Tuesday, December 11, 2012

are those sacks under your eyes

Have bags under your eyes?

Here’s an idea just called them sacks. Better yet, call them vintage grain sacks. Your eyes will be popular.

Don’t call us seniors. We are highly stylish vintage baby boomers in weathered skin sacks.

I just don’t get it. Had I gotten it, would I had known I did?

In the past I’ve written about my clueless pillow knowledge. see pillow talk tuesday



Vintage grain sacks - where do these trends come from?

Williams-Sonoma listed Christmas stockings made from 70-year-old Hungarian grain sacks. No longer available - well if all of them were really made with 70-year-old material, then they would be limited.

The fabric in the picture doesn’t look like a 70-year-old piece of farm used material.

I read, “Grain sack adds a bit of history and authentic vintage charm to whatever it touches.” “Authentic” - can you trust that to mean it was really used to transport grain? If so wouldn’t it be badly soiled and have marks of rough use? Also, why is there enough left over grain sacks to produce pillow covers and Christmas stockings?


My face on a grain sack pillow - doesn't sound like a nice soft gentle touch to me.  Does it still have the authentic aroma of barley or rat feces?

I’m old enough to have been in gunny sack races where real authentic burlap was used. To think, I was dragging and hopping in someone’s future pillow cover is amazing.

This pillow would be unkind to your face. I am curious to know what type of grain it held.



I still have (I actually used it for camping in the past) the original authentic vintage charming green canvas duffel bag issued to me in basic training. Please contact me if you would like to buy this for your next pillow covering project. It might be the next trend.


another circus 

21 comments:

Rebecca said...

That pillow looks awful for sleeping and the stocking looks terrible. Who are the style people who make these decisions? They are paid way too much.

lisleman said...

Not either of us I'm sure. I agree completely.

Cheryl P. said...

I am very skeptical as to the authenticity of the fabric being used was at any point a grain sack. I am convinced with the proper wording, Americans will buy ANYTHING. As for your duffel bag, thanks but somewhere around here my husband's old army bag is probably collecting dust. Perhaps I should make stockings out of it and sell them.

Frau said...

It's all the rage....I don't get it!

Secret Agent Woman said...

I like the simple look of it, but pillows should be made of a comfortable fabric.

lisleman said...

I agree about the comfort part. Stones look good but I won't use those for pillows. thanks

lisleman said...

thank you for letting the comment section readers and myself know that you also are baffled by this. We could start a support group.
thanks

lisleman said...

I agree on that. Maybe the makers should say it's a reproduction of old style fabric. Duffel bag Christmas stockings it will the rage next year. thanks

jnoragon said...

Only marketing can account for "the rage", but you're overlooking some background. This probably was a towelling type feed sack. It's nicely woven in twill, making it sturdy enough for barley or oats not to slip through the weave. Blue jeans are woven in three harness twill. To make it more attractive to Mrs. Hungarian housewife, or any farm housewife at the turn of the 20th century, the red stripe is carried out in herringbone. It is woven in cotton. Don't knock it until you've put your face on it. Flannel is wonderfully soft; cotton sheeting is unfulled cotton.


Feed sacks provided the sheeting, the towelling, even the school dresses of depression era farm families. Those canny grain merchants knew their sack of feed had a leg up if the farmer's wife wanted the sack to make Janie a new school dress. The barley had to be in sacks anyway, for transportation on railroad cars; it cost them almost nothing to add a print or a weaving design to the fabric.

longhollow said...

I wouldn't be surprised if someone has already contacted you about your duffel bag!!

lisleman said...

No not yet. It might go up on e-bay. I'm not sure since it has this new found potential now.

lisleman said...

Thanks for sharing your expertise in fabric making (weaving? I forget when to use spinning vs. other names). I had heard that sacks were often used for clothing in the depression. I recall it being mentioned in the dust bowl series on PBS. Towelling is a type of weave? You caught me on assuming it would be rough.

Agnes Pages said...

I used to have a burlap pillow. It looked great but it wasn't the softest pillow ever.

lisleman said...

I believe comfort should come before looks when it comes to pillows. thanks

Jene said...

Major warning of foul language at the following link, but it's too funny not to share in light of your burlap sacks.

http://deadspin.com/5959212/the-haters-guide-to-the-williams+sonoma-catalog


Now I want to find some old toilet paper or something, slap a label on it calling it "vintage," and open up an etsy store ;)

Jene said...

I thought it was a pot holder at first.

unknownmami said...

I really like the idea of vintage citizens, but with the price of things that are labeled as vintage being so expensive I'm worried vintage citizens would be charged more instead of qualifying for discounts.

lisleman said...

As the older and rarer we get, we should be paid to visit a store.

lisleman said...

I probably should have listed that link since it was over there that I first noticed this grain sack trend. It's a funny site. Old toilet paper (not used of course) - good luck with that. There are probably hoarders who have old toilet paper and paper towels. thanks

Lilly said...

Yes I think that now I am vintage my value may increase somehow. I will let you know when that happens but fear it may be a long wait. Duffle bag? Hang on to it as I am sure that trend is just around the corner.

lisleman said...

thanks - your wise words in found on your blog have value. Let me know if you see a duffel bag trend coming.

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