Cravats Worn by the Working Class.

[AZReenactor]

So you made a cravat based on supposistion and speculation and are now looking for validation for this creation? Seems that is backwards from how this end of the hobby generally tries to do things, don't you think...

Does anybody have reference to a pretied cravat with a button closure? I made one just for fun, and I'd like to know if there are any references for that kind of cravat. I'll post pics of the one I made once I get home....

thanks,

[Busterbuttonboy]

Just some paintings from William Sidney Mount. Nothing of extreme significance.

http://www.tfaoi.com/am/2am/2am238.jpg
The Herald in the Country, 1853

http://www.tfaoi.com/am/2am/2am239.jpg
Long Island Farmer Husking Corn, 1833-34

http://www.historylink101.com/art/Wi...ges/522045.jpg
Farm Yard- Cravat Usage

http://www.tfaoi.com/cm/5cm/5cm17.jpg
Younger Fella on the right, shortly returned from hunting

[tater_cuffie]

Yup, I know I made it backwards, I really wasn't even planin on usin it for Civil War stuff..... I actually made it for modern day life just to mess around with, but I made it out of period correct materials such, all handstitched and figured that if I could find documentation, I would wear it. Before I made it, I did consult one of my pards and described what I wanted to do. He said that he's seen ones just like what I described but I'd like to see the original for my self as possible....

[PogueMahone]

I am straining my brain here trying to recall this correctly, but it seems that within the past few months I have seen an image on this forum of some military men and one of them is wearing a cravat with a shirt designed to have a paper collar attached, but he has no collar and the tie actually appears to be tied about his bare neck.

Enjoying the discussion immensely and would also like to see the triangluar cravat folding instructions. I'm wondering if the cravat should be ironed flat at the folds to help it hold it's shape or not?

Ian,

I'm under the impression that the most common cravat during the CW period would have been silk. Based on something you said earlier, are cotton and linens also appropriate? I abandoned my old black cotton cravat thinking it was improper. I'd love to feel comfortable wearing it, as it was comfortable to wear.

thanks,

[lukegilly13]

'Nother thought I had....
Were cravats custom made to fit a certain person's neck size or to give longer "tails" hanging below the knots? If this is the case then original cravat sizes may vary.

[Pvt Schnapps]

I am straining my brain here trying to recall this correctly, but it seems that within the past few months I have seen an image on this forum of some military men and one of them is wearing a cravat with a shirt designed to have a paper collar attached, but he has no collar and the tie actually appears to be tied about his bare neck.

Enjoying the discussion immensely and would also like to see the triangluar cravat folding instructions. I'm wondering if the cravat should be ironed flat at the folds to help it hold it's shape or not?

Ian,

I'm under the impression that the most common cravat during the CW period would have been silk. Based on something you said earlier, are cotton and linens also appropriate? I abandoned my old black cotton cravat thinking it was improper. I'd love to feel comfortable wearing it, as it was comfortable to wear.

thanks,

The catalog of the Great Exhibition of 1851 mentions checked cotton cravats manufactured in Glasgow (p. 75); Richard Cobden, the Apostle of Free Trade (1865), mentions a man in a light cotton cravat -- there are many hits for such on Google Books, including an article in Punch in 1845 that mentions "a man in a light cotton cravat and no shirt-collar, who looks very like a butler out of place." I see references to a figured cotton cravat, a yellow cotton cravat, and green cotton cravat, etc.

Silk cravats may have been all the rage, but there were cotton ones, and even linen, as in this description of a preacher from Wars of the Western Border (1856):

"Their minister was certainly a study, he had just such a face and air as a clever artist might have chosen to characterize the bell-wether of some hill-hiding Covenanter flock la short, it was stern, hard, and uncompromising. Nor was his garb less singular, for he sported (may we be forgiven for the phrase), a snuffy-brown coat, of strange and antiquated cut, which bore but too evident tokens of long and not over careful usage. The continuations were of yellowish-grey cloth, with stove-pipe legs, built like an Irishman's hurricane, 'straight up and down,' and encased below the knees in serviceable-looking buckskin riding-leathers, well stained with Missouri mud; add to these a pair of buffalo overshoes, a surprising shirt collar, and a wonderfully starched linen cravat, whose complicated folds and puritanical stiffness would have broken a 'New York washerwoman's heart at first sight,' and you will have a very accurate delineation of this reverend gentleman's outer man. We must not forget, however, a pair of wide-bowed horn spectacles which divided their time between the top of his venerable head, and the bridge of an independently cocked-up nose, thereby adding not a little to the grotesqueness of this somewhat unclerical tout ensemble."

But you know me. I wear my cotton cravat with a pair of blue spectacles.

[Ian McWherter]

Cotton and linen are common for cravats, though you'll find far more references to pre-Civil War cotton and linen cravats. Cambric and lawn were popular for linen cravats, if you plan on using any cotton or linen make sure it's very lightweight, nothing generally heavier than handkerchief weight.

Cravat sizes will vary depending on the knot style. Some will require greater length than others.

Here are some pics showing how to basically fold an early style cravat. This was the common method for folding these before the Civil War, so keep that in mind. By the time of the Civil War cravats like these would have been less common and would have been seen largely on old timers. As with anything make sure you thoroughly research every part of your impression to make sure it's time period appropriate, as well as class, age, etc. A cravat style popular in 1850 may not necessarily be correct for 1860.

I apologize if the images aren't as clear as they could be, some of the folds may be a little hard to see. I didn't have the time to spend all day getting this perfect.

I started with a 45" square piece of very lightweight silk. The square was divided in half on the diagonal forming two triangles (each square will make two cravats). The edges were then hand felled creating what you see in the picture:


The cravat should then be soaked in heavy starch. When dry the material should be very stiff. You'll be using an iron to make the folds. I wanted my cravat to be 3" tall around my neck, the depth of the folds you make will depend on how tall you want your cravat to be. The top edge of the cravat was folded 6" for the first fold the bottom edge was folded 3":


Continue folding the top edge down 3":


Keep folding the top edge down 3" at a time:


Finally the the top will fold over the bottom fold:


Now iron the edges of the part of the cravat to be tied towards each other. This will make the ends easier to tie and form a neat knot. The part of the cravat that will go around your neck will remain 3" or however tall you decide to make it:


Now you're ready to tie your cravat, have fun.

[lukegilly13]

Ian,
Your information is VERY much appreciated! Thank you for your generosity in sharing this!

[61' reb]

Mr. McWherter, your information has proven very beneficial. Thank You for sharing your information!

[Pvt Schnapps]

I join others in thanking you for that, Mr. McWherter.

It's interesting to see what other information is out there, too. I found, for example, that if I extended my searches to "neck cloth" and "neck-tie" hundreds more references pop up in the 1840-1870 timeframe, with a variety of materials. I've attached one as especially amusing -- an 1861 paper neck-tie. This would probably work fine with a paper collar; I do wonder how it would stand up to a steel enamel one, though.