33:
194:
175:
ask me if I have an egg mash in a flowered percale. It ain't natural." Finding bags that matched was important as many patterns required more than a single sack. Families sometimes saved sacks and traded with neighbors to get sufficient sacks in a particular print. Mary
Derrick Chaney, writing in 1997 in the Christian Science Monitor, recalled that the feed sacks were coarser than the flour sacks, but it was difficult to get enough flour sacks in the same pattern to make a dress. A 100-pound (45 kg) bag of chicken feed provided a 36 in × 44 in (910 mm × 1,120 mm) piece of fabric, slightly more than a square yard.
238:
the sacks." "Mama always sewed on a Singer treadle sewing machine and made our dresses from flour sacks. She made sure Dad would get two sacks just alike. That was what the pattern took to make the dresses right." "Mama made me pinafores out of flour sacks. Flour sacks were made of cotton with pretty prints." "Dresses made for my sister and me were sometimes made out of cotton feed bags (I guess my brothers were lucky)." "My mother made shirts out of feed sacks, which a lot of cow feed, came in."
82:
109:
encouraged by the US government. According to the
Textile Research Center's Willem Vogelsang, "A bag that contained 5 lb (2.3 kg) of sugar, for example, provided 1 ft (30 cm) of cloth, while a 100 lb (45 kg) bag provided slightly more than 1 yd (91 cm) of material, with four sacks providing enough for one adult woman’s dress."
237:
Several people from rural
Virginia spoke about their clothes made from sacks during the depression. "Back then, feed was sold in sacks. I believe they held almost 100 pounds of seeds. A number of farmers who didn't sew returned the sacks for resale... I actually made hair bows, pants and dresses from
201:
Related industries developed, such as the printing of booklets with instructions on how to create garments and other household items from the sacks and specifying how many sacks of a certain size were needed for a particular item and patterns specifically designed to utilize feed sacks. Patterns were
69:
By the middle of the 19th century in the US and Canada, the invention of the sewing machine and advances in technology for spinning and weaving changed the economies of shipping commodities such as animal feeds, seeds, sugar and flour; it became more cost-effective to package and ship in sacks rather
104:
Sacks were eventually produced in sizes of 49, 24, 12, 6, 2 lb (22.2, 10.9, 5.4, 2.7, 0.9 kg), and during World War II sizes were standardized to 100, 50, 25, 10, 2 lb (45, 23, 11, 5, 1 kg) to aid the
288:
Brandes notes that fashion history has largely been written without including the fashion of rural communities. She called the feed sack garments part of the "cultural heritage of rural
America." Banning notes that 20th-century costume history "has traditionally focused on fashion designers and the
284:
According to the
Smithsonian, "With feed sacks and flour bags, farmwomen took thriftiness to new heights of creativity, transforming the humble bags into dresses, underwear, towels, curtains, quilts, and other household necessities." According to Brandes, feed sack fashion was a reflection of rural
264:
There was an element of shame experienced by those dressed in flour sack clothing, as it was seen as a mark of poverty, so efforts were often made to hide the fact the clothing was made from feed sacks, such as soaking off logos, dying the fabric, or adding trim. Mary
Derrick Chaney, writing in the
174:
The use of the sacks in garments meant brand decisions were often being made by women rather than men. One feed store owner complained about purchase decisions moving from the farmer to the farmwife, saying "Years ago they used to ask for all sorts of feeds, special brands... now they come over and
213:
found that "as an element of material culture, the clothing and clothing practices of rural populations reflect the life and times of the era to the same extent as that of the general population. However, it is the activities of these farm wives, clothing their families in feed sacks, that offer a
260:
During World War II it was estimated that 3 million women and children in the United States were wearing feed sack clothing at any given point in time. One participant in an oral history project stated that "everything on the clothesline was from feed sacks." The US Department of
Agriculture
182:
In 1927, three yards of dress print cotton percale (the typical amount of fabric needed for an average size adult dress) could cost sixty cents when purchased from the Sears and
Roebuck catalog. Three yards of gingham dress goods could cost forty cents. In comparison, three yards of dress quality
273:
Even before prestigious labels ever appeared on jeans and blouses for ordinary little girls, the origins of clothes were a status symbol. In the rural South, mothers and daughters drew the battle lines not between name brands, but between "homemade" and "ready made." These were only skirmishes,
89:
During World War I, US and
Canadian flour in sacks was sent to the neutral Netherlands for distribution in Europe. In October 1924 Asa T. Bales, a millworker from Missouri, filed a patent for "a sack, the cloth of which is adapted to be used for dress goods after the product has been removed or
65:
The first use of fabric sacks can be traced to the early 19th century, when small farmers strapped a sack to the back of a horse to take their grain for milling. The bags of the time were hand-sewn at home from rough cloth made of hand-spun yarn, sometimes stamped with the name of the farmer.
