Homemade Gear

[Rob Weaver]

Re: Homemade Gear

I've made a good bit of leather gear, mostly for other periods than Civil War, but a few for our period. The experience is really worth it. I've also learned how to fix and mend items better because I've learned how to make them.

[Clsinclair]

Re: Homemade Gear

Hey Brian,

Congratulations on your projects. Since you are a member of the 23rd SC our paths will be crossing. I will be happy to show you some of my wares and especially the Federal Painted Oil Cloths I make. It takes a while to get the cornstarch mixture correct but if done correctly there will be no bleeding or cracking. I did a clinic at our School of Instruction using lamp black, linseed oil, etc and gave out the instructions to those attending. We also did a sewing clinic and had everyone to sew a buttonhole using the buttonhole stitch. You must have missed it. I love making shelter halves as I have a type 11b and a type 111a that I made for myself. I also made my own haversacks and now I know why a quality haversack cost so much. They just don't make themselves. You are correct about the time spent making these items.

Claude Sinclair
Lancaster, SC

[easttnfed]

Re: Homemade Gear

I too started out making stuff when I first started to get my kit put together. The first thing that I ever made was a haversack when I first started the hobby....................not at all great by any means. I then made several housewives and poke sacks.............none of which compare to the stuff I make today. The first real adventure was a shirt that I just eyeballed the pattern on...............again, sucky. The more and more I practiced and made stuff the better and better I got. It wasn't until about 3 years ago that I learned how to use a sewing machine. Now, I know how to do leather, painted cloth, knapsacks, belts, buckles, etc. because I never stopped trying. Keep at it and one day you will look back on your earlier stuff and say..................."dang, only if I knew then what I know now." Good work on your stuff!

[ArtilleryNick]

Re: Homemade Gear

I too have tried my hand at making gear including pokesacks and a haversack or two. At first I wondered what on earth I was getting myself into with my little projects, but the end result isn't too bad after a few times of trial and error. For the haversacks I followed information I found on here a while back on painting the canvas. First one didn't turn out as I had envisioned, but I'm in the midst of making up another one right now.

[56spencer]

Re: Homemade Gear

Greetings Everyone,

I find trying to make some of your own items adds another facet to the hobby. I'm in the midst of my third shirt from County Cloth's Hollyday pattern and each one is better than the last. Since starting my shirt making, I now find Bill Brown's "Thoughts on Men's Shirts" on my bookshelf and spent much time admiring/studying construction details on orginials displayed at the Ladies & Gentlemen of the 1860s Conference. One's research into the material culture of the era is something that can truly be of a perpetual nature.

[rebinnj]

Re: Homemade Gear

At least with my shirts I can say, they were made this way. I can just see some poor Confed wearing a shirt his widowed father tried to make for him. I wear it proudly, even though it looks like I made it.

LOL. I started out small (poke bags) and even made a homemade housewife. Then for the 2001 Manassas, I order a pattern and material for a battleshirt, which I was going to put together. Instructions were very generic and not for beginners. Have to take apart and sew it again a few times, and hand in a cast to make it even harder. It doesn't look bad, a little baggy. It does take practice and patient to learn to sew.

[btfire]

Re: Homemade Gear

Quick question to go with my previous homemade gear thread...
I have a sutler grade sack coat ( I also have a really good one too! ). Taking my sutler grade and hand stitching the buttonholes and top seams, will this make this coat pass muster? The material is pretty good, it is the finishing that is poor. This coat will not be used often, mostly just as a backup or something of the sort.

[Garrett Silliman]

Re: Homemade Gear

Possibly, but without seeing the blouse (ie fabric, cut, construction etc.) it's impossible to say. Honestly, if you have an authentic one, I wouldn't waste the time trying make a silk purse out of a turd...or was that don't waste time polishing a sow's ear. Whatever, the folk wisdom - if it's not correct in terms of fabric, cut, construction then putting some handstitching on the exterior isn't going to make it correct. Just a thought. -Garrett

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Re: Homemade Gear

There are just too many variables when trying to convert lowend to acceptable. You have to think of such things as to pattern, what depot issued it, was it handsewn like Skuylkil Depot or machine sewn like another depot, did it have machine sewn or handsewn topstitching, etc, etc, etc. I've tried to convert some other garments for pards who saw the light, and I've ended up basically just completely resewing , and you're just better off getting a new blouse. There are just too many reputable vendors with a good track record out there now to try to do it half arsed.

