Posted on 12 Comments

What can I do with this vintage flour sack quilt?

I wanted to share with y’all a vintage, flour sack quilt I found at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago. It’s made from undecorated flour sacks and pink muslin.

The flour sack print has faded badly and the pink has faded to almost white. There are also some stains in the middle.

Can you make out the word “Allied”?

And I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Belisk flour.

But most of the sack print is on backward!

And yep. I had to shell out three whole smackeroos. I’m sure the ladies having the sale, who were in their 70s and 80s, were shaking their heads in wonder as I left. What would she want with that old thing? And I was wishing I’d got there earlier.

So now. What am I to do with this? Make pillows? A chair seat? Leave it as is? Unquilt it to expose the right side of the print? It will be hard to cut out around some of the best print. If it were yours, what would you be inclined to do with it? If you know me well enough, you know it’ll be a long time before I get around to tackling it, so I can entertain ideas for quite awhile.

12 thoughts on “What can I do with this vintage flour sack quilt?

  1. I would worrk on the stain with Oxiclean and soak the whole thing in warm water with oxi in it and maybe leave it whole if the stain came out and it probably will.

  2. What can you do?….Send it to ME!!!! Lol!…Not happening huh? Well then I’d leave it just the way it is. Fabulous! I’m green with envy! Vanna

  3. You can send it to me. I adore old quilts and especially feed sack ones. I would let your pretty little kitty use it for now or snuggle up with it yourself. No need to use it as a cutter unless it is shredding in places. Or, you can send it to MEEEEEEEE. Sea Witch

  4. I think all you need to do is give it a good wash like Olive stated there ^^^ and leave it just like that! It would look great as a bed rug , or on an armchair in the bedroom.
    cheers from australia

  5. You could sell it to me for …? đŸ˜‰
    I would make a dolls bodies out of it, girls and animals…it would be adorable.
    Other ideas I want to try and you might too. How about placemats?
    A little toddler’s jacket? That would be so soft and sweet!

  6. Kitty likes the guilt! Actually, all quilt lovers, as myself, would clean as Olive said and just hang on to it. It was a very good find. Check into some of the names on the quilt to get a time period!

  7. Kitty likes the quilt! Actually, all quilt lovers, as myself, would clean as Olive said and just hang on to it. It was a very good find. Check into some of the names on the quilt to get a time period!

  8. I vote on pillows, am I too late? What did you do?

    Marie @ Lemondrop ViNtAge I’m having a giveaway…

  9. Wanda, I love your blog…mainly because I love “old stuff”. The quilt appears to be made with a Ballard Obelisk Flour sack. The word that appears to be “allied” is actually Ballard. My grandmother always used this flour…a Southern soft-milled flour. It was headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and founded by the Ballard brothers. My husband worked for The Pillsbury Company, which purchased Ballard and Ballard in the 1950’s One more thing in common…I love Diana Gabaldon’s books!

  10. Would love to know if you still have the quilt. Our family owns the Ballard & Ballard Obelisk Flour Building in Memphis. The building is turning 100 this year & I am trying to collect artifacts to display. Please let me know if interested. Thank you!

    1. That’s so cool! And I think it’s wonderful y’all are preserving the building. Too many of our old buildings have been lost along with their history. But I don’t want to part with the quilt. I love it! I’m sorry. I tend to get attached to stuff. But… hmmm…. I suppose I could trade it for a few thousand dollars. LOL I’m kidding, of course. I can’t let it go for its true, honest value, though. I’m not sure I could even get a good picture of it for you. Good luck with your endeavor!

      1. I understand completely! Me too! As with this old building. Thanks so much for your kind response.

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