unraveling blanket

[Matt Woodburn]

Re: unraveling blanket

Save the yarn and darn your worn socks. That's what I did at an event when my toes were poking through and I had a few bits of blanket yarn.

[Beaner]

Re: unraveling blanket

Here's a simple solution to your probelm and it's historically correct. You need to run a stitched seam across the ends of blanket. It needs to be a close stitched seam. The blanket will fray up to the stitch and not beyond it. If you look at originals you will discover that some of them will have this stitch line across the ends. I have the same blanket and have not had a probelm since I did this.
Sam Billingsley
4thTexas Co. E

[toptimlrd]

Re: unraveling blanket

Some of you may giggle at this, but if you've read some of the more basic works out there, you'll know it to be true.

Save the ravels as you remove them, and consider using them to affix your initials to items of contrasting color, such as another blanket, or a canteen, or anything else that may seem to be worthy of identifying. A nice piece of yarn is too good to just throw away. In the absence of rack numbers on most equipment these days, well, sometimes this is a good idea, period correct, and something to do in camp with a large eye needle, large thorn, or even a fish bone. Just a thought.

Soooo, I'm not the only lunatic that saves the unraveled ends of my blanket huh? They have come in handy several times, one of the most unique was when I lost the tie to my canteen stopper (don't ask me how, I still haven't figured it out, I looked down and all I had was the cork and top ) so I twisted four or five together as a make do until I could get some proper cord.

[Charles Heath]

Re: unraveling blanket

A few months ago, the topic of Bryce Workman's repop blankets made for a good thread, and while that information is now GWTW, this online article is worthy of a good read as basic blanket background info, even if it is several decades prior to the CW.

http://www.revwar75.com/library/rees/variety.htm

Anyway, I found it interesting, and hope you do too.

[weed]

Re: unraveling blanket

Basically everything that could be said has been. In my collection, my ORIGINAL blanket has raw edges with the US, in Gothic Style. The US was done in about 4 differant ways. For repros, I have both styles of blankets done by Charlie Childs m1851 & m1861, 4 blankets from the Wisconsin Vet's Museum (2 never taken out if the packages yet) and 1 from the Minnesota State Historical Society. Obviously all have raw edges. Never gave it a second thought as it it is totally correct. The most intesesting one I own/use is one used by the Swiss Army a number of years ago. It is dark brown with light brown end stripes. I call it my daguerreotype blanket (backwards). Got it for $5.00. I use it a lot and unless I point out the backwardsness of it, nobody even notess it. I too use the "loose ends" to put my initials on (i.e. - Si Klegg):)

John Wedeward

[brown]

Re: unraveling blanket

Blanket yarn has both marked a blanket with my name and darned a sock. I still have a little left in case another need arises...

[JosephRoman]

Re: unraveling blanket

It is shown in Echos of Glory that at least one Union Officer did indeed stitch the ends of his blanket.

[ScottCross]

Re: unraveling blanket

Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine when the edge stitching would have been done on a blanket: during the war, or more likely, during its long service in a home following the war.