108:
During World War II, dressmaking-quality fabrics became in short supply as textile manufacturers produced for war efforts, and cotton yard goods were rationed. but feed sacks were considered part of the "industrial" category of uses, so feed sacks were still available. Recycling of them was
248:
magazine to its middle-class reading audience and "had many of the same fashion features as mass produced garments that could be purchased in department stores nationwide". The garments are held in the collection of the
Louisiana State University Textile and Costume Museum.
217:
During World War II, as textile shortages limited production of both commercially made garments and the retail yardage to make garments at home, feed sacks were still available. Using them to make clothing and other household items was regarded as patriotic and thrifty.
872:
Adrosko, R. J. (1992). "The fashion's in the bag: Recycling feed, flour, and sugar sacks during the middle decades of the 20th century. In Reconstructing daily life through historic documents." Symposium conducted at the Third Symposium of the Textile Society of
70:
than in barrels, which was what had been previously used. A barrel held 196 pounds (89 kg) of flour, and the first commercial feed sacks were sized to hold fractions of that amount. The first commercially produced sacks were made in the late 1800s of
143:
and often printed in various colors and designs, and recycled for clothing and other purposes. Farm women recycled the sacks into clothing, and by 1925 the George P. Plant Milling Company of St. Louis produced Gingham Girl flour packaged in dress-quality
233:
to promote demand for feed sacks. They sponsored design competitions and fashion shows, plus sewing contests in every state to find the National Cotton Bag Sewing Queen, and hired prominent textile designers to create their prints to prop up demand.
167:
the popularity of the sacks increased, as they were seen as a source of free garment-making material for impoverished families. Groups of women would get together to trade the sacks and itinerant peddlers bought and sold the empty sacks.
206:, which provided instructions on how to get company logos out of sacks by soaking the inked area in lard or kerosene overnight. By the late 1930s most companies were using water-soluble ink or paper labels which could be soaked off.
56:
in which flour, sugar, animal feed, seeds, and other commodities were packaged, shipped, and sold. They became an iconic part of rural life from the 1920s through the Great Depression, World War II, and post-World War II years.
148:
yarn-dyed fabric and used the sacks as a selling point. By the end of the decade Bemis Brothers in Tennessee, Fulton Bag & Cotton Mills in Georgia, and Percy Kent of Buffalo, New York, were producing decorative sacks.
36:
Feedsack dress made by Dorothy Overall of Caldwell, Kansas, in 1959 for the Cotton Bag Sewing Contest sponsored by the National Cotton Council and the Textile Bag Manufacturers Association, now in the collection of the
241:
A study by fashion historian Jennifer Lynn Banning analyzing 37 garments made between 1949 and 1968 by one Louisiana farmwife found that the garments and textiles were similar to those being shown contemporaneously in
112:
At the industry's peak, 1,300,000,000 yards (1,200,000 km) of cotton fabric were used in commodity bags, in 1946 accounting for 8.0% of the cotton goods production and 4.5% of total cotton consumption in the US.
94:
171:
By the 1930s companies regarded the sacks as a crucial part of marketing product. By 1936 the Staley Milling Company of Kansas City, Missouri, was marketing "Tint-sax" in pastel shades.
52:
were a common article of clothing in rural US and Canadian communities from the late 19th century through the mid 20th century. They were made at home, usually by women, using the
98:
214:
view of life that was unique to rural communities during this time period." As garments wore out, they were often recycled again into quilts, rugs, and cleaning rags.
544:
183:
gingham used in Gingham Girl Flour sacks from the George P. Plant Milling Company could be salvaged after the use of two or three one hundred pound bags of flour.
607:
274:
however. The real conflicts arose when the material happened to come, not from the fabric store, but from the feed store. I was about 8 when my rebellion began.
