The Fabric of Time

This post is research for a project. I am posting it on my blog because it seemed like a good way to organize and share the information. It contains only research, not anything that I have made. I will probably be editing this post as my planning progresses. I will be making a civilian-style, commercial, Federal officer's sack coat and a Schuykill arsenal jacket. The sack coat will be a single breasted, five-button (using specialty officer's buttons) officer's coat in wool flannel. It will be lined in cotton flannel. It may need worsted wool trimming, as in the two inspiration photos of the officer with General Custer, but in most photos of junior officers, they don't have that trimming (according to Tom, my friend for whom I will be making the coat). The sack coat will have three outer pockets and an inner breast pocket. These two sites are sources about original Civil War sack coats:  Info about J.T. Martin contract sack coat http://www.c...

The petticoat, turned inside out so the facing is visible This red plaid petticoat for Civil War reenacting is very similar to the brown one that I made for my friend (http://fabricoftime.blogspot.com/2013/02/under-it-all-wool-petticoat.html). It is made out of wool fabric with cotton facing and yoke. First, I sewed the large rectangle of wool to a rectangle of cotton about five inches wide. I covered the seam with bias skirt facing, but I wish I hadn’t, because it made the seam very bulky. I gathered the yoke to a waistband that has twill tape ties inserted a few inches into the waistband, making it somewhat adjustable without the added thickness of twill tape running through the whole waistband. This innovation was my own idea, and I’m not sure if it has any historical basis or not. Finally, I sewed cotton facing to the hem, pressed it to the inside, and basted it. I have had the fabric for many years and don’t remember where I got it or how much I might have paid for it. I u...