50-55 years ago my mother made my panties and bras out of flour and feed sack material. I liked the feed sacks best because they had flower patterns on them. I also had dresses to match. We moved to Indiana when I was 6 and my bra and panties made a great swim suit since we lived two blocks from the beach. No one on the beach ever made fun of my homemade clothes.

I can remember when my dad would make a trip to the feed store (GLF or Ward & Van Scoy's and then Ag-Way in the area where I live) and he would ask my mother if she wanted to ride along. Most every time, she would say yes because she needed a certain feed sack pattern to finish up a dress or blouse or curtains. My dad would back into the loading dock, then go in to the counter to tell the man how many sacks of feed he needed, and which kind (cow, chicken, hog mash, calf manna) then tell him mom was already out there picking out which bags she wanted. They'd load the truck with the sacks my mother pointed out - even if they had to move several others to get to it - and then we'd be on our way home. Dad would ask if mom had any preference about which bags got emptied first. The sacks were made out of some of the finest cotton material ever made. It had to be tightly and finely woven to keep the feed (especially hog mash and calf manna) in the bags, which was made even tighter when they were pre-washed before use. My mother didn't make my underwear or coats, but she made everything else. I think I may even still have a kitchen towel made from feed sack material. If I do, I've put it away for posterity's sake, not that anyone going through my things after I'm gone would even have an inkling about what it is. My mother was an excellent seamstress and an avid knitter. As I grew older, I started making my own clothing from the skin out, including my coats. I, too, became quite a seamstress. It was very thrifty and it was like therapy. I'd close myself in my sewing room for an evening or two and have a new outfit to wear in a couple of days. I no longer sew. I was looking at the cost of patterns a while back and was amazed that they cost $15-20+. YIKES!! But I am thinking about getting a new sewing machine so I can sew some curtains, drapes, and pillows, and make repairs. It is all so confusing these days with every thing being computerized. Hugs, Mary -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brenda Daniels Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 12:45 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [PD-LIFE] Flour sack material 50-55 years ago my mother made my panties and bras out of flour and feed sack material. I liked the feed sacks best because they had flower patterns on them. I also had dresses to match. We moved to Indiana when I was 6 and my bra and panties made a great swim suit since we lived two blocks from the beach. No one on the beach ever made fun of my homemade clothes. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message