152:
Several educational institutions taught classes in how to use feed sacks, including The Household Science Institute, which produced a monthly newsletter called
101:
it encouraged home sewing projects using feed sacks. In 1933 the US Department of Agriculture described the bags in a booklet as having "a high salvage value."
116:
After World War II, use of cloth sacks for packaging declined and was replaced with less expensive paper. Most feed sack production ceased by the early 1960s.
825:
514:"From Feed Sack t eed Sack to Clothes Rack: The Use of Commodity T o Clothes Rack: The Use of Commodity Textile Bags in American Households from 1890 – 1960"
636:
573:
90:
consumed." Bales assigned the patent to the George P. Plant Milling Company of St. Louis, Missouri, which by 1925 were manufacturing Gingham Girl sacks.
210:
290:
261:
reported in 1951 that 75% of mothers living in urban areas and 97% of those living in rural areas had heard of making garments from feed sacks.
132:
said, "So, that is the secret of how baby looked so lovely in her flour sack: just a little care, patience and ingenuity on the mother's part."
985:
128:
sacks were recycled on farms to be used as toweling, rags, or other functional uses on farms. A paragraph in a short story in an 1892 issue of
458:
853:
202:
published in magazines and newspapers serving rural communities. In 1933 the Textile Bag Manufacturers Association published a booklet,
806:
727:
583:
222:
513:
17:
252:
The fabric and bags have variously been referred to as feed sacks, flour sacks, commodity bags, and chicken linen.
135:
By the beginning of the 20th century, flour sacks were produced in a variety of fabrics of tighter weave such as
32:
975:
877:
Connolly, Loris (1992). "Recycling Feed Sacks and Flour Bags: Thrifty Housewives or Marketing Success Story?".
105:
war effort by eliminating waste and making it easier for millers and housewives to estimate required material.
315:
980:
752:"Feed sack fashions in South Louisiana, 1949-1968: the use of commodity bags in garment construction"
790:
193:
661:
683:
931:
Rhoades, R. (1997). "Feed sacks in Georgia: Their manufacture, marketing, and consumer use".
777:
719:
Flour Sack Dresses and Victory Stamps: Tales of Roanoke and The New River Valley of Virginia
760:
751:
178:
According to Margaret Powell, speaking at the Textile Society of America's 2012 symposium:
8:
990:
765:
230:
769:
723:
691:
579:
428:
244:
960:
907:
886:
755:
418:
164:
970:
965:
717:
221:
After World War II, as many manufacturers switched to cheaper paper package, the
406:
911:
890:
826:""Cloth is Scarce, Handle with Care:" The History of Depression-Era Feedsacks"
954:
695:
432:
74:, a coarse white or brown cotton, and were stamped with a logo or label, and
423:
858:. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. 1951.
226:
225:
and the Textile Bag Manufacturers Association worked with patternmakers
293:," defined as history written from the perspective of the upper class.
53:
855:
Mothers' Opinions of Fibers in Selected Items of Children's Clothing
140:
125:
71:
145:
136:
898:
Jones, Lu Ann; Park, Sunae (1993). "From Feed Bags to Fashion".
75:
407:"Feed Sack Fashion in Rural America: A Reflection of Culture"
81:
722:. Hometown Memories, LLC. pp. 63, 117, 134, 161, 208.
459:"How Depression-Era Women Made Dresses Out of Chicken Feed"
97:
was created to increase industry sales. Working with the
928:. (1985). Percy Kent Bag Company, Inc.: Kansas City, MO.
920:
Feed Sacks: The Colourful History of a Frugal Fabric
160:, which gave instructions on how to use feed sacks.
952:
285:culture in the first half of the 20th century.
716:Blair, Todd; Garvey, Karen (August 15, 2016).
545:"2. The Early History of Decorative Feedsacks"
411:Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy
715:
682:Chaney, Mary Derrick (November 20, 1997).
897:
759:
575:Feedsack Secrets: Fashion from Hard Times
422:
876:
192:
80:
60:
31:
749:
684:"What I Learned From a Feed-Sack Dress"
637:"3. Feedsacks and the Great Depression"
512:Powell, Margaret (September 19, 2012).
