Quilting and Patchwork

Feed Sack Fabrics

by Mary Emma Allen on May 18th, 2005

“Mom, there’s a yard sale down the road and they have printed feed sacks!” Beth called as we drove in the driveway when they lived in Ohio. “I got some this morning. But they had quite a few left.”

So I left Jim with unpacking the car while Beth and I dashed off to the yard sale. Yes, there were feed sacks there to add to our collection. These were of the era when I was a young girl making quilts with my grandmother.

Many of the fabrics Nanny and Auntie (the daughter who lived with my grandmother) used for their sewing projects and for quilts. My family bought their chicken and cattle feed in burlap and plain white sacks. So it was with fascination that I looked over the fabric from sacks Nanny and Auntie acquired.

I still have a drawstring skirt I made from one of these sacks for a 4-H project. The first item I made to model in our 4-H dress review. It has a red background with small white flowers over all.

You’ll often find these feed and flour sacks at yard sales and in antique shops. The prices generally are higher in the shops than the yard and garage sales. Sometimes if you purchase a box or batch of fabric at an auction or estate sale, you’ll find some of this old fabric.

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POSTED IN: Quilting / Patchwork Memories