Does Anyone Else Love Feed Sacks?

I found Feed Sacks: The Colorful History of a Frugal Fabric by Linzee Kull McCray at the library.  I learned more than I ever imagined there was to know about those sweet cotton bags.

The book includes the history of feed sacks from barrel to bag; from growing and harvesting cotton to weaving cloth; from creating the print for the fabric through the printing and sewing of the sacks; and the transition from bags with company names to printed fabric and paper labels; and so much more.

This is a photo-heavy volume with images of advertisements, photographs of families wearing clothes made from feed sacks, photos of sacks from various times, advertisements, patterns, news articles, and, of course, feed sacks in all their variety.

I was surprised to learn that pattern companies like McCalls created a selection of patterns particularly for use with feed sacks.  I was also surprised to learn that some companies that printed and made feed sacks also sold yardage of some of that same fabric.  Ideas for ways to use bags included aprons, smocks, pajamas, rompers, middies, mattress covers, handkerchiefs, dish towels, shoe cases, laundry bags, pillow cases, curtains, ironing board covers, bibs, and on and on.  Quilts were not at the top of the list but there are examples of feed sack quilts in the book, likely made from leftover fabric after making clothing.

Bags were printed with all-over patterns, with border patterns, embroidery patterns, patterns for stuffed toys, aprons, and cloth dolls and their clothing.  The string used to close the bags was sometimes used to make crocheted doilies, as well as for other uses. 

Many of the photos in the book are placed on top of a photo of a feed sack, a great way to show more feed sack prints.  The last third of the book is of swatches of feed sack prints, many of them full pages.

I was surprised to learn how much consumers influenced companies to sell products in printed bags and how responsive companies were to the desires of consumers.  Way to go, consumers!

I appreciated this statement from the book (on page 357):  "Reusing feed sacks was a way to survive, but it also allowed families to thrive.  Making use of what they had was not based on assuming some high moral ground; it was simply a way of life.  Feed sacks also proved to manufacturers that there was value in products whose reusability was enhanced."

I learned that at least 18,000 prints were created for bags.  One collector quit counting at that number and was still finding bags with prints she didn't have.

This book is a small 6½" x 8" but weighs a hefty two pounds because it's printed on beautiful paper.  My only two complaints about the book are that the font on many of the pages is small.  I reasoned that if they'd made it bigger, there may have been double the pages (and weight) or larger pages and still double the weight.  My other small complaint is that there's no index at the back.  Often when I read a book I'll remember something and when I want to go back to find it, I use the index.  Not possible with this book.

If you love feed sacks this book is worth the time to at least browse through it for the pleasure of the photographs.

I have a few feed sacks amongst my stacks of fabric.  I wasn't sure about these two, below, whether they really were feed sacks or not, but the book told me that one way to know is by the stitching across one end.  The needles and large string used to close the bags left holes that don't easily disappear.  It seems that these two were both used as pillow cases because they've been hemmed.

The other three printed sacks I have are these. The two on the right are a slightly coarser weave than the one on the left, possibly used for meal or feed and not flour or sugar.  All three of these are still in their original bag condition with only the stitching removed from one end. 

The bag with blue flowers is practically square, so it is probably a 5# meal bag.  Bag sizes and weights eventually became standardized.  I suppose that's helpful for collectors to know.

If you love feed sacks you won't want to miss this wonderful book!

--Nancy.