404:
197:Closeup of hem detail of feedsack dress
14:
953:
761:10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.2231
681:
511:
289:styles they created," resulting in a "
986:History of clothing (Western fashion)
745:
743:
741:
739:
677:
675:
634:
605:
571:
542:
507:
505:
503:
501:
499:
456:
400:
398:
396:
394:
392:
390:
388:
386:
384:
382:
380:
378:
376:
374:
372:
370:
368:
366:
364:
362:
360:
358:
356:
119:
95:Textile Bag Manufacturers Association
922:, Calgary: Uppercase Publishing Inc.
630:
628:
608:"4. Feedsacks during and after WWII"
601:
599:
597:
595:
567:
565:
538:
536:
534:
532:
530:
497:
495:
493:
491:
489:
487:
485:
483:
481:
479:
452:
450:
448:
446:
444:
442:
354:
352:
350:
348:
346:
344:
342:
340:
338:
336:
310:
308:
306:
27:Women's dress made from cotton sacks
405:Brandes, Kendra (January 1, 2009).
320:National Museum of American History
24:
942:New York: Fairchild Publishing Co.
866:
736:
672:
572:Nixon, Gloria (February 1, 2010).
255:
25:
1002:
946:
625:
592:
562:
527:
476:
439:
333:
303:
457:Onion, Rebecca (July 21, 2017).
156:and a series of booklets called
846:
797:
750:Banning, Jennifer Lynn (2005).
709:
654:
13:
1:
296:
918:McCray, Linzee Kull (2016).
7:
926:PK: Our first hundred years
807:"This and That — Feedsacks"
124:As early as 1890 the first
99:Millers National Federation
10:
1007:
912:10.1179/004049693793712213
891:10.1179/036121192805298418
578:. C&T Publishing Inc.
938:Walton, Frank L. (1945).
688:Christian Science Monitor
267:Christian Science Monitor
223:National Cotton Council
204:Sewing with Cotton Bags
158:Sewing with Cotton Bags
785:Cite journal requires
282:
198:
191:
86:
38:
976:20th-century clothing
424:10.4148/ojrrp.v4i1.59
271:
196:
180:
146:red-and-white checked
130:Arthurs Home Magazine
84:
61:History of feed sacks
35:
832:. September 7, 2017
635:Vogelsang, Willem.
606:Vogelsang, Willem.
543:Vogelsang, Willem.
279:Mary Derrick Chaney
940:Thread of Victory,
662:"Flour sack dress"
209:Fashion historian
199:
120:Feed sack garments
87:
46:flour sack dresses
39:
981:American clothing
811:delphosherald.com
729:978-1-940376-44-8
666:Canadashistory.ca
585:978-1-61745-383-0
245:Good Housekeeping
42:Feed sack dresses
18:Flour sack fabric
16:(Redirected from
998:
915:
894:
860:
859:
850:
844:
841:
839:
837:
821:
819:
817:
801:
795:
794:
788:
783:
781:
773:
763:
747:
734:
733:
713:
707:
706:
704:
702:
679:
670:
669:
658:
652:
651:
649:
647:
632:
623:
622:
620:
618:
603:
590:
589:
569:
560:
559:
557:
555:
540:
525:
524:
522:
520:
509:
474:
473:
471:
469:
454:
437:
436:
426:
402:
331:
330:
328:
326:
316:"Feedsack Dress"
312:
280:
189:
165:Great Depression
50:feedsack dresses
21:
1006:
1005:
1001:
1000:
999:
997:
996:
995:
951:
950:
949:
900:Textile History
869:
867:Further reading
864:
863:
852:
851:
847:
835:
833:
824:
815:
813:
805:
802:
798:
786:
784:
775:
774:
748:
737:
730:
714:
710:
700:
698:
680:
673:
660:
659:
655:
645:
643:
633:
626:
616:
614:
604:
593:
586:
570:
563:
553:
551:
541:
528:
518:
516:
510:
477:
467:
465:
455:
440:
403:
334:
324:
322:
314:
313:
304:
299:
281:
278:
258:
256:Cultural impact
190:
188:Margaret Powell
187:
122:
63:
28:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
1004:
994:
993:
988:
983:
978:
973:
968:
963:
948:
947:External links
945:
944:
943:
936:
935:, 18, 121–152.
