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~ Confessions of a Known Bonnet-Wearer

Kitty Calash

Tag Archives: overalls

Lunatic Fringe

28 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by kittycalash in Clothing, History, Living History, Reenacting

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

10th Massachusetts, 18th century clothes, Brigade of the American Revolution, common soldier, hunting frock, hunting shirt, overalls, Revolutionary War, uniforms

Hunting frock and overalls complete!

Hunting frock and overalls complete!

Oh, my goodness, it’s done! It’s done, and the photos have passed the master. Phew! Just one more to go, oh, my goodness, no.

The Young Mr was allowed to carry a musket in the Warren Memorial Day Parade. I do not love a parade, so I didn’t go. But he had no overalls of suitable fit and they were so nearly done, that I resolved to finish them, and finish them I did, in time for bed on Saturday, no less. It’s all thanks to BBC’s brutal but entrancing programming. My sewing better to blood curdling screams (also courtesy ITV), which seems awful but there it is…though the darkness of Mad Men has proven good for back stitching, decent button holes require murder.

Buttonholes. I hate those guys less now.

Buttonholes. I hate those guys less now.

Fifteen button holes, multiple fittings, and some curse words have resulted in a pair of decent-fitting overalls that did not split at the knee or stretch too extremely when worn. And atop it all, in the yard if not in the parade, the new model hunting front adopted by the 10th Massachusetts. The Young Mr is uniform-forward as Neal Hurst’s research has led the adjutant to conclude that the men were wearing frocks, and not shirts. (In the Rhode Island records, I found that rifle frocks were listed until 1780/1781, when the Records of the State of Rhode Island began to indicate rifle or hunting “frocks or shirts.” That’s a wrinkle for Mr Hurst, but I saw only frock in 1777-1780.)

Lunatic fringe. Cut, fold, clip, strip, stitch.

Lunatic fringe. Cut, fold, clip, strip, stitch.

The fringing is a task completed by Mr S, who has fringed the strips for his own Rhode Island hunting frock, and now knows what fun awaits him as another frock will made for him. My goal? Another complete 10th Massachusetts kit by June 15. I’ve sewn buttonholes in a moving car before, and I expect to be felling seams or sewing buttonholes as we travel down to New Jersey. They’ll be fine; after all, the traffic is murder.

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To the Right Face!

15 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by kittycalash in Clothing, History, Research

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Tags

18th century, boots, British Army, dogs, kit, knapsack, National Army Museum London, officers, overalls, paintings, stockings, uniforms

Capt. John Clayton Cowell, 1st Battalion, 1st (or the Royal) Reg't of Foot, ca. 1796. NAM. 1963-11-133-1

Capt. John Clayton Cowell, 1st Battalion, 1st (or the Royal) Reg’t of Foot, ca. 1796. NAM. 1963-11-133-1

That’s Captain Cowell’s right, if you were wondering. You can learn more about his biography here, from the National Army Museum London website (where my very dear friend is lucky I have not begged, implored and entreated her to go, since she is vacationing in London, basically at the very instant you are reading this.)

Clocks!

Clocks!

What I am interested in is what the painting shows us. Like The Drowsy Dame, there’s fun the details quite aside from the those slouchy boots. Inside those boots are silk stockings with clocks, a lovely detail that that shows you what class level should be wearing clocked silk stockings in perfect repair in the British Army. Anyone else not of the class that could afford a commission might want to think about having second-hand silk stockings…and, since we’re at the floor level, nice dog. I think he wants walkies, Captain.

The 18th-century fit is clear, too. Those arms may look sheathed in lycra, but they’re in wool; since the Captain served on St. Thomas, it is probably not just very fine but also lightweight. Portraits are idealized, so the Captain may not have been so very superman looking, but the fit of his breeches and coat probably served to accentuate, if not create, his graceful and refined form.  And then there’s the soldier.

Detail of soldier, NAM. 1963-11-133-1

Detail of soldier, NAM. 1963-11-133-1

What caught my eye first on the soldier were his overalls, since I’m so frequently stuck with them in my sewing basket. These fit him closely, too, and are probably shaped much like these at the Met. There are six buttons on the placket at the ankle, and the strap under the instep is forward of the placket. The soldier’s feet look small (not unlike some regiments I know…) but the tongue of the overalls fits perfectly over his foot. It’s easier to do in paint than in linen, but I’ve seen them fitted this well, and the gentle cyma curve of the outseam is what you want.

On his back, the soldier has a knapsack that’s clearly made of a goat. I don’t know why they’re goatskin (this is not my army) but it’s startlingly goat-like. Other regiments carried them (see here for Troiani on the 33rd Reg’t of Foot), but I suppose the goatskin made a natural pouch shape and was water resistant (after you’d eaten the goat?). What you see on reenactors are mostly the square skin knapsacks, but when we go to Monmouth I will have to keep my eye out for the goat-shaped packs.

The large sack he’s carrying is also intriguing. The material looks to be striped, or woven with a purposeful variegation, which raises questions beyond linen-or-wool. Why trouble to die the material? Are the colors significant? On a practical level, the bag or sack probably contains any extra clothing and his blanket; it looks too light to contain much else. We can’t see his haversack,but we can see his cartridge box (the shiny black square under the goatskin) and his bayonet. But where’s his musket?

The more I look at and think about this painting, the more I wonder not just about the quotidian details we can pick up, but about the symbolism and the meaning. It has the look of “job well done, headed home” as the soldier carries his kit away, and the Captain sheaths his sword. Maybe that’s what we’re shown: tour of duty over, the Captain Cowell and troops head home, and the dog will finally get his walkies.

For a look at earlier British ‘dogs of war’ let slip in America, you might want to read Don Hagist at All Things Liberty, as well as Hugh T. Harrington, for dogs on the other side.

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Better Backstitching

25 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by kittycalash in Clothing, Making Things, Reenacting

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

18th century clothes, Clothing, Costume, overalls, Revolutionary War, sewing, uniforms

Almost ready for fitting!

Practice: that’s the key. That’s the only key. Just keep stitching…and eventually, the stitches will get smaller and you will get faster.

I spent the week transforming last Monday’s stack of pieces into overalls. This sewing business is amazing! Flat pieces turn into something wearable, and it’s all made out of string in various arrangements. (I may need to get out more…)

The pattern from Henry Cooke goes together very nicely. The pockets are a nice element, and their installation is simpler (I’d call it elegant) than other breeches or trouser pockets I’ve made thus far (this is pair six of breeches/overalls/trousers, pattern four).

That sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Here’s the spool of thread I bought 18 months ago on the left, and the new one on the right. Along the way, I’ve also used up several spools of colored linen thread, a couple of silk and a few of cotton. The new spool is 1150 feet of linen thread, which seems like a lot to start with. It goes fast, though. The used-up spools were smaller, but when you aim for 10-12 spi, that’s a lot of stitches. Best not to count.

With the fall dropped, you can see the bearer/waistband connection

Very cleverly done, this pocket-bearer-waistband arrangement. My sewing has improved, and luckily for me, these are heavy plain weave linen (acting as osnaburg, here) rather than heavy drill. Heavy drill kills my hands, but this has been pretty pleasant to stitch thus far. Who’s to say what fresh hell the buttonholes will bring–but that’s another week away, at least.

And then it will start all over again on pair number two…but not before I’ve altered the frock coat and possibly breeches, made a jacket and a hunting shirt, and, I hope, a gown. Six weeks to go!

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