Feedsack Fabrics

Thrift Style at the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, Moorhead

There is a certain irony to the experience of viewing this exhibit from the Historic Costume and Textile Museum of Kansas State University. 80 years ago, waste fabric hardly existed. Outgrown clothing, worn bedding, empty bags were all resources to be mined for further use. Today, we struggle under the weight of so much excess fabric that we are in danger of burying ourselves beneath the waste. So once again, we must learn the value of repurposing, reusing and recycling.

Through June 20, HCSCC hosts Thrift Style, which includes many printed bags and the clothing and quilts women made from them in the mid-twentieth century. It would be interesting to know who designed all these little floral and conversational prints, but for now they remain anonymous. For me, they bring memories of my grandmother, who always wore cotton aprons made of prints like these.

• Reviewed by Kim Baird