Material for Shirts

[IsleGuy57]

Some friends and I are in the process of gearing up to got to Sharpsburg in the fall and we are considering local manufacture of as many items as can reasonably be done. We live in Eastern Canada and shipping on items can be extreme. Shirts and drawers seem to be some that we can have made here relatively easily.

My question is, what would be the type of material suitable for these items? A good, better, best indication would also be of great help. Getting all of our kit in a short period of time is pricey and any way we can find to economize would be a great help.

Thanks in advance.

[toptimlrd]

Wow, no easy answer there, shirts could be made from homespun cotton, osnaburg, domet flannel, muslin, even certain knit fabrics, etc. Drawers ditto, homespun cotton, osnaburg, or cotton flannel would all be appropriate. Beware of prints, although not completely unheard of, they are NUG not correct.

The main thing is to get a good patttern and once again there is no one size fits all pattern.

[IsleGuy57]

Ok then, as far as cotton fabric goes, would any type be suitable? The reason I am asking is that is know little or nothing about cloth of any sort. Is there a type that we should look for in particular or some that we should avoid? I am guessing that fabric stores in this area may not have osnaburg, muslin or domet flannel. That and price point is why I am leaning towards cotton for these items. Thanks Again

[toptimlrd]

Notice the modifier homespun. It is rare to find suitable shirting material at the local fabric store. You may want to send Ross Lamereaux a PM as he can probably point you in a better direction than me since I NUG buy any fabric I need from established sellers of period textiles (Nick Sekela, needle and thread, FHW, 96 District, etc.) and not a local store like Joannes.

[toptimlrd]

Although not local, here is a link to some shirting Nick has on his site. Something like this is what you should be looking for:

http://www.njsekela.com/OSCommerce/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=425&osCsid=r1frsue2fm3eeig5c4vhscei75

[marcaverill]

Can't go wrong with Wambaugh, White & Company. My favorite shirt is made from shirting I bought from them as well as an Osnaburg shirt too.

http://www.wwandcompany.com/fabrics-supplies/cotton-shirtings.html

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Sorry it took so long to reply (I've been busier than normal moderating the forum the last couple of days). Robert and Marc have offered up some good advice and good vendors to start. To go along with the advice I gave on shelter halfs, another book to look for within the topic of shirts is a book called "Thoughts on Men's Shirts" by William Brown. It too is out of print but still available through a number of sources. It gives detailed pictures of original shirts, with pattern advice, material choices, buttons, etc. It is the bible of 19th century shirts. That being said, shirts offer you a plethora of correct materials, most of which are available today. Wool flannel, cotton, linen, linsey woolsey, and cotton/linen are all materials used in period shirting - but for different purposes. If you're wanting to make the typical light shirt to be worn under a uniform, cotton and linen make more sense. If you're wanting what was called a bottom shirt (undershirt) flannel for winter and cotton or linen for summer work well. If you're wanting to make an overshirt (a looser outer garment shirt worn by laborer's or as another layer) wool flannel is your most used choice. For sources, NJ Sekela, 96 District Storehouse, Wambaugh and White, and Reproduction Fabrics are all good internet sources. Local quilting shops such as JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, and better yet the small "mom and pop" shops often offer excellent sources of woven plaids, stripes, prints, and solids. To assist in determing if a material looks "right", another handy reference book is called "Dating Fabric" (this book was designed for quilters but applies to reproduction shirting because it sorts originals swatches of material by decades). There is much to learn about proper shirting materials, more than can be posted on a forum, but this should give you a decent start to looking into what is "right"

[J. Donaldson]

Ross, can I ask a clarifying question based on what I'm going through. How do you determine that the weight of the fabric is appropriate? As an example, I make my own cotton shirts, and I've used the "homespun" cotton available in local fabric shops. However, I've noticed that the fabric seems to feel light to me, when compared with the shirtings I've seen used by others, especially those who have purchased material from Childs. What fabric weight should I look for in cotton shirtings? I've been struggling with this for a while now, and I can't seem to get a clear answer from those I've talked with.

Thanks, and sorry for hijacking the thread.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Ross, can I ask a clarifying question based on what I'm going through. How do you determine that the weight of the fabric is appropriate? As an example, I make my own cotton shirts, and I've used the "homespun" cotton available in local fabric shops. However, I've noticed that the fabric seems to feel light to me, when compared with the shirtings I've seen used by others, especially those who have purchased material from Childs. What fabric weight should I look for in cotton shirtings? I've been struggling with this for a while now, and I can't seem to get a clear answer from those I've talked with.

Thanks, and sorry for hijacking the thread.

There is no short answer to that, as shirtings of varied weights were used. I've looked at originals that were quite thin, close to the average JoAnn fabric homespuns, to weights that could be used for outer garments, and everything in between. A good "medium" weight, for what its worth, is offered by NJ Sekela and most of the older Family Heirloom Weavers offerings (if you can find anyone willing to part with it). Due to the fact that citizen's dress varied from the north or south, what timeframe of the war, whether the material was home produced or store bought, you'll run the spectrum when looking at originals. I've found that true homespun tends to run thicker, while mill produced and printed goods tended to run thinner. This isn't an absolute, just an observation based upon the originals that I've been able to look at. My best results in replicating shirts, particularly if handsewn versus a machine, is found when using good medium weights like those offered from the higher end sellers.

[toptimlrd]

Ross,

I agree on the weight when hand sewing. I just finshed doing some repair work on a friends shirt made from the lighter weight stuff you find at local fabric stores and it was not at all as easy as when I've worked on my own medium weight shirts. The slightly heavier weight seems to hold it's shape better and doesn't tend to pucker as easily when hand sewing. I've not found much difference when using a machine between the ease of sewing the two fabrics. New machine sewing anything with a nap is a different story.

Of course you have forgotten more about this topic than I will ever know but since it seems it is someone new to making their own stuff I thought I would present a rookie's perspective as well. I can do repair work and finishing, but I firmly believe that the actual making of a garment is best left to those who know what they are doing like you, Nick, and Joe. I've tried making a few things myself and I can tell you that setting a sleeve in is an art unto itself, now start adding darts and pleats and.................oh my.

[J. Donaldson]

THANK YOU! This is the type of answer that I've been looking for. I've handsewn shirts for about fifteen years, off and on, and it's only recently that I've started to question material weights and "feel." I really appreciate your help with this.

[doughboy]

Allow me to disagree a bit here. Sewing is something anyone can do with a little patience, a good pattern and correct material. There are a few basic stitches you need to know and cutting a pattern is fairly easy to learn. Best advice I ever received was if you don't like it, tear it out and redo it. Again it takes patience but that is a free commodity.

[toptimlrd]

Trust me, yes anyone can sew things; but sewing well is another. I can do it but it takes me forever and a day. Remember some people have talents others don't. In a former career I was a mechanic, now anyone can turn a wrench but the knowledge and skill of someone who does it day in and out can not be replicated unless you do it yourself day in and day out. I often got to work on those things that they had taken to their "friend the mechanic" and usually ended up undoing or redoing the job correctly. All I was saying is it is more cost effective for me to buy a finished or nearly finished garment that to go through the frustration of trying to make it myself with less than stellar results.