The first time you bring a large bag of grain home, you may not understand how to open it. It may surprise you that these bags were designed to be easy to open. Whether you're brewing your own beer or you like to buy grains in bulk, you're likely to come across these large canvas bags with stitching across the top. Grain bags are sewn shut across the top with a locking chain stitch. Once you know how to open the bags without spilling grain everywhere, it will be smooth sailing.
Step 1
Set the sack firmly on the ground with the stitched end facing up. Look closely at the stitching at the top of the feed sack. One side of the stitching has a flat single running stitch, while the other side will look knotty or looped. The side withe the flat stitching is often the front of the bag.
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Step 2
Stand behind the feed bag with the looped or knotted stitched side of the bag facing you and the single running stitched side facing away.
Step 3
Grasp the corner of the bag to your right and with a scissors or knife, cut off the chain of stitches that extend past the edge of the bag.
Step 4
Pull the stitches of the just-cut end apart with the point of a knife, scissors or your fingers until you have unraveled enough of the string to reach the fabric of the grain sack.
Step 5
Grasp the end of the flat running stitched string in your left hand and the loopy string in your right. Pull the strings away from each other. The stitching on the bag should unravel across the top, leaving you with an open grain sack.
Tip
Depending on the size of the bag, you also can straddle the bag. Place the single running stitches on your left and the knotted loopy stitches on your right.
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