Monday, September 21, 2009

Bread Keepers!

Perhaps you may remember this post over at my 'Parables' blog?
Well, I finally decided what I wanted to make with these
wonderful flour sacks I got from Sharon!
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I made 'Bread Keepers'
for storing homemade loaves of bread!
(If you are interested, you can find them
in my Etsy Store!)
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After washing the sacks (I forgot to try to 'set' the color! :~O

But I like the slightly faded, vintage look.)

I removed the original stitching, which took a long time

as the chain stitching did not pull off like the top of feed sacks!

I "french seamed" the sides so no fraying threads

would stick to the bread, and the more finished seams

help prevent bread crumbs from hiding!
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I 'boxed' the corners...
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...so the bread keeper would fit around

the bread a little more easily.
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I used some of the flour sack fabric to make drawstrings.
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Baked some bread to try them out.
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Experimented to see how fresh the bread stayed.

Works perfect alone for crusty bread.

I did a little research to find out how bread used to be stored

'in the olden days' before plastic.

I am trying to do without plastic in my home.

I found that IF there was any bread left, the cut edge of a loaf was placed

down onto a cutting board and this prevented the cut surface from

drying out.

(I think I prefer to have my food covered so any critter that may happen to be flying about my kitchen doesn't have use of my homemade bread as a landing strip for feet that have been who knows where! Did you know that flies taste with their feet? Ugh!
Somebody please remind me why God created flies? Oh yeah ~ food for the spiders! Yikes!

Why spiders? I know, I know ~ to eat the flies! :~D)


I used a sheet of waxed paper wrapped around my loaf

and stored in the bread keeper.It did keep the cut loaf soft for several days

until it was used up!

And if there were more than two of us, the bread wouldn't

last that long!

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I hope you will try making one of these handy storage bags!

If you don't have access to new flour sacks, you might try

vintage ones (well washed), linen or some other

tightly woven cotton fabric for your

Eco conscious 'Bread Keeper'!

14 comments:

Lori said...

Oh I love it! You could not have chosen anything better to make with those towels!! They're so prettiful. I'm sending this link to a friend. :)

Nadine said...

What a wonderful idea! I just got around to washing mine. I washed them in cool water and dried them on the line, so the color did not fade too much, but they did shrink up a bit.
I was planning on sewing some aprons with them - using the sack as the top half and adding fabric for the skirt half and ties.
I wished we had a mill like the one near Sharon's place up here in Western Washington, wouldn't that be fun!?!

Blessings!
~Nadine

Sharon said...

Raeann,

The bread bags look great! I love them :) I will have to try some when I start sewing :)

Have a blessed day!

Love,
Sharon

Rose said...

The flour sack bread bags are a wonderful idea! I will have to look at your Etsy Shop! God bless, Rose

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Dear Lady Farmer,

These Bread Keepers are just wonderful. Not just functional, but so sweet to see. I love the vintage look as well. Your tutorial is great too as well as the photography! :)

Take care, dear blogging friend!

The Watts Family said...

Those turned out wonderful and look great! What a great idea~Blessings Heather :D

lady m said...

Oh they look great! I am so glad that you are doing them ;-)

Mine have been used and reused. They really have kept the bread tasty and they look so pretty when you take them out of the breadbox!

blessings dear friend,

lady m

Jennifer said...

Such a great idea...they look so cute! I'm with you, though...I think I'd need my food wrapped first:) And I have NO IDEA why there are flies! :)

Greg and Donna said...

Those are a great idea and I love the vintage look. Could you give dimensions on the cuts of fabric?

Flies, termites, roaches, etc. I really don't know the purpose of any of them.

Regan Family Farm said...

Great idea for reducing plastic bags...any idea on whether or not the cloth bags would work in the freezer? My guess is the bread will get freezer burn...
Blessings~
Kathy

Sharon said...

What a great idea! Did you know that you can get "natural" waxed paper? It is the color of kraft paper. I also think these would be lovely to give loaves of bread to friends! Thanks for the great idea!
Sharon

Rose of Sharon said...

Those are so very cute! What a clever idea to put your bread in them! Thanks for your comment today!

Have a great weekend!

Sharon

The B's said...

What a splendidly handy idea!

The B's said...

Oh, and here's my thot on the purpose of flies: (I think meine schwester will agree)

They take care of waste, like little garbage disposals. Rotten potatoes to some ~ tasty snack to a fly or "fly junior" (just couldn't bring myself to name it).

Grissom =)