A Feed Sack Fabric Collecting Guide (History & Values)

If you’ve shopped for fabric lately, you know how expensive it can be. The same held true for shoppers during the Depression. But with some ingenuity and a bit of patience, housewives during that era sewed pretty remarkable household goods from feed sack fabric.

Feed sacks, also known as flour sacks, cotton bags, or “cotton commodity bags,” held grain, seed, fertilizer, flour, and other farm and kitchen supplies.

You may be familiar with homey quilts made with feed sack fabric, but many are surprised to learn that they were used by frugal housekeepers to sew dresses, aprons, and even underclothes(!).

Table of Contents

History Of Feed & Flour Sacks
Feed Sack Projects
Time Line of Feed Sack Usage
Feed Sack Values
Cleaning Musty Fabric

What Are Feed or Flour Sacks?

Feed or flour sacks are bags of various sizes made of fabric for the purpose of holding “commodities” like feed, grain, seed, flour, and sugar. Early on, manufacturers constructed them out of rough fabrics like burlap, but over time softer materials, specifically cotton, came into fashion.

The terms “feed sack” and “flour sack” are often used interchangeably, despite their referring to different types of commodities. As a result, researchers tend to refer to them with the generic term “commodity bags.”

Early History of Feed & Flour Sacks

At some point in the late 1800’s, sellers of flour and other commodities began to offer their goods in rough fabric bags, leaving the wooden barrel behind.

By about 1910, they began to use softer fabric, making it ideal for thrifty homemakers to fashion curtains, sheets, and sometimes clothing (Helen’s Closet).

In a comment on a National Museum of American History article about feed sacks, Barbara explains that her grandmother “had a slip made out of a flour sack. Across the rear end was printed 100 lbs net weight.”

There was no escaping a company’s logo in these early days!

Eventually, sack manufacturers became more creative with their label designs and once they realized that families made and wore clothing from their bags, they began to use printing inks that would easily wash out.

History of Printed Cotton Feed Sacks

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Invention of Printed Cotton Sacks

A young man named Asa Bales, working for the Plant Milling Co. of Missouri, “invented” the idea to use tiny checked gingham fabric (“dress goods”), in lieu of burlap and other rough fabrics.

In fact, the US government awarded him a patent on December 21, 1926; it included details about printing a company’s logo on the bag using dyes that would disappear in the wash.

The text of the patent application describes this new type of sack: “The sack of dress goods is, of course, of a size suitable of being remade into clothing. Preferably the dress goods is of a character known as gingham which is usually a cotton cloth having stripes or checks in two or more colors formed by yarn which is dyed variously before it is woven in order to provide the pattern.”

Wide-Spread Use

Other bag manufacturers, like the Percy Kent (NY) and Bemis (TN) companies, made the switch from plain bags to pretty calico-type designs.

In fact, some hired European and New York designers to develop attractive prints (Flashbak), hoping to entice women to choose their bags over competing brands. Today you can find feed sack fabric in thousands upon thousands of designs.

Floral patterns reigned but over time, seamstresses found animal, western, and historical designs to choose from.

Paper labels replaced inked on branding information making life much simpler for home sewers.

The Depression

Pretty feed sack fabric proved to be a life saver for many families during the Depression. With so many suffering from the financial crash and its affects, free (or low cost) feed sacks provided clothing for millions in desparate need.

A 100 lb feed sack could be opened to create a yard of 44″ fabric–enough for a child’s dress, and about 3 pieces make an adult size garment.

In order to accumulate enough pieces of fabric, homemakers had to rely on their husbands to pick out the correct print when they went to town to buy feed, grain, or flour.

Alternatively, they could join their spouses and make their own choices. Another comment from the article in Helen’s Closet demonstrates this:

My Dad would holler from the garage door, “going into town to buy feed,” and we all three , Mom, my brother and me, would scurry out and hop in and away we went. We had feedsack pajamas, even Dad, dresses, shorts, blouses, shirts, hair bands, eyeglass cases even sheets and pillowcases.

Helen’s Closet

Feed Sack Projects

At the height of feed sack popularity, guides for sewing projects like dresses, shirts, aprons, quilts, and stuffed toys, became available. Newspapers and magazines also printed patterns for a variety of different projects over the decades of feed sack availability.

Feed Sack Aprons

Quilts

Toys

In addition, bag manufacturers began to print cut-out projects, like aprons and stuffed dolls directly onto the bags themselves.

