Meet
Jane Clark Stapel
Who's Who in the Colorful
World of Feedsacks
by Nancy Roberts
For more than a decade Jane Clark Stapel of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has devoted a big part of her life to feedsacks. She collects
these textiles, teaches and lectures about them and curates feedsack quilt exhibits,
traveling across the United States to do so. Happily for others who share her interest,
Jane also organized a lively group of feedsack enthusiasts called The Feedsack Club.
Membership has grown from five founding members to more than 500. Many of the members
gather at The Feedsack Club's annual spring convention held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A
membership newsletter and annual retreat are just two of the activities coordinated by
volunteers. The group also maintains a website. Click on the following to learn more about
The Feedsack Club and to view some of
their Feedsack Samples in a
variety of prints.
 
Ron Bennett with his exhibit at the 1997
Convention.
Feedsacks are popular collectibles among quilters and
vintage textile enthusiasts. In addition to animal feed and crop seed, these cloth bags
commonly served as packaging material for flour and other household products in the 1930s.
Frugal homemakers recycled the cotton sacks into curtains, dish towels, clothing and
quilts.
As manufacturers recognized the appeal of using
feedsacks for home sewing, they began offering their products in colorful cotton bags that
were popular among their customers. The feedsacks were available in solid colors as well
as lively prints such as polka dots, plaids, geometrics and floral motifs. They were often
accompanied by instructions for removing the company logo from the bag without damaging
the fabric. Although the use of cotton sacks declined by the mid-20th century, their
fascination has remained strong among quilters and textile lovers. This
picture is of Ron Bennett's exhibit at the 1997 convention.
 Quilt patterns from these feedsack enthusiasts are
featured in Fabulous
Feedsack Quilts from the Editors of Traditional Quiltworks magazine:
Charlene Brewer, Bethany, Oklahoma; Patricia Reid, Titusville, Florida; Ellie Hudacsek,
Ambridge, Pennsylvania; Connie Tilman, Powhatan, Virginia; Lynette Crawford, Belton,
Texas; Anna Wescott, Logansport, Indiana; Jeannette Fenner Knauff, Hillsboro, Ohio; Paula
Hammer, Lilburn, Georgia; and Glenda Henry, Hartford, Kentucky. Paula Hammer of
Atlanta, Georgia, used red, white and blue feedsack fabrics in "Ohio
Star" (67" x 76"), her tribute to the 1996 Olympics. It's amazing
how varied each Ohio Star looks. It's all in the printed fabric!
To view these quilts, visit our Gallery.
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