Geri B

Bought a small box of really old and quite dirty scraps last week...put them in a lingerie bag and washed with soap and oxyclean....came out clean and bright! As I was ironing I noticed how different some of them felt....stiffer, coarser....the scraps must have been left from cutting out a clothing pattern.....then I began to wonder if some of these may have come from feed sacks.......several are the same pattern only in 2/3 different color ways...none of these are any longer than 12" and the widest would be about 4"..... Most are cut in curve...like when cutting neckline, sleeve...dress parts.. Whatever, I will probably just cut into squares as a leader/ender and they will become something one day....... I was just curious about their possible past......

LivelyLady

A good find! I'm afraid wouldn't be able to tell the difference between original feed sack and the reproduction, but I'm sure there are many members on this board who would be able to answer your question

bearisgray

If it's a whole feedsack, there will be big holes left where it had been sewn together.

ljgraham

Husband said material feels like shirt material, tightly woven, felt smooth, most were printed with small designs, all colors , not real bright,said customers would ask them to save sacks of certain patterns so they could purchase them later on to have enough for a certain project.

Geri B

Thanks for those points - there are a few pieces that are "shirty" feeling and very small, simple designs, but who knows....just wondered as I was ironing the pieces.....

luvstoquilt

I just bought 9 last weekend. They have holes where they were sewed together to make them bags. Actually 2 were still sewn. Even after you wash them you can see the stitch marks..they are sewn with twine like the bags of dog food now in paper. Depending on the sizes you can determine what was packaged in them. Very interesting and several good books are available. I love feedsacks and find they are sort of rougher than fabric we find today from our LQS..still if you love vintage patterns it is so much fun to use a feedsack!

M.Elizabeth

I don't own any feed sack material, but I wore dresses made with it when I was a little girl. It did have a rougher feel than most cotton fabrics today.

JustAbitCrazy

It's usually a coarser fabric than what cotton fabric today feels like, but not always. If you could post pictures, we could probably help you, as often it is the printed fabric which id's the feedsack.