feed sacks
 

I wonder how the printed feed sack fabrics (used for feed sacks) would compare to the fabrics available now?

They seemed to hold up well to wear and washing.

I also wonder if the wealthier people thought that feed sack fabrics were "unsuitable" for them to use.

I have one grandmother's quilt from the coal mines of West Virginia and one great-grandmother's feed sack quilt created in the 1930's-1940's from the family cotton farm in North Carolina. Both are quilted with string from the grocery packages that were wrapped on their purchases at the farm/coal store. They are well loved. The one from the cotton farm has cotton balls right from the field as the batting. Told never to wash it. So it has been laid out on the lawn in the sun but still have never been used in my home, just on display. Not sure of the batting of the one from the grandmother whose husband worked in the coal mine. They are worn but treasured.

I have never had or sewn any fabric from feed sacks. I know that EB has used some in her quilts that she has made. It probably doesn't have the chemicals that are used to produce fabric and it has to be well made to contain whatever was placed inside.

I have a trunk full of feed sacks . I love them I get out and play with them.I have had fun collecting them I taught my granddaughter to spot them and I am going to start a grandmother flowergarden quilt. They have courser weave than todays fabric.I wore bloomers made out white ones dresses out of colored solid and prints. I started school 1940 wearing them but by 1945 we bought ready made.

A lot of us raised on the farm would have had an even sparser wardrobe had it not been for feed sacks.

I'll bet there wasn't enough wealthy people to make a guess. We used feed sacks for dish towels, underwear, mens shirts, and we made mattress covers with them.LOL DH Mother made a gown that we have. Lasted many, many years. I wish I had a ton of them.

I love feedsacks! I've been collecting some lately. I'd like to use them in a Letha’s Electric Fan quilt or even a regular fan quilt or wedding ring design with an all white backdrop.

The image below (via Imgur) has a quote attached "When they realized women were using their sacks to make clothes for their children, the mills started using flowered fabric for their sacks. The labels were designed to wash out."

I'm sure nowadays they'd just raise the price...

I just talked to my DH who was the youngest of 10 children - he was born in 1940 and the oldest was born in 1920 - his Mom had a baby every 2 years for 20 years!!!!! Most were born/raised during the depression and they lived on a farm just a few miles out of town in the middle of Missouri. He said that they raised cows, sheep, pigs and chickens and that every Sat. his dad would go to the feed store and bring home sacks of feed for the animals. They had 100 pound sacks - however, in the picture above, it looks like 50 pound sacks. His Mom made sheets and pillowcases out of the white ones. The girls (5 girls and 5 boys) would fight over who got to go to town with Dad and help pick out the sacks as that meant a new dress for a lucky girl. Grandma was a quilter also. I have several of her old quilts that were made out of feedsacks and I believe all of the white used in the tops were feedsacks, as well as the backing. They seems to have held up fairly well, but they are of a very coarse fabric. Can't say the same thing about the bindings though - they are very worn and frayed. Grandma bought denim and made the boys overalls - they did not wear blue jeans he says. He doesn't know if she made the girls "bloomers" and slips or not. But, he said that she definitely did not make the boys their underwear - it was store bought. He said that she made all of the boys shirts out of "manly" prints. He doesn't know if the girls handmade, feedsack dresses were looked down upon by the "city girls".

Then, after he and I married we had chickens and had to buy feed in feedsacks for them. Now it was in paper sacks. But, about 20 years ago, they came out with printed fabric feedsacks and he bought as many bags that he could. I opened up the sacks, took out the stitching, shook out the corn/feed (outside) and washed them. The fabric is coarse and I still have not used them - they are in a big stack in my closet. They are back to paper now.

Neat feed sack picture.

I have nothing to add except that it is so interesting hearing those stories. Thank you NikkiLu and Skylark53, and Quiltinghaven and Bignan!