Feed and seed sacks have traditionally been repurposed for clothing and for other practical purposes on the farm. Now these items are moving upscale as artisans discover they can be used for decorative as well as utilitarian purposes.
Vintage grain sacks are a challenge to find and collect, because they were traditionally manufactured using washable dyes for the design elements, so that they could be refashioned into underwear and towels. This is in contrast to flour sacks and feed sacks, whose permanent color patterns allowed them to be recycled into aprons and dresses.
Link. Photo credit: Roger Wippler, Minnesota Crop Improvement Association
"A lot of people frame them for their graphic quality or use them as curtains," he said. "They can be used in cabinets that have windows in them in the kitchen, or as a throw over a small table. ... Some have a Christmas theme and we use them then. It's definitely easy to use them in the fall, the ones with grain or vegetable themes."
Vintage grain sacks are a challenge to find and collect, because they were traditionally manufactured using washable dyes for the design elements, so that they could be refashioned into underwear and towels. This is in contrast to flour sacks and feed sacks, whose permanent color patterns allowed them to be recycled into aprons and dresses.
Link. Photo credit: Roger Wippler, Minnesota Crop Improvement Association
Newest 2 Comments
That's pretty awesome, Dolly. I can't imagine they were terribly comfortable, but it's interesting to hear about vintage recycling. I'm not sure if that's the best way to put it... but I love reusing materials.
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)
My dad was in the business of selling coal and grain in the 40s, so all the dresses my sisters and I wore, especially during the war, were made from grain (and flour) sacks. I have some old photos of us wearing our sack dresses that my mother, a talented seamstress, made for us.
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)