Homemade Gear

[tsgalloway]

Re: Homemade Gear

Hey Tristen
The fly is still as it was. I dont have the time to fix it.After I move I think I am going to try another pair of trousers

Funny. You missed a good time at the Ft. this past weekend. Hopefully this will become an annual immersion event.

[gilham]

Re: Homemade Gear

Hey Tristen
The fly is still as it was. I dont have the time to fix it.After I move I think I am going to try another pair of trousers

[BigRonFH]

Re: Homemade Gear

True, there are definately SOME items I would never even consider making. But many, many soldiers on both sides carried homemade quilts, wore home-sewn shirts, used home-made poke bags, etc. And if you are married to an expert seamstress, such as my wife, it is only logical that she make some of these items. Besides, seeing that she IS an expert seamstress and CAN make some of the items as good as some of these sutlers (and many of them can take a lesson or two from her), why pay $180 for a simple pair of trousers or drawers?

Ron Hopkins
Co. D, 13th US Inf.
Sioux Falls, SD

[RJSamp]

Re: Homemade Gear

I have been there. It always feels like I end up spending more on the stuff I am trying to make than if I just bought it from a vendor. But that never seems to stop me. I have made three shirts and my last one wasn't bad.

Am sure you guys are into the 'crafting' aspects of sewing your own. There are many males in today's society who needlepoint, knit, cross stitch, quilt, etc. A great stress reliever, and although habit forming it's usually not dangerous to one's health (carpal tunnel always a possibility of course). I'm just not sure why all of the effort?

The difference in a brick wall crafted by a mason who has 10+ years of experience versus a Do-It-Yourselfer with a few lectures at Home Depot/Lowe's is truly astounding. Efficiency, consistency, speed, and final results mean no comparison between the learned master versus the apprentice.

Do we think that a non-expert hand sewer with three attempts at making a fatigue blouse can even come close to what a contract seamstress could produce during the American Civil War? Raised in an environment where hand stitching was the norm/taught at an early age.....do we think that we can approach the finished product of someone who has been sewing for 10-30 years and has just produced their 2,000 SA JT Martin linned coat?

The Doctor of producing period cavalry trumpets, Richard Seraphinoff at Indiana University, has a course on making instruments using period methods and materials. The end result of the course for each student is a finished trumpet. The goal, for reenacting bugling, was to make 100+ bugles, and 50+ trumpets.... so did we attempt to learn the art of instrument making? No, we hired the experts who had made a few hundred/thousand instruments, sent the specs to them, analyzed the protypes, and chose the final model. The master crafted the production, not the apprentices. The results were dozens of low cost, superb playing, much more authentic instruments in the hands of reenactors....and a reduction in the number of 'sutler' quality-made-in-India bugles.

There was a time that many of the item's that can be purchased today from higher quality vendor's couldn't be bought. Knapsack weekends and hard tack bakes served a nice niche and were a productive unit meeting/activity. We don't see tons of reenactors trying to learn how to Non-EPA approve hot dip tin plates (Wisconsin Veterans Museum tinware is the greatest!). Now, many items can simply be bought.

Time is money. Making a one or three off item is rarely cheaper, more authentic, or efficient..... it might be fun from a 'craft' experience....or for experiencing a period trade.... but personally I'd rather see the master's produce 500 fatigue blouses than have 400 apprentice sewer's make 500 fatigue blouses.

Maybe you'all are listening to the drum beats and bugle calls and singing along with period music to improve your impressions why you're sewing??

[BigRonFH]

Re: Homemade Gear

Kirby,
Never mind. Found it! Thanks again!

Ron Hopkins
Co. D, 13th US Inf
Sioux Falls, SD

[BigRonFH]

Re: Homemade Gear

Try Charlie Childs kersey material. I've used it to make two pair of trousers, its easy to work. I'm not an expert on material by any means but it comes damn close to originals I've seen, proper weight and everything.

regards,

Kirby,
Thanks for the info. Is there an address or site for this Charlie Childs? I'd really like to get some of that material. Gotta keep the wife sewing, ya know. Haha! (Please don't tell her I said that.)

Ron Hopkins
Co. D, 13th US Inf
Sioux Falls, SD

[VA-Patriot'61]

Re: Homemade Gear

Somewhat on the same subject, anyone know where to get the blue kersey material for Federal trousers?