[btfire]

Re: Homemade Gear

Well, perhaps taking it apart and just sewing it back together will be good practice for making some better stuff in the future. As much as I get angry when sewing, I love it. Thanks...

[Secesh]

Re: Homemade Gear

I, too, tried sewing some things once...then I realized I could save a heck of a lot of time if I just bought the d*mn thing!!! Good luck in your endeavors and best regards!

[HOG.EYE.MAN]

Re: Homemade Gear

Quick question to go with my previous homemade gear thread...
I have a sutler grade sack coat ( I also have a really good one too! ). Taking my sutler grade and hand stitching the buttonholes and top seams, will this make this coat pass muster? The material is pretty good, it is the finishing that is poor. This coat will not be used often, mostly just as a backup or something of the sort.

After its all said and done, it will still be a sutler grade sack coat.

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2831&highlight=Defarb

Forget about defarbing....

[rand19th]

Re: Homemade Gear

Brian,
Yes keep at it for sure. When I asked my wife to show me how to use her sewing maching, she looked at me like I was a bit more off than usual, but she did and I completed a couple of poke sacks and moved onto a pair of drawers which did not turn out too bad. Now I am going to make a shirt, so I have a bit more confidence going into the shirt project. It is well worth the effort I put forth to make these items and I will progress to more over time. Self fulfillment when completing a project is great.
Randy Pesut

[gilham]

Re: Homemade Gear

Brian
Like the rest said keep at it. My first project was way over my head. I made a pair of civilian trousers and a shirt one week before an event.I finished the trousers just a few hours before the event. I should have taken my time making them though. The shirt was fine but by Sunday morning after a weekend of marching things started coming undone. Good luck. And keep at it.

[Jim Moffet]

Re: Homemade Gear

Keep at it - it gets easier! I've been making repop garments and gear for 35 years and each project improves both my knowlegde of the material culture and my skills. Now if only my eyes would stop 'going south' so I could do fine hand work without the opti-visor!

Remember that there are 3 ESSENTIAL features of authentic reproductions:

1. PATTERN
2. MATERIALS
3. CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

All have to be right, or the end results will not be. This is where so many shoddy sutler items fail in atleast one category (sometimes all three:angry_smi).

Once you start making your own 'stuff,' you will never walk through a museum or collection the way you used to. You'll discover details that you never saw before, and will have many "AH HAH!" moments. You will find yourself on your knees or on your back looking UNDER the item in the museum case. Make friends with collectors, and CAREFULLY examine the original garments and items in their collections for construction techniques and to know what proper materials look like. You can also contact the curators at a museum and request to see specific items in the collection to closely examine them - bring a digital camera, notepad, ruler and pencil! Not all will grant your request, but it is always recommended to get detailed data off originals before launching into a reproduction!

Once you get proficient at hand sewing, I recommend the Past Patterns civilian shirt pattern - it's not a good beginner item, but is great at teaching many of the standard tailoring techniques used in hand sewn garments in our period. It has 2 different shirts, one from the Hennepin County Historical Society - which is pretty 'typical,' and another that's a bit stranger, but taken off an original shirt. And if you are going to make several shirts, find a copy of Bill Brown's wonderful book Thoughts on Men's Shirts in America 1750-1900. Bill is truly one of the first "Authentic Campaigners" and the book will really teach you about how shirt making techniques evolved in the 19th Century.

Remember the old admonition - "Before every event, you should look at your kit and do something to improve your impression." Once you have mastered the needle, keeping this promise to the past is lots easier!

Jim Moffet