Nancy Bess Had A Dress Releases Today!

Waste not, want not! A patterned flour sack becomes a clever creation in this story set in the late 1930’s featuring a crafty girl with a gift for repurposing her favorite daisy print.

When the family flour sack is emptied, Nancy Bess remakes it into a dress. But little girls grow as little girls do, and soon that dress is too small. Bit by bit, Nancy Bess fashions the material into new creations, until finally, all that is left of the flour sack are a few tattered pieces. Peering into the family scrap basket, Nancy Bess comes up with a plan to use the material once more, sewing something special to last for generations.

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My story began when an author friend gave me a stack of quilt pieces found at a yard sale. When I learned that many of the fabrics came from flour sacks, I became intrigued by their history and knew that I would someday use them in a story.

Cloth bags were used to contain goods such as animal feed, sugar, rice, and flour. After the contents were used, thrifty seamstresses, quilters, and children used these sacks to make clothing, quilts, and household décor. During the depression years, women were especially thankful for this free source of fabric as they lived according to the saying, “make do or do without; do the best with what you’ve got.” Originally made of white cotton, manufacturers took notice of how they were being used and added doll and puppet patterns to the bags. In the late 1930s, manufacturers began producing sacks with colorfully designed fabrics which were repurposed into stylish clothing and other household goods.

The idea of thrift and “making do” reminded me of my grandmother, Nancy. She could make anything and was never wasteful. I based my main character on her, a plucky farm girl who is thrilled when she gets to choose a flour sack, that when emptied, will become a new dress. But “Nancy Bess grew as little girls do,” and before long, the dress was too small. Resourceful Nancy Bess repurposed her dress in creative ways, just like my grandmother.

Researching this book was fascinating. I read books, talked to the researchers, visited museums and collected first-hand stories of women who remembered their flour sack dresses. I found picture books with a similar theme of resourcefulness and reusing to use as mentor texts. I decided to emphasize the idea of “making do” which became a repeated phrase throughout the story, “Nancy Bess knew how to make do. She measured, cut, stitched, and saved the unused bits.”

I sent my manuscript to Sandra Sutter at Gnome Road Publishing during an open submission window in the fall of 2021. We arranged a call and discussed the story and the resourcefulness of women during the depression era. Fortunately, the manuscript was accepted, and I signed the contract in November of 2021.

The remarkable Angela C. Hawkins came aboard to illustrate the book. She spent months researching the time and setting. She asked perceptive questions to get everything right. The resulting book is beautiful with surprises on every page. Visit Angela’s Instagram page to learn how she researched and created the illustrations for Nancy Bess Had a Dress. Also, look for a little mouse hidden on each page.

I’m looking forward to sharing Nancy Bess Had a Dress with schools and libraries. There are wonderful teacher resources which can be used across the curriculum including social studies, math, and art. There are even paper dolls that can be stored in the pocket in the back of the book.

I am hoping that this picture book will encourage children to use what they have and to think how to creatively make new things from old. I also hope they will be inspired to ask their parents and grandparents what life was like for them when they were young.

 

More Resourceful Resources

Educators: Educators Resource Guide
Where to Purchase: Baker & Taylor   |   Amazon   |   Barns & Nobel
Bonus Material: Coloring Sheets    |    Paper Dolls Activity