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HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

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  • #1

    HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

    I have an entirely hand sewn Federal fatigue coat that currently needs alterations. I love this coat and would hate to part with it, so it is my hope and intention to make it fit properly. I am a size 36 and the jacket right now is closer to a 40 in size. Seemingly, alterations to the sleeves, collar, etc, are going to be more difficult being that the coat is fully assembled, so if someone could guide me with details of instruction (patterns, pictures, and the like) I would appreciate it.

    Bryan O'Keefe, Esquire
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

    Just a thought... but why alter it?

    Fatigue Blouses were not made to be tailor fit. They were often issued in bulk, and getting a correct fit wasn't a sure thing. Having a Federal Issue uniform item (especially a Sack Coat and Trousers) that is not the correct size might not have been that unusual. (Especially considering how many soldiers wrote so often about how they lost weight after enlisting.....)
    Brian Hicks
    Widows' Sons Mess
    Known lately to associate with the WIG and the Armory Guards

    "He's a good enough fellow... but I fear he may be another Alcibiades."

    “Every man ever got a statue made of him was one kinda sumbitch or another. It ain’t about you. It’s about what THEY need.”CAPTAIN MALCOLM REYNOLDS

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

      I would think if you want that “true” government issue look you would just take the coat “as is” and wear it big, there are literally hundreds of photos that show this, just go through any number of period photos and it won’t take long to spot coats that are to big for the frame of the man wearing it. What you are talking about in regards to alterations is not simply rolling up sleeves that are to long or moving buttons over for more/less room but full disassembling the coat, if that’s the case your best bet would be to start from scratch. If you are still growing the day may come when you want a larger size down the road.

      Regards,
      -Seth Harr

      Liberty Rifles
      93rd New York Coffee Cooler
      [I]
      "One of the questions that troubled me was whether I would ever be able to eat hardtack again. I knew the chances were against me. If I could not I was just as good as out of the service"[/I]
      [B]-Robert S. Camberlain, 64th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry[/B]

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

        Fatigue Blouses were not made to be tailor fit. They were often issued in bulk, and getting a correct fit wasn't a sure thing. Having a Federal Issue uniform item (especially a Sack Coat and Trousers) that is not the correct size might not have been that unusual.
        I certainly agree, however, it is far more ample to me, personally, to seek an alteration in size. Currently, the jacket is stamped a size 3 and it just drapes on me. I understand that while this was common among soldiers, it is not far fetched that a Federal soldier in his day could just as easily have found a size 1 or 2, either.

        Bryan O'Keefe, Esquire

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

          If you are still growing the day may come when you want a larger size down the road.
          Well, I'm done doing that, that's for sure.

          What you are talking about in regards to alterations is not simply rolling up sleeves that are to long or moving buttons over for more/less room but full disassembling the coat, if that’s the case your best bet would be to start from scratch.
          That's my fear. Is my best bet then to simply sell the piece and attempt to get a proper fitting one?

          Bryan O'Keefe, Esquire

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

            Hallo!

            IMHO, there is a difference between making a few "field alterations"' and what might amount to the complete disassembly of the blouse, the pieces parts being recut down from "Size 40" to "Size 36," and the blouse reassembled. (Warning: sometimes pattern pieces do not always allow such downsizing...)

            As shared, the CW "model" was issuance without regard to size- requiring clothing to be worn as is, personally or "professionally" altered, or traded for a more appropriate size.

            IMHO, since the blouse is two sizes too big, I would leave it be. (For many years, I went with a "frumpy" Federal look and ordered my unfirom items two sizes too big on purpose...

            And last but not least, and NOT something I would urge or recommend for the potential damage or ruination it may cause (due to possible pieced warp-weft alignment issues, etc, etc.) ... but a soaking in hot water followed by a spin in the dryer would shrink the blouse more than a few sizes...

            Curt
            Who just shrunk a "Size 44" jacket down to "Size 42" Mess
            Curt Schmidt
            In gleichem Schritt und Tritt, Curt Schmidt

            -Hard and sharp as flint...secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
            -Haplogroup R1b M343 (Subclade R1b1a2 M269)
            -Pointless Folksy Wisdom Mess, Oblio Lodge #1
            -Vastly Ignorant
            -Often incorrect, technically, historically, factually.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

              Originally posted by Curt-Heinrich Schmidt View Post
              Hallo!

              (Warning: sometimes pattern pieces do not always allow such downsizing...)
              Which pattern pieces might you be typing about that can not be downsized? Even if the individual is not familiar with a period drafting manual (Devere's, et al.) simple mathematics would allow them to move the seam and thus make a smaller size. For example, with the fatigue blouse there are four pattern pieces for the body. To make the sz. 40 blouse into a sz. 36, the individual would simple move the seam inward 1/2 inch. They would then restitch the garment using the old line of stitching as a guide if they choose to resize it completely.
              Cody Mobley

              Texas Ground Hornets
              Texas State Troops

              [HOUSTON] TRI-WEEKLY TELEGRAPH, October 28, 1863,

              Wanted.

