I Love Feedsacks!

When I think of feedsacks I automatically think of the Great Depression.  It was during that time that feedsacks were most popular.  Printed feedsacks made their debut in the mid 1920's as a way for feed companies to promote their products.  And what a great promotion it was!  I wonder if they knew how popular they would be, causing women to sort through 100lb bags of feed to get their desired pattern?  The "free" fabric became a necessity for families in the making of clothing, curtains and of course, quilts. 

The are only a few people today that have direct memories from the Depression.  The rest of us know it only through their stories which are rich with struggle and survival.  My own grandparents told stories of using horseweeds for toy stick horses (they had NO toys), using wood from apple crates to make a wall and when they were lucky, a new pair of shoes each year.  I have no surviving examples of feedsack clothing or quilts from my own family.  I suspect, as with many, these items were used until they were threadbare and then probably repurposed and used some more.

I love to collect feedsacks.  Not only are the patterns so fabulous (feed companies often hired textile designers for the patterns) but I love the creativity of women who often had very little and took these bags and turned them into pretty quilts, aprons and clothing. 

I've been collecting feedsacks for about 20 years now.  Mine are stacked in piles and displayed around my house.  I haven't been able to bring myself to cut them up for quilts.  Some have started to fade along the fold edges but they're too pretty to hide in the closet!

This "Gone with the Wind" or "Southern Belle" feedsack is my absolute favorite.  It was found in my Grandma's attic room by my Mom.  It can also found with blue and red backgrounds and can occasionally be found on eBay. 

This Lucky Day sack still has its original paper label.  The first sacks were white and had printed labels that were often difficult to completely remove.  These were replaced with paper labels which could be quickly removed with a soak in some water. Because the labels were so easily removed, finding them with the label intact is difficult.

And here are a few of my other favorites starting with a sleeping hombre, mailboxes and a soda fountain girl.  These novelty feedsacks are very collectible and somewhat difficult to find.  The easiest patterns to find are typically floral and/or geometric.  Solid feedsacks can also difficult to locate. 

There are a lot of great resources for learning more about feedsacks.  My favorites box to the left lists some really good resources for more info.

Collecting feedsacks can be quite fun.  They're relatively easy to find and reasonably priced.  If you're real lucky, maybe you can find some in your Grandma's attic.