A Surprising Source of Clothing
During the Great Depression and World War II, millions of rural families in the United States and Canada found an unlikely source for clothing: cotton feed sacks.
Once used to package flour, sugar, seeds, and animal feed, these bags were transformed into dresses, shirts, aprons, curtains, and quilts. What began as simple recycling became a nationwide practice that left a lasting mark on rural life.
The Evolution of the Feed Sack
In the 19th century, commodities were shipped in heavy barrels, but advances in weaving and sewing made sacks more practical and affordable.
By the late 1800s, mills produced cotton sacks, often stamped with logos. In 1924, Asa T. Bales patented a sack made of fabric suitable for dressmaking, and by 1925, companies like George P. Plant Milling in St. Louis marketed patterned sacks such as “Gingham Girl.”
Fashion from Necessity
By the 1930s, the Textile Bag Manufacturers Association worked with millers to promote sewing projects from used sacks. Patterns were printed in colors and designs to appeal to women, who often decided purchases based on fabric prints rather than feed quality.
Families traded sacks to collect matching patterns, and by the mid-1930s, companies like Staley Milling sold “Tint-sax” pastel bags. Educational institutions, newsletters, and government booklets offered instructions for turning sacks into clothing and household goods.
A Wartime Lifeline
During World War II, commercial fabrics were rationed, but feed sacks remained available. Classified as industrial products, they provided a vital source of material, with four 100-pound flour sacks supplying enough fabric for an adult woman’s dress.
At its peak in 1946, feed sack fabric accounted for 8% of U.S. cotton goods production. Competitions, fashion shows, and sewing contests promoted their use, and by some estimates, three million women and children wore feed sack clothing at any one time during the war.
Decline of a Rural Tradition
After the war, the shift to paper packaging reduced feed sack availability, and by the early 1960s, production largely ended. While many viewed feed sack clothing as a sign of poverty, women found ways to disguise the origin by removing logos, dyeing fabrics, and adding trims.
Today, surviving garments, like those in the Louisiana State University Textile and Costume Museum, reflect the ingenuity and resourcefulness of rural households in the first half of the 20th century.
In the 1930s and ’40s, millions of Americans wore clothing made from flour and animal feed sacks.
Printed cotton bags once holding sugar or chicken feed were turned into dresses, shirts, and aprons by farmwomen across the U.S. and Canada…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/N5TQLBa4Bp
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) August 12, 2025