929:
923:
916:
895:
874:
868:
865:
862:
861:
845:
843:
842:
822:
796:
787:|journal=
735:
728:
708:
671:
653:
624:
591:
584:
561:
526:
475:
463:Slate Magazine
438:
332:
301:
300:
298:
295:
276:
257:
254:
211:Kendra Brandes
185:
154:Out of the Bag
121:
118:
62:
59:
26:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1003:
992:
989:
987:
984:
982:
979:
977:
974:
972:
969:
967:
964:
962:
959:
958:
956:
941:
937:
934:
930:
927:
924:
921:
917:
913:
909:
906:(1): 91–103.
905:
901:
896:
892:
888:
884:
880:
875:
871:
870:
857:
856:
849:
831:
830:enews.wvu.edu
827:
823:
812:
808:
804:
803:
800:
792:
779:
771:
767:
762:
757:
753:
746:
744:
742:
740:
731:
725:
721:
720:
712:
697:
693:
689:
685:
678:
676:
667:
663:
657:
642:
641:trc-leiden.nl
638:
631:
629:
613:
612:trc-leiden.nl
609:
602:
600:
598:
596:
587:
581:
577:
576:
568:
566:
550:
549:trc-leiden.nl
546:
539:
537:
535:
533:
531:
515:
508:
506:
504:
502:
500:
498:
496:
494:
492:
490:
488:
486:
484:
482:
480:
464:
460:
453:
451:
449:
447:
445:
443:
434:
430:
425:
420:
416:
412:
408:
401:
399:
397:
395:
393:
391:
389:
387:
385:
383:
381:
379:
377:
375:
373:
371:
369:
367:
365:
363:
361:
359:
357:
355:
353:
351:
349:
347:
345:
343:
341:
339:
337:
321:
317:
311:
309:
307:
302:
294:
292:
291:top-rail bias
286:
275:
270:
268:
262:
253:
250:
247:
246:
239:
235:
232:
228:
224:
219:
215:
212:
207:
205:
195:
184:
179:
176:
172:
169:
166:
161:
159:
155:
150:
147:
142:
138:
133:
131:
127:
117:
114:
110:
106:
102:
100:
96:
91:
83:
79:
77:
73:
67:
58:
55:
51:
47:
43:
34:
30:
19:
939:
932:
925:
919:
903:
899:
885:(1): 17–36.
882:
878:
854:
848:
834:. Retrieved
829:
814:. Retrieved
810:
799:
778:cite journal
718:
711:
699:. Retrieved
687:
665:
656:
644:. Retrieved
640:
615:. Retrieved
611:
574:
552:. Retrieved
548:
517:. Retrieved
466:. Retrieved
462:
414:
410:
323:. Retrieved
319:
287:
283:
272:
269:, recalled:
266:
263:
259:
251:
243:
240:
236:
220:
216:
208:
203:
200:
181:
177:
173:
170:
162:
157:
153:
151:
134:
129:
123:
115:
111:
107:
103:
93:In 1925 the
92:
88:
68:
64:
54:cotton sacks
49:
45:
41:
40:
29:
933:Uncoverings
163:During the
37:Smithsonian
955:Categories
297:References
231:Simplicity
991:Rationing
836:March 21,
816:March 21,
770:192402397
701:March 20,
696:0882-7729
646:March 21,
617:March 21,
554:March 21,
519:March 20,
433:1936-0487
325:March 20,
85:Feed sack
873:America.
468:March 3,
277:—
186:—
141:sheeting
126:osnaburg
72:osnaburg
961:Dresses
227:McCalls
137:percale
971:Cotton
966:Sewing
768:
726:
694:
582:
431:
76:burlap
879:Dress
766:S2CID
417:(1).
48:, or
838:2020
818:2020
791:help
724:ISBN
703:2020
692:ISSN
648:2020
619:2020
580:ISBN
556:2020
521:2020
470:2020
429:ISSN
327:2020
229:and
139:and
908:doi
887:doi
756:doi
419:doi
957::
904:24
902:.
883:19
881:.
828:.
809:.
782::
780:}}
776:{{
764:.
754:.
738:^
690:.
686:.
674:^
664:.
639:.
627:^
610:.
594:^
564:^
547:.
529:^
478:^
461:.
441:^
427:.
413:.
409:.
335:^
318:.
305:^
78:.
44:,
914:.
910::
893:.
889::
840:.
820:.
793:)
789:(
772:.
758::
732:.
705:.
668:.
650:.
621:.
588:.
558:.
523:.
472:.
435:.
421::
415:4
329:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
.png)
.png)