Anyone remembers the time when powder detergents were sold in cotton bags?

[kenmoreguy89]

I think bleaching them one time didn't much to the cloth, bleach ruins and weaken clothes...that's  for sure a fact.
But just one time does not make " very big" changes....
I used to do that while dying at home.... t-shirts, Polo shirts, pants etc...when I've to clear a color on a cloth I simply do a hand wash using half water and half chlorine  bleach and let it sit from 2 mins to 5 in my bath tub... no more, and then rinse...dry and dye.

You've to note that some dark colors like black or blue once bleached turns out a very light pink....it was surely meant to clear the light color prints....also true that sack printing dyes were probably not the same used on clothing...
Anyway..... the theory Launderess tells is fully applicable and credible per -se .... a little weird maybe... but  for example during  the Great depression every free piece of cloth was a treasure, expensive to purchase, nothing was thrown away in those years...it was anyway a "free" thing of course and even if not the best cotton around it surely made the difference for a family not having much money to go ahead...

[this post was last edited: 4/10/2013-11:44]

 

[tomturbomatic]

Mom's family boiled the sacks in the wash boiler to remove the inks or whatever, but some people kept the flowered patterns. Boiling is very effective for bleaching cottons, hence the "boilwash" temps in some washers in countries that did not use chlorine bleach.

 

[launderess]

theory Launderess tells is fully applicable and credible per

It is not "weird" nor a theory, but fact. You can head over to any USA sewing website group and hear persons speak of their mothers (if not themselves) using sack fabric for clothing.

To be clear we are *NOT* speaking of those small sacks of detergent shown in above posts. But 25lb-50lb or greater sacks which are really quite large once the stitching is removed and the material laid flat.

What *you* have to understand is that at one time some people living in rural and or farming areas were poor, some even dirt poor. When you are living pretty much hand to mouth with several children to clothe you take fabric where you can get it. There was also the aspect of not allowing anything to go to waste, which is common to farming life then and still today.

Feed sack clothing - Google Search

 

[launderess]

More

Background

http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/359154_Bags-to-riches--Today--these-sacks-are-worth-more-than-chicken-feed.html

 

[kenmoreguy89]

theory Launderess tells is fully applicable and credible per

Look that I meant "theory" of bleaching in response about saying that bleaching ruined/got weak the clothing, about being weird, was meant as unusual, and well it would be  ... if you see it with the eyes of a modern person it would be weird or hard to figure out... you don't always meet someone who dress up of sacks ( sounds bad I know told this way)... I don't attend tailors  as you  probably do so just do not know how popular is in this ambient among them right now, what I know no-one I met ever told me " Look I made it with a flour sack" that's what I mean...at someone's eyes that would be weird, well not weird, unusual, that's it!

As stated, it was fully comprehensible and common in the past and I think not only in farming compounds, as said I think it was a common practice even during the years of depression to re-use such cloth  for personal or child clothings.....

Regarding sack dimension, I think is enough clear for everyone that we're not talking about the ones of detergents shown above...
And I really don't need to understand that :<a name="start_45890.671852"> " at one time some people living in rural and or farming areas were poor, some even dirt poor. When you are living pretty much hand to mouth with several children to clothe you take fabric where you can get it. There was also the aspect of not allowing anything to go to waste, which is common to farming life then and still today."
</a>

I just tell you my  86 Y.o granma raised in a farm in Veneto Polesine (Poor farmer area),  she  still keeps everything, even the paper bags for the bread for a future alternative use, despite everyone complaints about her habits I like to supoort her as I know why she does it,   she  raised  in a family of 10 sister and brothers, a very poor farming family...and I enjoy her tells so I know everything about life was in a poor farm.  I always been told that I <span id="result_box" class="short_text" lang="en"><span class="hps">inherited this conservational  farming spirit from her,  which  is also usual for elderly people generally, not only ones raised in farming areas,  and I'm proud of it....It's just sad people nowaday's are just the opposite...that's why I like the idea of re-using sacks for clothing! Probably you misunderstand me, or probably I could not express at best what I meant to say...
</span></span>

<a name="start_45890.671852">
I already knew  all of that....thank you anyway Launderess
</a>

[this post was last edited: 4/10/2013-19:48]

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Tom, so it was also by boiling, so it should not have even been  a strong ink, I thought infact it should have been different than clothing dying..
That's interesting.

[this post was last edited: 4/10/2013-19:28]

 

[danemodsandy]

The Ink Didn't Always Wash Out!

As in this photo of Marilyn Monroe, in an outfit cooked up by Twentieth Century-Fox's Wardrobe Department to support the Publicity Department's claims that their new starlet was so gorgeous she'd look good in a gunny sack:

(Just thought I'd lighten up the proceedings!

)

 

[kenmoreguy89]

If they were bigger, I'd just love a T-shirt made with this flour sack keeping print on the front! I totally love it! And reminds me of Mom and Granma.
Love it!!!!
.http://www.ksheritage.org/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KHS&Product_Code=248&Category_Code=AG

 

[tolivac]

I watched a PBS program about the Dust Bowel days and many scenes in the movie show people wearing clothes made from flour or other produce bag materials-you can still see the lettering and prints on the clothes.Yes-in that era people recycled and repurposed EVRYTHING they could.My Dad,Granddad,Grandmother,and Mom,Stepmom told me about these things,too.It was amazing what people made from the sackcloth in those times-and every household had a sewing machine,and kit of tools so they could do all kinds of things not thought of today.

 

[abcomatic]

Jetcone

HI there, I remember as a kid, that Breeze detergent had inside the box a wash cloth in the regular size, jumbo size had a dish towel and the Giant size of Breeze had a bath towel. They were advertized as being made by Cannon. They were thin and didn't last long.
Duz and Silver Dust had glassware inside of their boxes.

In the Breeze, the wash cloth, dish towel and bath towel were packed inside the Breeze box in a smallish cardboard box. All of this took up room, so after you got the box out of the big box, there wasn't a lot of detergent left. Mom didn't use it much. Gary

 

[damirko]

It is so cool to see this pictures of old washing powders in cotton bags which everyone transform in kitchen -dish clots after they spend detergents
My mother have some of this kitchen clots still on my households
This Idea of cotton bags came from ALBUS-Novi Sad -Serbia in 1964 they produced very first washing machine detergents with enzyme called CRNI BIK (Black bull) and they want to make family packs because before this washing powder was pack in mini boxes of 250gr. Soon after this second soap company in Yugoslavia Saponia-Osijek-Croatia 1968 made also they first washing machine detergent FAKS Helizim and YETI and they also took this idea of packing in 3kg cotton bags after them Labud Zagreb produced Lind and Fjodor Ozon and Zlatorog from Slovenia joined with Mixal and rest is history....
Unfortunately when economical crisis stroked in Yugoslavia in 80's many of Yugo soap company's stopped with cotton bags and turn on big boxes or plastic bags :-(

 

[damirko]

Celebrating 45th anniversary this year 2013 of FAKS HELIZIM Saponia Osijek made cotton bags Jubilee packs with this detergent

 

[tolivac]

Remember when other things came in the cotton bags--and the bag cloth could be used for clothes,towels,rags and so on.The ultimate "green" container!!