              All ladies in Houston and surrounding counties who have cloth on hand, which they can spare, are requested to donate it to the ladies of Crockett for the purpose of making petticoats for the Minute Men of this county, who have "backed out" of the service. We think the petticoat more suitable for them in these times.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

                Perhaps this is a modern desire for fit as opposed to what actually happened.
                If you are a recruit, just off mother's dumplings lovingly served, Camp life would slim you down by activity. The issue ration, though enough, would not fatten you up. That size 40 coat drawn when you were a chubby boy fresh from home would hang like a curtain soon enough.
                If during service you were issued a new one, you would not be guaranteed a Brooks Brother's fit.
                Feel uncomfortable? Visit the unit tailor and have him tuck in the excess or have your comrades blouse in the back under your belt.
                Being of slim stature I often had to deal with standard sizes during my service time and generally made it look good. It is what you would do.
                I recently purhased an Officer's Sack coat from C. J. Daley. I enjoy wearing it for its cut and quality. It hangs like a curtain on my frame. That is what it is supposed to do. It is a sack coat not an elegantly tailored frock.
                Too many times we see abundantley filled sack coats, a result of our North American plenty, straining at the buttons. You should be proud of you slimmness and ill fitting jacket. Trust me it will fit soon enough.
                If you would look elegant instead of workmanlike, buy a good frock and save your sack for the field.

                Erik Simundson
                4th Michigan, Co. C
                Erik Simundson

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

                  Erik,
                  The cut, assembly and fit of a private purchase sack coat should be relatively different that a sack coat, since they were specifically made for the individual.

                  MANY pictures exist of original sack coats fitting horribly as well as enlisted frocks.
                  Patrick Landrum
                  Independent Rifles

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

                    Hello,

                    My wife machine washed my sack coat and machine dryed it to boot. I guess it was a little ripe. I did indeed shrink it a size or two. After I burned off the wool fuzz with a bic,it looked awesome, a bit like a coat that was boiled to kill lice. I'm not encouraging peolple to do this, just trying to get my post #'s up:wink_smil

                    Benjamin McGee

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

                      Originally posted by SalemCadet View Post
                      Well, I'm done doing that, that's for sure.

                      That's my fear. Is my best bet then to simply sell the piece and attempt to get a proper fitting one?

                      Bryan O'Keefe, Esquire
                      Personally I will echo the other posts and say screw it, wear it as is, that’s classic government issue at it’s finest. Unless you are familiar with assembling garments and the process of downsizing and sewing techniques briefly mentioned by Cody your best bet may be to get a new coat if you can not make yourself happy with the current fit. What Cody mentioned is not a hard technique necessarily, just time consuming and you will need sewing skills or know someone who does to reassemble the coat.

                      Regards,
                      -Seth Harr

                      Liberty Rifles
                      93rd New York Coffee Cooler
                      [I]
                      "One of the questions that troubled me was whether I would ever be able to eat hardtack again. I knew the chances were against me. If I could not I was just as good as out of the service"[/I]
                      [B]-Robert S. Camberlain, 64th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry[/B]

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

                        I am a damn fine plumber but only an average tailor. I have built 4 different style coats, with and without patterns. They all reflect my level of skill. Mrs. lawson can attest to that. I have also made pants, shirts, mex-war packs, haversacks, vests, even a saddle. But with that experience I would not attempt to make a major reduction to a valued piece for fear that it would come out worse than it began, and no longer be so valued.
                        Just a private soldier trying to make a difference

                        Patrick Peterson
                        Old wore out Bugler

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

                          As others have pointed out, there is nothing wrong with wearing a garment too large or too small. I was merely asking Curt which pattern pieces might be difficult to downsize as mentioned in his post.

                          I'm a sz 42 chest and I've worn a sz. 40 blouse tucked in as the Calvaryman in the CS EOG section showing Dept. of the Trans-Mississippi clothing (the man wearing a carbine on a sling, etc.) I've made pants a size too large, as well. As other poster's have pointed out: clothing was issued to, not tailored for the individual soldiers.
                          Cody Mobley

                          Texas Ground Hornets
                          Texas State Troops

                          [HOUSTON] TRI-WEEKLY TELEGRAPH, October 28, 1863,

                          Wanted.

                          All ladies in Houston and surrounding counties who have cloth on hand, which they can spare, are requested to donate it to the ladies of Crockett for the purpose of making petticoats for the Minute Men of this county, who have "backed out" of the service. We think the petticoat more suitable for them in these times.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

                            Hello,
                            Personally, I wear a 40 but purposely order and wear a size 42 to give it that issued look. Best regards.
                            Tom "Mingo" Machingo
                            Independent Rifles, Weevil's Mess

                            Vixi Et Didici

                            "I think and highly hope that this war will end this year, and Oh then what a happy time we will have. No need of writing then but we can talk and talk again, and my boy can talk to me and I will never tire of listening to him and he will want to go with me everywhere I go, and I will be certain to let him go if there is any possible chance."
                            Marion Hill Fitzpatrick
                            Company K, 45th Georgia Infantry
                            KIA Petersburg, Virginia

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: HELP: Sack coat size alterations...

                              Hallo!

                              "I was merely asking Curt which pattern pieces might be difficult to downsize as mentioned in his post."

                              I am not a tailor or craftsperson, and do not have a set of fatigue blouse patterns on hand to compare and contrast, but I was recalling a negative experience of mine where larger sized armsythes would not accomodate the smaller sized sleeves.

                              Perhaps someone with knowledge and skills can chime in.

                              But I will post an image nonetheless.


                              Curt
                              Curt Schmidt
                              In gleichem Schritt und Tritt, Curt Schmidt

                              -Hard and sharp as flint...secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
                              -Haplogroup R1b M343 (Subclade R1b1a2 M269)
                              -Pointless Folksy Wisdom Mess, Oblio Lodge #1
                              -Vastly Ignorant
                              -Often incorrect, technically, historically, factually.

                              Comment

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