Dear Stitching Friends,
One of the joys of working with reproduction fabrics is that every little print tells a story. This month we’ve been spending time with the fabrics of the Depression Era (1920-1950). These are some of the most loved fabrics in quilting, and for good reason. They are cheerful, practical, and filled with quiet optimism.
In the early 20th century (about 1910–1920), most American cottons were solids and yarn-dyed fabrics in soft, mid-tone pastels. Printed fabrics did exist, but many of the pastel dyes used by American mills were fugitive — they faded quickly with washing and sunlight. That all changed after World War I. As part of war reparations, Germany was required to release its advanced textile dye formulas, and American manufacturers suddenly had access to truly colorfast dyes. This sparked an explosion of new printed cottons.
Women embraced these dependable new colors. By the 1920s and 1930s, fabrics bloomed with lavender, yellow, pink, soft blue, peach, and gentle greens — all in light to medium values that worked beautifully for patchwork and appliqué. These weren’t harsh colors; they were friendly, optimistic, and meant to brighten everyday life.
You can see this shift clearly in period catalogs. A 1924 Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog is still dominated by dark, small-scale monochromatic prints, with just a sprinkling of double pinks and shirting-style lights. By 1926, there is a dramatic change — pages filled with mid-tone pastel prints, while the dark prints became supporting players. Quilts from the late 1920s and 1930s reflect this same transition.
Background fabrics changed as well. In the 1920s, backgrounds were often busy “light” prints with dots, stripes, and tiny fillers. In the 1930s, quilters moved toward cleaner off-whites and soft solids that let the cheerful prints shine. During the 1940s, some prints became more intense while others were “grayed down,” but light-to-medium values always ruled. During the war years (1941–1945), red, white, and blue quilts were especially popular.
Feed sacks became part of the story in 1937, when the Percy Kent Company printed the first decorated sacks. Suddenly everyday household goods came wrapped in pretty, usable cotton — a perfect example of Depression-era thrift meeting beauty. Alongside these prints were the beloved ginghams, plaids, and solids, including that unforgettable soft green so often used for setting blocks and sashing — the one many quilters simply call “that green.”
We’re especially excited right now because we have a brand-new fabric line in the shop that captures this entire era beautifully:
Darlene’s Favorites by Darlene Zimmerman — a true 1930s reproduction collection.
These prints perfectly echo the look and feel of original Depression-era fabrics, with happy florals, dots, geometrics, plaids, and soft solids in those classic light-to-medium pastel shades. The colors, scale, and charm are exactly what quilters loved in the 1930s — and what we still love today. We have yardage, Limited FQ Bundles and 2 quilt kits from this line available in the shop!.
To go along with these fabrics, we also still have copies of Darlene’s wonderful booklet,
Chicken Linen: Feedsack Facts and Projects by Darlene Zimmerman.
Affectionately known as the “Feedsack Lady,” Darlene shares both the history and the heart behind these iconic textiles. The booklet includes a rich section on feedsack history, explaining how these humble cotton bags became such an important part of everyday life and quilting during the Depression years. It also includes three charming projects: a Feedsack Scrappy Apron, a sweet 14½" x 16½" Feedsack Doll Quilt with appliqué and rickrack, and a playful Feedsack Fancy project that celebrates the whimsy of these prints.
And we have one more very exciting piece of news to share…
We are thrilled to announce that Darlene Zimmerman will be joining us in person on Friday, January 24 for our Support Your Local Quilt Shop Day Open House at ReproductionFabrics.com.
Join us as we celebrate this special day with a wonderful in-store event. At 10:30 AM, we will welcome Darlene to the shop. Designer, quilter, textile historian, and author, Darlene has been an integral part of the quilting world for more than a decade. She will be here to talk about her new fabric line, Darlene’s Favorites, and her booklet, Chicken Linen: Feedsack Facts and Projects.
This is a wonderful opportunity to hear directly from Darlene about the history behind feedsack fabrics, how her collection was created, and how these beloved prints can be used in quilts and sewing projects today.
We hope you’ll mark your calendar and come spend the day with us — celebrating quilts, fabrics, and the stories they tell.