Material for shirt

[Ian McWherter]

Re: Material for shirt

Check out page 24 of Silver & Gold Cased Images of the California Gold Rush for an excellent example of pre-war hickory cloth.

Here is some linen hickory fabric I purchased specifically to reproduce this shirt (the stripes are an 1/8" wide):

[corncrackn]

Re: Material for shirt

Guys,

This was pulled off of the internet where it was located on RockStar Denim's page. Thought this might be useful to those that do not know what this fabric is by providing somewhat of a definition.

"Denim, in American usage since the late 18th century, denotes a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two (twi- "double") or more warp fibers, producing the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim was traditionally colored blue with indigo dye to make blue "jeans," though "jean" denoted a different, lighter cotton textile. In 1789 George Washington toured a Massachusetts factory producing machine-woven cotton denim. In the mid-19th century the durability of hemp cloth, of Cannabis sativa fibers, processed as in making linen, temporarily competed with cotton.

A similarly-woven traditional American cotton textile is the diagonal warp-striped hickory cloth that was once associated with railroadmen's overalls, in which blue or black contrasting with undyed white threads form the woven pattern. Hickory cloth was as rugged as hickory timber and was worn by "hicks." Records of a group of New Yorkers headed for the California gold fields in 1849 show that they took along four "Hickory shirts" apiece. Hickory cloth later furnished some "fatigue" pantaloons and shirts in the American Civil War.

A popular etymology of the word denim is a contraction of serge de Nīmes in France. Serge weave, with a distinctly-twilled diagonal rib, is now more usually associated with sturdy woollen textiles.
Denim and modern fashion."

[Carolann Schmitt]

Re: Material for shirt

Hickory shirts have been discussed on previous occasions on this forum. Search on "hickory shirt" and you'll find at least two discussions, including one with images showing the difference between a hickory stripe and a ticking stripe.

Ian - All of the references I have for hickory cloth refer to a sturdy twill weave cotton. Would you share your reference for linen hickory cloth?

Getting back to the original question: I don't think you can define an "average" or "standard" civilian shirt; there are just too many variables in cut, construction, fabric, usage, etc. But I agree with Brian's comments on the most common color and fabric. White shirting was not the only option, but it appears to have been the most common option.

Regards,