Turn the clock back two hundred years or so, all the way back to Colonial times. If you were to go into someone’s home, what would you find there?
Think about it for a moment. Are you done? Good — odds are, you nailed a couple of items right off the bat. Most figure candles, or firewood, or wooden furniture. All would be good guesses.
If you’re not involved in the textile industry, a few of the other answers may surprise you. For example, flour sack materials were quite popular. You might find them in something like four out of five homes. Yet, almost nobody guesses that! In a visual medium, you might agree the towels look like something you might see in olden times. Despite being more common today than ever before, you wouldn’t be wrong for thinking so.
If you’re not sure what flour sack towels are, take a look HERE at the Depot’s for a good idea. Just looking at the pictures should start to ring some bells. These materials are popular among towel makers because of their versatility, and aesthetic appeal.
The smooth, thin weave of the fabric makes them perfect for tablecloths. You may also see them as decorative items, stretched across a picture frame with designs sewn onto it. They’re generally quite handy in the kitchen. Many bibs or handkerchiefs come from flour sack materials.
Since they first made their appearance, sack towels became popular all over the world. We already mentioned how handy they are in the kitchen as say, tablecloths. There are some other crafty uses people have come up with for sack towels, too. A few of our favorites are below.
1. As an apron.
Okay, so this one’s already gotten some talk time above. Still, to reiterate, these towels are great for kitchen use. You can customize an apron even as a total sewing novice. Or, you can stick with the all-white look. It’s the same look people have favored for years when it comes to making a dining area look classy.
2. Absorbing stains.
Ever stay up late at night and catch the commercials? You’re bound to see someone pouring wine onto a carpet, or dumping an ashtray on a brand new rug. Something along those lines, anyway. It’s all a gimmick meant to sell a vacuum cleaner, or “magic” spray of some kind. In reality, the easiest, most effective methods of removing stains are also the oldest. If you’ve got some sack towels around, consider their absorbency. Spray any stain with a 3:1 water to vinegar ratio and press a sack towel against it. With time, the liquid from the carpet will transfer to the sack towel.
Streaks are the worst. Cleaning a 3×3′ window always seems to take longer than cleaning a 3×3′ piece of anything else. Glass has to look just right in order for our eyes to get the most out of it. Ever try cleaning glass with a napkin, for example? Or a piece of cotton, like a shirt? If so, you may have found frustration in the appearance of little strands of hair on the window. These tiny strands are lint from the cotton, or shreds of paper towel. Not only do they look unappealing at first, but with time, they will begin to accumulate even more dust. With sack towels, which do not lint or “shed,” you can get a perfect window with no streaks or fibers.
Those are just three examples. Be on the lookout for more out-of-the-box ideas for flour sack towels coming soon on the blog. A lot of the list gets even more creative than what you see above.
Have your own experience with sack towels? Share below!