A new use for cotton sacks from the 40s

I, like several other designers, have been buying and using Hungarian linen sacks for some years now..see my title image.

I love this heavily textured fabric which is great for upholstery, cushions and bags and my heart lifts every time I come across a pile of sacks at a fair.

However I was really pleased recently to come across an English equivalent.

A friend and fellow dealer from the north west was selling some cotton sacks which she had found on a local farm. I have always loved text on fabric and indeed most items so was interested in these examples.

This is my favourite and presumably dates from the second world war or soon after when paper was in short supply. The laundry is packing washing in sacks rather than brown paper and requiring a deposit for this; I can remember as a child the laundry man calling each week for our candy stripe sheets and shirts in the days before automatic washers and steam irons.

The bib of the apron brilliantly frames the text; note the French sign on my kitchen wall..another passion

I like the soft blue in the printing on this sack; I’ve made a simpler apron from this as it was a smaller piece

Sadly this sack is much more faded, a shame because the calf in the image is charming. Again an apron which I think is fitting making a practical item to use today from a practical piece from the last century

I’m going to take these aprons along to my next fair in Market Harborough..see fairs dates for August on this blog….hope I’m not alone in loving them