Just prior to WWII & in the early days before they ran out of them, feed/seed companies put some things [chicken mash?] in lovely printed sacks, which were designed so the fabric could be used afterwards.  Some were rather rough textured, but others were like linen.  My aunt choose the ones she thought we could use. 

My mother used some rough textured ones to make Raggedy Ann & Andy Halloween costumes [bought some plain blue for Andy's cap/pants], which she & my father wore to a party.  I then used them, & eventually, our children wore them.  My sundresses one summer were made of sacks.  Can't remember them, but I think there were 3, one of which looked like a designer print----very small purple scarves on an off-white background.  A woman on the bus scolded my mother for using such good fabric for a child's  dress. 

Well, with the war in Europe going on by then, tho we weren't officially in it yet, it was getting hard to purchase good color-fast fabric or ready-mades, because prior to that time, the US got the dyes from Germany.  It was a big deal when analin dyes [made from coal] came out in the late 40's/early 50's. 

Another way my mother got good fabric was to make things from the large areas of worn adult garments.  I had blouses from shirt tails, skirts/slacks from pants legs, ballet dress for lessons from an old prom dress, etc.  Plus, I had skirts made from older kids' clothing.  The coats were not changed, except for hems/sleeves----just saved until they fit.  Not everyone did this, but people knew she was able, so gave her their good castoffs to work with, rather than just selling them to the paper/rags man who came around. 

"In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."                                             

 CS