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Story: Unpaid domestic work

Sacking apron

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Sacking apron

Aprons made from sacking, rather than the usual cotton fabric, were common during the economic depression of the 1930s and the Second World War. This apron has been made from a sack that originally contained glycerol monostearate, a common emulsifier for foods and cosmetics. Like many sacking aprons, it is trimmed with fabric, in this case probably the remnants left from making curtains.

Using this item

Kerryn Pollock

by Marguerite Hill

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How to cite this page

Matt Morris, Unpaid domestic work – Making clothes and preserving food, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/23329/sacking-apron (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Matt Morris, published 4 March 2010.