Keeping the Fabric Feed Sacks Alive

By the 1950’s paper sacks became a less expensive means of containing the various commodities that had previously been stored in fabric bags.

The National Cotton Council, in an attempt to entice sellers of those commodities to continue using their fabric sacks, began to hold competitions at state fairs around the country and crown “National Cotton Bag Sewing Queens” (From Feed Sack to Clothes Rack).

In the 1960’s cotton bag manufacturers attempted to prolong sack popularity by printing fabrics with colorful cartoon characters, like Mickey Mouse and Snow White (Flashbak). Alas this did not have the desired affect.

By the end of the decade, the paper sack had replaced the beautiful and functional fabric sack.

Feed Sack Time Line

• Late 1800’s: Rough fabric sacks of linen and burlap replace barrels
• 1920’s: Softer cotton fabrics with company logos become prevalent
• 1930’s: Charming printed fabrics developed, used during the Depression for clothing
• 1940’s: Fabric scarcity due to WWII leads to increased use of feed sack fabric for clothing.
• 1950’s: Cheaper paper sacks introduced; National Cotton Council sponsors sewing contests.
• 1960’s: Fabric bag manufacturers add TV characters to prints to save their industry.
• Late 1960’s: Paper sacks replace fabric sacks

Where to Find Feed or Flour Sack Fabric

Feed sacks and feed sack fabric are not easy to find for resale. I have only had luck finding it priced low enough for resale, at estate sales. It tends to be at the bottom of piles of fabric, often stored in antique chests. So be sure to dig deep in whatever receptacle you see fabric. You never know what lies at the bottom…

If you’re looking for feed sacks and/or feed sack fabric, both eBay and Etsy make excellent choices. You will find quite a large selection on both, but typically at retail prices (of course).

Modern Feed Sack Books, Fabric, & Pillows

If you are looking for references about feed sacks, I’ve linked to a couple below, along with some reproduction fabric and some attractive feed sack pillows.

• Feed Sacks by Linzee Kull McCray (a feed sack authority)
• Reproduction feed sack fabric (10 fat quarters)
• Food Sacks, Vol. I by Tricia Maloney

• Bunny feed sack pillow
• Sheep feed sack pillow
• Cow feed sack pillow

Values & Where to Sell Feed Sack Fabric

You can find feed sacks and items made with the fabric in quite a startling wide price range. The sacks themselves can yeild prices in the $30-50 range for whole sacks.

Dresses current sell on eBay for $50 and up, while aprons run about $10-25 each. Quilts in very good to excellent condition, on the other hand, can be found for $150 to $300+.

I’ve had excellent luck selling feed sack fabric and related items from my Etsy shop. In fact, I’ve sold not only yards of fabric, but scraps as well, along with some quilted squares and partial projects.

How to Clean Musty Fabric

1. Sprinkle With Baking Soda

The least invasive method of removing smells from fabric involves (1) placing the piece in a plastic bag, (2) sprinkling in some baking soda, and (3) letting it sit for a few days or a week.

After the baking soda has had time to perform its magic, unseal the bag, shake out the baking soda and give the fabric a sniff.

If the smell remains, give the process another try, or consider using one of the methods below.

2. Set Out in the Sunshine

Lay the fabric out in the sunshine, preferably on grass (yes, this helps!), keeping an eye on it to ensure that the fabric doesn’t fade. A few hours, even one day, should not cause lightening.

3. Soak

Try soaking the fabric in water alone, changing the water as it becomes dark with whatever’s making it smell. Continue until the water is perfectly clear. Allow the fabric to dry and then give it the sniff test.

If the fabric continues to smell, add a mild detergent, like liquid castile soap or Dawn spray dish detergent and allow it to soak.

If the mild detergent doesn’t work, consider soaking in a stronger product, like borax or OxyClean. (Follow the directions on the product.)

How to Display or Use Feed Sacks

I’ve already mentioned how feed and other sacks were used “back in the day,” but how are modern decorators using them? Here are a few ideas:

• Frame them
• Sew pillow covers or seat pads
• Create tote bags
• Sew Christmas stockings
• Recover benches or dining room chairs
• Hang with cafe clips for no-sew curtains
• Cut & sew into towels

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed learning about the history and values of feed sack fabric, and I trust that it will help you as you seek to grow your antique biz (or enlarge your collection).

Let me know your experience with feed/flour sack fabrics in the comments below. I’d love to hear your story.

Bye for now,

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