A Look at Floursack Fabrics

I’m a sewing beginner myself, but I have a lot of projects on the go. Dresses to make, purses to adorn and those pesky curtains that just never seem to get done!

One of my favourite types of fabric to use are floursack (or feedsack) prints. Floursack fabrics began being manufactured in the 1930s and continued  into the 1950s. They are called ‘floursack’ fabrics because  flour sacks/bags were fashioned out of these amazing prints in order to sell more flour. The added-value was that after the flour was gone, you could make clothing out of the fabric!

Floursack Fabric, Windham Fabrics

Floursack fabrics are now being reproduced by Windham Fabrics and other companies, which is music to my ears! These fabrics are often used for quilting, but they make for some amazing 1930s/40s reproduction table cloths and vintage dresses. The colours are bright and catchy and the designs are art-deco, whimsical and kitchy.

My next sewing project is making Butterick Pattern B5209 , which is a great 1940s dress, in a red flower floursack print. I’ll be making the version on the right and will post the results in a future blog entry.

Butterick Retro Dress Pattern B5209

If you’re purusing the Windham Fabric website, do check out the other vintage reproduction fabrics, such as the Storybook line. So sweet!

If you’ve made Butterick Pattern B5209, let me know. I’d love to see your results!

xoxo

Black Dahlia