apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It looks great but when I read the words "vintage" and "sack" all I can imagine is that the old fiber would break down very quickly. Especially in a heavy use item like a chair. That would be a shame so you may want to reconsider the fabric choice.

If the bags are printed canvas, you'll be fine. If they are burlap, it may look good, but wouldn't be very practical. I searched ebay for some French feed sacks and they aren't cheap. I, too, would like to try an upholstery project with them.

I've seen big 25 lb. sacks of rice in grocery stores in Boston's Chinatown. They aren't burlap, but I don't know whether the fabric (it's white with lettering) is strong enough for upholstering.

Worth trying some ethnic grocery stores, though.

If the fabric looked good, you could donate the rice to a Boston food bank before the Holidays. It's usually sealed in plastic inside the fabric bag, so it would be easily done.

I'd get the fabric you want and either paint, embroider or silkscreen on the feed sack lettering. Sturdier fabric and then you can control the placement of the letters and design.

Personally, I'd get it commercially embroidered as it's far more interesting.

What about hemp? Dharma Trading has a couple of options that look nice and you can swatch before you commit.

http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3582-AA.shtml?lnav=fabric.html

http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3581-AA.shtml?lnav=fabric.html

try etsy!

I second the silk screen feed details on a high quality fabric suggestion, especially with a large, tricky piece to upholster.

thank you so much for all the feedback! i am aiming for canvas, not burlap... i figured that since canvas is pretty sturdy (but not too rough) and the fabric's original function was to get beat up in shipment while protecting its contents, it would be pretty sturdy.

i don't want brand new fabric for this; i kind of like the idea of working with a repurposed item and whatever typography or advertising has already been included. i think that gives it a history. (the couch itself, i discovered while stripping it, is original 1880s, so i would like the covering to be a little eclectic. it's a really special piece.)

sadly, though, i'm allergic to hemp! i called pod (supplier of the mailbags on jeanine's chair) and they are all out, but i've been getting some pretty cool suggestions - even old sailcloth, which would be really interesting if it were printed.

I noticed that the bottom seat of the chair is not upholstered in the feed sack material. This is probably the part that gets the most wear so while it might have been a design decision or it might have also been a structural decision.

Try hunting for vintage mailbags on ebay. Sometimes you can find some for fairly cheap and the material is almost always some type of canvas. I would feel much safer buying mail bags from ebay then feed bags as those tend to be in more "falling apart" condition. But that's just from what I've seen.

Flea markets!!!

oooh, good call, cdw. i'm checking with a friend of mine who lives on a sailboat now to see what the story is on the cape with worn out sails?

anosila, here is the million dollar boston question: where are the good flea markets here? that is one area where i have completely failed to make inroads; i don't know where to go for that sort of thing and it stinks! i should change that immediately.

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