,so now we have some ideas as to why fabric from the Civil War was high priced. Does anyone know why in the 30's they started using feed sack fabric to make their quilts and clothes? Was it just because the fabric from so pretty or what? Was it the Depression at that time?
My Grandparents, who were immigrants from Croatia on Mom's side & Poland on Dad's side of the family used feed sacks because they came free with the price of flour. Depression era families knew not to waste anything. The sack made acceptable dresses and shirts for the families. There was no extra money to buy clothing, & one can only patch a dress so many times before it becomes a rag or quilt piece. My grandmother even saved & reused the thread if she changed a dress hem. I remember Mom making all our slippers from fabric scraps - we'd stand on newspaper, Mom drew around out feet to make a paper template, cut layers of fabric and sandwiched cardboard in the middle. The slippers were better than bare feet on a cold hardwood floor.
In a way, we recycled before it was fashionable to do so. Now things are tossed out that once would have been patched, fixed, repainted, etc to avoid spending precious dollars.