which color blue is this wool?

[RebeccaMI]

My friend Lisa (who is an excellent seamstress) has been asked to make a greatcoat for one of the guys in the company. I mentioned that Oxford Mill End Store has wool that they call "Federal Blue" and it's supposedly the same blue as Robinson Mfg. used to manufacture for the Civil War soldiers.

Here is a picture:



Does that look like the darker blue, or the lighter blue? I emailed and asked them what color it is, and they said it's a medium blue, which doesn't help me any. The guy for whom she is making the coat wants the lighter blue. Maybe I should ask if they could send me a swatch.

[NoahBriggs]

Ask for a swatch. Photos never do the cloth justice. It's hard for me to see, and I have worn blue for about fifteen years in the hobby before I became infected with a severe case of common sense and went civilian.

[RebeccaMI]

Ask for a swatch. Photos never do the cloth justice.

I got a swatch. It's the lighter blue, which is what the guy wanted. So for anybody that wants to know, yes, it's the lighter blue color.

[neocelt]

Rebecca,

In addition to color (should have a VERY light greenish cast), you need to be sure the weave is accurate as well (kersey is a 2/2 twill). The weight should be relatively heavy (approx. 21 oz.) and well fulled; this stuff you're looking at says it's 14-17 oz.--sounds a bit light to me, but I'd have to see the actual fabric.

Cheers,

[GreencoatCross]

I got a sample of the same material as well as their wool called "dark teal."

The "federal blue" cloth is not a twill weave or kersey but appears to be a melton. The color is more along the lines of a powder blue than a true imitation of indigo blue. It is only lightly napped and finished.

The "dark teal" is, in my opinion, a closer color to several original overcoats I've seen. The weave on the face is an unfinished loose twill while the reverse is a napped, sheared, and pressed finish...looks a lot like a fleece blanket.

If you decide to look elsewhere for sky blue kersey that looks closer to the kersey used by Federal manufacturers, try Chris Sullivan and request samples of his sky blue and medium sky blue. I hear that Nick Sekela also sells his sky blue kersey for somewhere around $23/yd.