Had a question for the knowledgeable civilian types. I recently got about five yards of old stock undyed cotton jean cloth. In my searches I can only come up with trousers and penitentiary jackets made out of this from various vendors. My question is if this material would be appropriate for a laborers sack coat. I am planning to walnut dye the fabric. But wanted to find some information on working class coats. Thanks for any help you can offer, or information you can point me to.
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Question about Cotton Jean Cloth
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Re: Question about Cotton Jean Cloth
Scott, May I ask where you obtained the cotton cloth? Could you post some picks of the cloth for my viewing pleasure? I have a jacket and trousers made from all cotton jean cloth that was woven in Mississippi in 1993 it was a natural light tan when I first purchased my uniform.It ws made by Terry Scoggins here in Conyers Georgia, the jacket was copied from a Milledegeville/Augusta Depot Original and the Trousers are the typical mule ear civilian type.The cotton jeans was a "Cotton Trash" material made from the number three cotton harvest also known as 3rd or number three cotton because of the small inclusions of seeds,leaves and stems that was in the material at the time of it's making.This was the cheapest cotton,when sold to the Gin and It is very cheap to make and produce. I wore the uniform a year before I "Tea Dyed" the material and it really brought out the stains and dirt that the cotton had collected.I have the reciepe for the dye if interested.It is very correct for the working or poor civilian class.
Chad PhillipsThanks,
Chad Phillips
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Re: Question about Cotton Jean Cloth
Chad, I basically lucked out. A friend of mine that got out of the hobby a while back decided to sell off a bunch of stuff. I was going through it and found the fabric. I'll get a pic of it tomorrow when I get off shift. It's such neat fabric I've just been trying to decide what to make out of it. my thought was either a four button CS jacket, or civilian sack. Tea dying sounds pretty cool, I'd definitely be interested in that. Thanks for the info on the cloth.Scott Sheets
Joliet, IL
36th Illinois
Dirty Shirts
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Re: Question about Cotton Jean Cloth
Scott, Interesting on how you came across the cloth what a great find. I will dig around to locate my old cotton trash uniform and take a pic for you to view. I understand why these uniforms fell apart after day in and day out of constant wear by the owner. You could only get a few months "max" of wear before you would be requesting another new set from the quartermaster or from home. I've been lucky to have mine as long as I have, it is starting to show it's age and wear and I retired it after Antietam. I will take photos of exterior and interior so you will get an idea of what it looked like new and now aged.
Chad PhillipsThanks,
Chad Phillips
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Re: Question about Cotton Jean Cloth
Scott, Here are the pics of my cotton trash uniform, sorry for the delay in the pics on the left trouser leg you will see a patch this cloth was cut from the ankle from the same leg. I had about 4 inches that I had rolled and hand sewn because of the length when I first purchased the uniform, otherwise it is completely hand sewn, bone buttons and dome brass Georgia state seal buttons, normal wear and tear with the exception of 2 (tea dye) bath's. As stated from my last post I retired the uniform after the 1862/2012 campaign and hope to donate to a local museum here in Atlanta that will proudly display it as many times as I had worn it. Enjoy the pics
Thanks,
Chad PhillipsThanks,
Chad Phillips
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Re: Question about Cotton Jean Cloth
Just as an FYI by mid century standards jeans cloth is slave cloth- a large departure from what we see for slaves in the colonial and federal period, jeans is synonymous with field hands by the 30s/40s/50s. Think about those connotations before you decide to build a kit for a Caucasian male (Civilian) using jean prior to the Civil War.Drew
"God knows, as many posts as go up on this site everyday, there's plenty of folks who know how to type. Put those keyboards to work on a real issue that's tied to the history that we love and obsess over so much." F.B.
"...mow hay, cut wood, prepare great food, drink schwitzel, knit, sew, spin wool, rock out to a good pinch of snuff and somehow still find time to go fly a kite." N.B.
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Re: Question about Cotton Jean Cloth
Chad,
Thank you for the pics. I might just go that route with the material instead of a civilian Jacket. That is a great looking uniform. As Drew mentioned I'm having difficulty documenting cotton jean for civilian, or in general for that matter. I'm looking into civlian work garments currently to see what I come up with.Scott Sheets
Joliet, IL
36th Illinois
Dirty Shirts
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Re: Question about Cotton Jean Cloth
[QUOTEJust as an FYI by mid century standards jeans cloth is slave cloth- a large departure from what we see for slaves in the colonial and federal period, jeans is synonymous with field hands by the 30s/40s/50s. Think about those connotations before you decide to build a kit for a Caucasian male (Civilian) using jean prior to the Civil War.][/QUOTE]
Jean is a rather generic term. How does something like Kentucky jean fit in? It was available North, South, East and West. Sold by the yard and ready made into coats and pantsJosephine Byrum
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