My mom and I have always gone to flea markets, and we couldn’t pass by an abandoned house without stopping in for a little time-travel. Even a good trash picking was never a source of embarrassment. Dumpster diving in ‘work clothes’? Not a problem. Giving rescued objects a new life after so many decades of idleness is irresistable – especially in our throwaway society.
Years ago I met an old woman at a flea market who was a designer for Wanamaker’s Department Store. She was selling scrap from decades past. I loved visiting her booth for her stories and her textiles, and I made many clothes for myself from her castaways. And then there was the Rementer House where Flossie and Jack had neatly arranged their early years (clothing, dishes, Christmas cards, photographs, boy scout uniforms, &c) into the attic of their home in the ’50s. I found it decades later and rescued many treasures, including my first tiny fabric time capsule – a small bundle from the early 1900s. It contained a larger outer piece and many small pieces wrapped within. No piece was too tiny to save. I used them as trimming for my journal edges – something we now do at Peg and Awl with all of our journals.
I’ve since found many more bundles, as well as feed sacks made of the very same textiles that could be found in clothing catalogs of the time (the farmer’s wife and daughters would make clothes, curtains and kitchen towels from them), and other scraps (with selvage) ranging in width from 24″ to 44″ (the loom width helps to determine the age of the textiles).
This Summer Pouch collection is made from found bundles, feedsacks, and scraps from the late 1800s to the 1960s. They are limited to the number of pouches we were able to make from each piece. We’ve lined each one with waxed canvas. The Essential style is finished with vintage zippers, and the rest with black YKK zippers. Browse the collection now, and sign up for our newsletter to be notified when it becomes available next week!
Enjoy!
