where to buy wool for sack coat?

[chatrbug]

im going to sew my husbands sack coat, but need to know where to buy the appropriate wool.. could someone lead me in the direction? i could also use the appropriate fabric for trousers. thank you!

[toptimlrd]

Check Charlie Childs http://www.crchilds.com/ or Family Heirloom Weavers http://www.familyheirloomweavers.com/ (you will likely have to call FHW to see what they have available, their website is directed more towards period carpeting.

[easttnfed]

also check with 96 district fabrics

[chatrbug]

thanks.. i see FHW has it, but its $34.50 a yd.. wonder how many yds im going to need for the sack coat. they also are out of stock on one of the colours i need.

[toptimlrd]

thanks.. i see FHW has it, but its $34.50 a yd.. wonder how many yds im going to need for the sack coat. they also are out of stock on one of the colours i need.

Word of advice, you get what you pay for. In thios hobby the better fabric is quite expensive as it is made in small runs by cottage industries. You can get cheaper fabric such as Woolrich, but then you are compromising the quality and getting an unnecessary amount of man made fibers. As to the number of yards, get a quality period pattern and it should tell you.

[chatrbug]

thanks..we are just starting out, so im trying to keep the costs down. i want something to get him to start with until we can get a bit more funds to upgrade some. is woolrich not good? its right down the street from me and i thought of checking there, but hadnt gotten that far since we have 6 inches of snow on the ground. if i can get it to last a yr or 2 for now, ill be happy. its already not cheap getting the 6 of us in the right clothes!

[toptimlrd]

thanks..we are just starting out, so im trying to keep the costs down. i want something to get him to start with until we can get a bit more funds to upgrade some. is woolrich not good? its right down the street from me and i thought of checking there, but hadnt gotten that far since we have 6 inches of snow on the ground. if i can get it to last a yr or 2 for now, ill be happy. its already not cheap getting the 6 of us in the right clothes!

Woolrich is what many of the mainline vendors use, but the weight, weave, and material content is not correct. I believe it contains 15% nylon which can also be a problem if to gets too close to the campfire. You may want to ask FHW for a swatch of their fabric then compare it to woolrich and I think you will see the difference.

[chatrbug]

thanks...i think im going to end up buying already made. i have the patterns which is why i was going to go the sewing route... but perhaps for now we will just go the buy it already made.

[toptimlrd]

I may have been in error on the woolrich. According to a very reliable source (thanks Terry) woolrich may be appropriate so please disregard what I stated earlier. I was basing this off of some more modern woolrich items I have and they may have a different line. I apologize for any error on my part.

[hiplainsyank]

I believe that the WOolrich is fine for trousers, but other weaves aren't?

Ben Tart has some sack coat flannel for sale now and is a reputable seller.

[chatrbug]

woolrich has their own line of civil war fabric that is supposed to be the same as it was when they started producing it. im just down the street from them, so i will stop in. the problem with that though is they want to sell it by the bolt... $300.. i dont want a whole bolt!!

it was also brought to my attention that sewing may not be accurate. i do have the patterns, and love sewing. i was also paying attention to the differences that were posted on a website, thought i would do this... but would a handsewn sack coat/trousers make it to where my husband would not be able to attend certain functions?

im checking out ben tart now... he does have unfinished products that are within our budget, so i just may go that route too. we are on a tight budget for getting started... i know on somethings i cant tighten the threads (such as on the rifle and brogans it seems!) but was hoping that i could on the clothing.

i do love the knowledge here though. and i do appreciate the dos and dont i have learned so far. its hard to step into something that you enjoy, but dont have a clue about on the details...guess we all have to start somewhere!

[Dave Myrick]

Assuming your husband is going to do a Federal impression, then a 100% hand stitched blouse and trousers would be correct only if made using the Schuykill Arsenal patterns. Based in Philadelphia, this arsenal shunned the machine construction methods employed by other arsenals. There are many theories about why they did this but they did none the less. For a fatigue blouse, the patterns varied little, maker to maker and it has been said that there was only one pattern with many variations on the construction details. That is not so much the case for trousers where the rear yoke, watch pocket and cuff facings varied from maker to maker.

As for who's wool to buy, it becomes a matter of personal prefernce. The key is to get the proper color, weight, and flannel weave for the body and lining. Pat Kline's, Charlie Childs' and Ben Tarts' work is top notch in all areas.

