federal frockcoat cloth

[unclefrank]

Does anyone know what the proper cloth weight of a federal frock? Is it of a heavier weight material than a sack coat?
Thanx

[Guy Gane III]

Re: federal frockcoat cloth

As per the CRRC (Columbia Rifles Research Compedium, Second Edition) it was to be made of "...21 ounce per yard, 56 threads of fillings (woof) each square inch, 60 threads in chain (warp) each square inch. "

[paulcalloway]

Re: federal frockcoat cloth

From the Daley Fabric FAQ - might be of interest:

broadcloth Cotton and silk, and rayon. Plain weave and in most cotton broadcloths made with a very fine crosswise rib weave. Originally indicated a cloth woven on a wide loom. Very closely woven and in cotton, made from either carded or combed yarns. The filling is heavier and has less twist. It is finer than poplin when made with a crosswise rib and it is lustrous and soft with a good texture. Thread count ranges from high quality 144 x 60 count down to 80 x 60. Has a smooth finish. May be bleached, dyed, or printed; also is often mercerized. Wears very well. If not of a high quality or treated, it wrinkles very badly. Finest quality made from Egyptian or combed pima cotton - also sea island. Used in Shirts, dresses, particularly the tailored type in plain colors, blouses, summer wear of all kinds. (Wool Broadcloth) Usually a twill with a two up and one down construction. Some also in the plain weave. Has a napped face, closely sheared and polished, producing a silky gloss - in same group of fabrics as kersey, beaver cloth, melton. One way nap, must be handled like velvet when cutting. It comes in a variety of colours and weights. It is "dressy" fabric and must be handled with care - form fitting and drapes well.

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1864

[ElizabethClark]

Re: federal frockcoat cloth

As a textile junkie, I have a question about that 21oz weight--that's really, really, really heavy. As in, "not able to be tailored well" heavy. Wools are weighed by the square yard, and something that weighs nearly a pound and a half per 36"x36" peice is quite a lot to work with. However, as a non-military person, I've not got a clue about military things. Were Union military frocks really so much heavier than comparable citizen's clothing?

[paulcalloway]

Re: federal frockcoat cloth

Wede has some photos of some original frocks here - one of which he lists as a 15 oz uniform cloth.

[J.H.Berger]

Re: federal frockcoat cloth

As a textile junkie, I have a question about that 21oz weight--that's really, really, really heavy. As in, "not able to be tailored well" heavy. Wools are weighed by the square yard, and something that weighs nearly a pound and a half per 36"x36" peice is quite a lot to work with. However, as a non-military person, I've not got a clue about military things. Were Union military frocks really so much heavier than comparable citizen's clothing?

21 oz should be per linear yard so one has to check how wide the 6/4 cloth is.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: federal frockcoat cloth

Hallo!

If I can count, maybe....

The "fraction" is a representation of a 36 inch wide yard- the yard being viewed in nine
(9) inches fractions or the /4 for a full yard (4 X 9 = 36).
So, a fraction of 6/4 would be 54 inch wide material. Or the body of a dress coat was 1 3/4 yards long of 6/4 dark blue woolen cloth.
A 36 inch wide piece of material would be 4/4.
Whereas a fatigue blouse would be " 3 yards 4 inches of 3/4 dark blue flannel" The 3/4 being 27 inches wide (3 times 9)

Define "heavy?" ;) ;) :)

Unfortunately, I have no experience with period civilian clothes but yes, IMHO, the Federal enlistedman's dress coat was likely "heavier." If not for the use of tightly woven heavier wool vesus finer wool broadcloths, but alos for such features as a four layer "padded" chest to create a stiff-backed, "pigeon breasted" look. (The outer blue wool layer, below that a canvas backing, behind that a cotton wadding or tow pad from 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, and below that black alpaca or black or brown polished cotton (which was sometimes ripped out by the men).

Curt

[ElizabethClark]

Re: federal frockcoat cloth

Thanks, gentlemen! Yes, that makes more sense--with 54" across, the wool would be something like 15/16 ounces per square yard, which is stout, but not the horse blanket I was envisioning. :)

[GreencoatCross]

Re: federal frockcoat cloth

I've seen about a dozen original U.S. issue frocks; arsenal made, contract made, machine sewn, hand sewn, infantry, sharpshooter, and heavy artillery, as well as one private purchase frock and two early war state contract frocks. Each coat had slightly differing fabrics. In three cases the coat cloth was incredibly unique, such as soft blouse flannel being used in a state issue frock, satinet being used in another state issue frock, and officer-grade, seemingly paper-thin broadcloth used in the private purchase frock.

The U.S. issue frocks, be they arsenal or contract made, were made from smiliarly weighted material. Each coat was made from between 15 to 18 ounce twilled broadcloth, however, the finish and tightness of weave were different in nearly each one. For instance, an "as-yet-to-be-released" USSS frock was made from broadcloth so finely finished it appeared to be velvet yet it was incredibly dense and tightly woven. Another USSS frock, the Frank Tilson coat, was made from three varying shades of dark green broadcloth that all had a somewhat loose weave and a finish that allowed you to see the weave a little bit even in unworn places. The infantry and heavy artillery frocks varied just as much in finish but none shared the exact same weight of cloth. One contract infantry frock made by Devlin Co. had surprisingly hefty cloth that was finished like a kersey; I would judge it to be 21 ounce broadcloth and the finish was "pilling" from use. This one was by far the heaviest uniform coat I have seen so far.

Coat cloth definitely seems to have run the gamut from cheap, flimsy flannel-like twilled goods to heavy and dense 21 ounce kersey. Fortunately there are a number of sources for any one of these kinds of cloth.

Brian White
Wambaugh, White, & Co.

https://www.wwandcompany.com

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: federal frockcoat cloth

Hallo!

Indeed...
And sometimes, depending upon the focus and clarity of period images, one can discern a "look" of different weights/textures on the garments worn.

Curt

[Hank Trent]

Re: federal frockcoat cloth

but alos for such features as a four layer "padded" chest to create a stiff-backed, "pigeon breasted" look. (The outer blue wool layer, below that a canvas backing, behind that a cotton wadding or tow pad from 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, and below that black alpaca or black or brown polished cotton (which was sometimes ripped out by the men).

For what it's worth, that's how a typical civilian frock coat was made also.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net