By Gunnhild Systad 

Beginning in the 1880s, large flour mills began using big cotton and gunnysacks—usually 100 kg but also 200 kg sacks–to deliver flour to merchants.  A bit later, through the turn of the century, flour and sugar were also distributed in 5 kg. sacks, probably directly to the consumer.  This packaging was a desirable commodity.

From the First World War on, thousands of blouses, dresses, pants, and bed linens were sewn from sacks, as were also embroidered towels, curtains, and doorway curtains (aka portieres).  Around the time of World War II, shortages of raw materials led mills to begin using paper sacks, but, nevertheless, some mills still had cloth sacks in stock.  In any case, it was possible to get ahold of sacks several years into the 1950s.  Because of rationing, it was difficult to acquire yard goods at this time, so the use of cloth sacks was a good substitute.

The sacks’ fabrics were usually as follows:

• Grain sacks–jute or tow linen
• Flour sacks—cotton
• Sugar sacks—cotton, lighter than that in flour sacks

Jute and tow linen sacks were, for example, used for:

• Aprons for heavy cleaning and to wear in the barn
• Towels.  These were washed in green soap and boiled to make them softer.  The user dried their hands on these first, then on cotton or linen towels.
• Scrub rags
• Doormats
• Mattress ticking, for example on a straw mattress for a cradle
• Curtains and portieres, popular in the 1920s, decorated with either embroidery or drawn work

Cotton sacks for sugar were, for example, used for:

• Nightgowns and nightshirts
• Pillowcases
• Cloths
• Cloth sieves to filter juice

Cotton flour sacks varied in quality, which determined how they were used:

• Sheets.  Usually sewn together at the middle.  The side pieces were replaced when they became worn.  Coarser cotton cloth could be used for sheets, rather than for duvets and pillowcases.
• Undergarments and nightgowns, which required finer quality fabric
• Clothing:  Children’s garments, blouses, summer dresses, all requiring finer quality fabric
• Towels
• Kitchen textiles
• Tablecloths
• Portieres

Printed Labels

The sacks often had printed labels, and it was joked that when ladies’ underpants were hanging on the clothesline to dry, a person could see Bjølsen Rolling Mill stamped in the back.  The stamped label could be removed by rubbing in green soap and allowing it time to work before scrubbing it away.  Afterwards, the sacks were washed and bleached, preferably in March sunshine.   The sacks were not to be washed first, for then the stamped labels were impossible to remove.   It seems as though less caution was taken to remove stamping from sacks that were going to be used as linings in clothing, because one can still read the visible label.

An alternative to using sacks was to purchase heavy cotton or cotton/linen fabric, or unbleached canvas, but that was, of course, more expensive.  During the 1930s, a sack cost between 50 øre and one krone and was much cheaper than yard goods.

In Museums

Museums have in their collections bedding, women’s and children’s clothing, towels, tablecloths, and other items made out of sacks.  Fewest of these are made of jute and linen-tow, no doubt because they were put to heavy use, with the result that they were worn out and thrown away.

Sources

Clayhills, Harriet: Det store lappeteppet. Også ei kvinnehistorie. Oslo 1984
Jensen, Inger: Bruk av melsekker Dugnad 2 Oslo 1991

 

This article originally appeared in the Kulturhistorisk Leksikon published by the Fylkesarkivet i Sogn og Fjordane and is reprinted in translation by permission. Norwegian version here. Additional photos were sourced from the Norwegian Digital Museum, digitaltmuseum.no. 

Translation by Edi Thorstensson.