Try Charlie Childs kersey material. I've used it to make two pair of trousers, its easy to work. I'm not an expert on material by any means but it comes damn close to originals I've seen, proper weight and everything.

regards,

[tsgalloway]

Re: Homemade Gear

Brian
Like the rest said keep at it. My first project was way over my head. I made a pair of civilian trousers and a shirt one week before an event.I finished the trousers just a few hours before the event. I should have taken my time making them though. The shirt was fine but by Sunday morning after a weekend of marching things started coming undone. Good luck. And keep at it.

He isn't kidding when he wrote "undone." How is that fly holding up, Russ?

[BigRonFH]

Re: Homemade Gear

Been there, done that! My hat is off to you. Fortunately, I married a wonderful woman who is such a wonderful seamstress, I count my blessings. Her shirts are the greatest! Somewhat on the same subject, anyone know where to get the blue kersey material for Federal trousers? I sometimes feel as though I'd have better luck searching for the Ark of the Covenant!

Ron Hopkins
Co. D, 13th US Inf
Sioux Falls, SD

[Jim Moffet]

Re: Homemade Gear

Keep at it - it gets easier! I've been making repop garments and gear for 35 years and each project improves both my knowlegde of the material culture and my skills. Now if only my eyes would stop 'going south' so I could do fine hand work without the opti-visor!

Remember that there are 3 ESSENTIAL features of authentic reproductions:

1. PATTERN
2. MATERIALS
3. CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

All have to be right, or the end results will not be. This is where so many shoddy sutler items fail in atleast one category (sometimes all three:angry_smi).

Once you start making your own 'stuff,' you will never walk through a museum or collection the way you used to. You'll discover details that you never saw before, and will have many "AH HAH!" moments. You will find yourself on your knees or on your back looking UNDER the item in the museum case. Make friends with collectors, and CAREFULLY examine the original garments and items in their collections for construction techniques and to know what proper materials look like. You can also contact the curators at a museum and request to see specific items in the collection to closely examine them - bring a digital camera, notepad, ruler and pencil! Not all will grant your request, but it is always recommended to get detailed data off originals before launching into a reproduction!

Once you get proficient at hand sewing, I recommend the Past Patterns civilian shirt pattern - it's not a good beginner item, but is great at teaching many of the standard tailoring techniques used in hand sewn garments in our period. It has 2 different shirts, one from the Hennepin County Historical Society - which is pretty 'typical,' and another that's a bit stranger, but taken off an original shirt. And if you are going to make several shirts, find a copy of Bill Brown's wonderful book Thoughts on Men's Shirts in America 1750-1900. Bill is truly one of the first "Authentic Campaigners" and the book will really teach you about how shirt making techniques evolved in the 19th Century.

Remember the old admonition - "Before every event, you should look at your kit and do something to improve your impression." Once you have mastered the needle, keeping this promise to the past is lots easier!

Jim Moffet

[gilham]

Re: Homemade Gear

Brian
Like the rest said keep at it. My first project was way over my head. I made a pair of civilian trousers and a shirt one week before an event.I finished the trousers just a few hours before the event. I should have taken my time making them though. The shirt was fine but by Sunday morning after a weekend of marching things started coming undone. Good luck. And keep at it.

[rand19th]

Re: Homemade Gear

Brian,
Yes keep at it for sure. When I asked my wife to show me how to use her sewing maching, she looked at me like I was a bit more off than usual, but she did and I completed a couple of poke sacks and moved onto a pair of drawers which did not turn out too bad. Now I am going to make a shirt, so I have a bit more confidence going into the shirt project. It is well worth the effort I put forth to make these items and I will progress to more over time. Self fulfillment when completing a project is great.
Randy Pesut

[HOG.EYE.MAN]

Re: Homemade Gear

Quick question to go with my previous homemade gear thread...
I have a sutler grade sack coat ( I also have a really good one too! ). Taking my sutler grade and hand stitching the buttonholes and top seams, will this make this coat pass muster? The material is pretty good, it is the finishing that is poor. This coat will not be used often, mostly just as a backup or something of the sort.

After its all said and done, it will still be a sutler grade sack coat.

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2831&highlight=Defarb

Forget about defarbing....

[Secesh]

Re: Homemade Gear

I, too, tried sewing some things once...then I realized I could save a heck of a lot of time if I just bought the d*mn thing!!! Good luck in your endeavors and best regards!

[btfire]

Re: Homemade Gear

Well, perhaps taking it apart and just sewing it back together will be good practice for making some better stuff in the future. As much as I get angry when sewing, I love it. Thanks...