Other's milage may vary.
Dave Myrick

[Mich8th]

Number one you asked the question what to do and you got answers. If you are going to do a impression of a normal soldier then Woolrich will do but like the others said Ben Tart etc have it. Another option is get white wool and dye it yourself there are ways of doing it and you can find them in here on this fourm. Hand stitchiing was not always used, there were sewing machines during that time and some of the sack coats were sewn by them. The machine was a hand crank and it looks like it was hand sewn but done by a machine, most were hand stiched though. I started out with a CC sutler outfit and replaced when I could afford it. The main thing is get yourself started and enjoy this GREAT thing we all do which is tell the American public about the Good and Bad times of this era. Many people get envolved with counting threads and humbling others but if you want to do this then go for it and enjoy and when you can upgrade. I saw you had brogans and the musket and that alone is a great deal of $$$. The main thing is when you are at a reenactment then portray like a soldier or civilian of that period. IE no tennis shoes or plastic things in site of the public. It is easy to do and that is what some people here refer to as mainstreamers. I have said enough sorry about rambling but I just like to see people wanting to get involved and not be scared because of the cost of things. By the way my wife sews also and did some pretty darn nice things with a Dress for her and new duds for me. Enjoy

[toptimlrd]

Hand sewing is an option especially on Shuykill arsenal patterns. Charlie Childs sells pre cut kits as well which does make it easier. Do a little research and find the proper stitches to use (shouldn't be difficult if you are handy with a needle) and good luck. If you have problems with the assmbly you can even call him up for advice. I for one am not a good tailor so I restrict my sewing primarily to buttonholes, repairs, and some top stitching; fortunately I have a pard who is one of the best out there and is reasonable (for the super authetic stuff). If you are handy with sewing I would reccomend a kit first before trying to go from a pattern.

Another very legitimate option is to look for used gear here and on the Authentic Campaigner forum. You can often get great gear for about 1/2 the price.

[dedogtent]

im going to sew my husbands sack coat, but need to know where to buy the appropriate wool.. could someone lead me in the direction? i could also use the appropriate fabric for trousers. thank you!

Try 'Needles and Threads' just outside Gettysburg. They have had great wool for a long time and are well supplied. I don't have the web address, you may want to Google it and see what comes up.

[jademonkey]

Thought you might like some links to some excellent fabric suppliers:

http://www.bentart.com/

http://www.crchilds.com/id41.htm

http://www.bridgemicro.com/msullivan/catalog/page6.htm#ASSORTED%20FABRICS

Ben and Mr. Childs will have the blouse flannel you need and Chris Sullivan can supply you with trouser kersey and any information you could possibly need regarding federal trousers. Good luck, Garrett

[sigsaye]

The issue with Woolrich for the Federal Fatigue Blouse (sack coat) is that the Woolrich is 20-24 oz per yard. The fabric that was used in the original "sack coats" was 10-11 oz wool flannel. As you can see, the fabric from County Cloth, Ben Tart and the other Authentic vendors may be a bir more expensive, but it is much more comfortable in the heat and will serv you longer. I have a County Cloth unlined Sack coat that I got as a kit 10 years ago, and it is still in fine shape. The Same with his trousers. I have had to patch the crotch, but then again, they are ten years old.

Steve Hesson

[chatrbug]

thank you all. there are tons of options thats for sure.

mich8th... no we dont have the rifle or brogans yet... ive been looking around at prices and such and know they are what is going to cost. you would think in all of my husbands guns... he just might have what he needs..but nope :) i told him im finally giving him an excuse to buy another gun :) we do want to get started...and thats why options were being looked at. i always look at...can i sew this or it would be better to buy (this is one of the few times ive actually heard buying is better!). i sew most of my childrens wardrobes, and most of mine, so sewing isnt a problem here.

id been looking at county cloth...but the dark blue that i need is out of stock right now.

can i just say sometimes all these options can be confusing :)

[hiplainsyank]

If you don't like to wait some of the vendors sell kits to make things; you get the top-notch cloth but don't ahve to pay for the labor of putting it together.

I would certainly second the fellow who said to get the lighter weight wool flannel for the sack coat. The stuff most are made of is so heavy as to be practically smothering. A person can always wear more layers when it's cold, but at most reenactments (unless it's unreasonably and unseasonably hot), Federals wear their sack coats.

[cwd22]

id been looking at county cloth...but the dark blue that i need is out of stock right now.


According to his website he has dark blue wool flannel in stock, which is the fabric used for the vast majority of Federal fatigue blouses. I don't beleive he had it in stock last month though.