Civilian men's shirt sewing pattern

[Nostalchiq]

Hello, everyone! I am fairly new to sewing, and although I have been a member of this forum for several months now I have not put myself out there much since I joined. In any case, I thought that this would be the best place to get some solid advice on my next project.

I just finished a waistcoat for my partner and I would like to sew a shirt for him to go with it. I have some nice suiting linen for it and he already has a square cut work shirt that I made him in a homespun cotton. The shirt that I am looking to make for him would be of a slightly dressier appearance; not for a ball or anything like that, but something that you would wear out during the day when not toiling away in the fields, as he already has a shirt for that purpose. I have heard good things in the past about the Laughing Moon company, and I was hoping that their #107 pattern would be suitable as it comes with so many great things (including a cravat pattern, another item that we need to make for him.) However, it is difficult for me to tell by the photograph if the shirt would be appropriate for the era that we are trying to portray, as I have been instructed that the dropped sleeves were essential for the era and it appears that the shoulder seam placement is fairly modern in appearance according to the illustration. I know very little about men's clothing, as I have focused so much of my energy on women's clothing over the years that I am now only beginning to dabble in menswear.

Please forgive my ignorance, I am in the process of expanding my knowledge of the era and I hope to do so with the help of the fine folks of this forum. Any suggestions are appreciated. :)

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: Civilian men's shirt sewing pattern

Laughing Moon #107 can work with some retro-tweaking of the pattern.
As it is currently it is more in keeping with 1890-1920 construction.

To change it out, do the following:
On the Sleeves: disregard the placket at the wrist, instead leave an opening in the sleeve seam about 4-5" up, turn the edges under and topstitch. Apply cuff as instructed.
On the Side Seams: View where the notch is towards the hem... then the hemline begins to curve. Draw a straight line from the notch to hem and square... creating a squared hem rather than curved.
The hem gusset reinforcement is essential to avoid split seams. It's fussy, but do not go without.

On the detachable collars, detachable cuffs, and cravats... pay careful attention to the dates the instructions say they are good for, some are later than "our time."

The single most common shirting was solid white in cotton or linen. A pleated bib is not just for dressy wear... it can be an everyday style too.
Pockets are usually seen on overshirts and rarely on "regular" shirts.

[Nostalchiq]

Re: Civilian men's shirt sewing pattern

Laughing Moon #107 can work with some retro-tweaking of the pattern.
As it is currently it is more in keeping with 1890-1920 construction.

To change it out, do the following:
On the Sleeves: disregard the placket at the wrist, instead leave an opening in the sleeve seam about 4-5" up, turn the edges under and topstitch. Apply cuff as instructed.
On the Side Seams: View where the notch is towards the hem... then the hemline begins to curve. Draw a straight line from the notch to hem and square... creating a squared hem rather than curved.
The hem gusset reinforcement is essential to avoid split seams. It's fussy, but do not go without.

On the detachable collars, detachable cuffs, and cravats... pay careful attention to the dates the instructions say they are good for, some are later than "our time."

The single most common shirting was solid white in cotton or linen. A pleated bib is not just for dressy wear... it can be an everyday style too.
Pockets are usually seen on overshirts and rarely on "regular" shirts.

Thank you for the suggestions! Should I be too intimidated as a new seamstress to tackle these alterations, can you recommend a good pattern from another company that you have had success with or have seen others recommend?

[faabala]

Re: Civilian men's shirt sewing pattern

I recommend that pattern too. I have made several shirts with it. One more modification. Evenly gather the back all the way across the back yoke. The pattern calls for gathers in two spots only. This is the best available for the period correct french cut shirt with shaped armholes. Square cut shirts would have been slightly old fashioned and home made by the 1860's. Ready-made shirts sewn mostly by machine were available in even the smallest towns for low prices.

[Calum]

Re: Civilian men's shirt sewing pattern

'morning,

Y'all are far ahead of me, but thank you for the clear responses to the original poster. They will definitely help when I'm ready to try cutting my own.

Kathrynn, since you already make women's clothing, I suspect your sewing skills are higher than mine. At this point, I do mainly WW&Co kits. Started simple and have worked my way up. But if your partner is part of a unit, what I've done is made stuff and given it away, usually in packages from home. I try to make sure that it will fit the recipient, and they know that it may not be perfect. But the recipient gets a usable piece of clothing, and I get practice. Some of those imperfect items have become favored shirts. :)

Best of luck!
Calum

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: Civilian men's shirt sewing pattern

If you are looking for a French cut shirt, this is about the only one on the market.
If a square cut would do, folks have had good luck with Galla Rock, Past Patterns, and Homespun.

[Nostalchiq]

Re: Civilian men's shirt sewing pattern

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. Unfortunately, I was in a time crunch and ended up taking the advice of a seamstress friend last night who recommended the Past Patterns #011 Fitted Shirt with Attached Collar, Plaited Front and French Cuffs. I was too scared to take on the challenge of modifying a style that was clearly more fashionable later in the century, as I feel that I am not at a level of knowledge that would allow me to make historically accurate alterations on top of the fact that I am still just learning how to sew. It appears to be a good alternative, and the main reason why I was interested in the Laughing Moon pattern (aside from the fact that the company seems to have a great reputation) is that it came with so many useful patterns, as well as a pattern that would have worked for the Edwardian era, which is one of my favorites that I would like to dabble in once I feel like I have a good understanding of the mid 1860's.

If any of you are interested, I would be happy to share my experience with this pattern once I have had a chance to work with it. I am new to these forums so I'm not sure if there's a subthread that I need to stick to in order to rate or share pattern experiences, but in any case it seems as though there isn't enough information on this subject as it is and it would be beneficial to those in the future that may be in the same predicament that I was in. Anyway, if anyone is still following this thread and would be interested in something like that, let me know and I'll be sure to document my progress with the project. I did read on one of the reviews for the pattern that it was an entirely hand sewn project according to the instructions, but I may cheat a bit and use my machine when possible as I make so many mistakes at this stage in my level of proficiency that I would hate to spend a couple hours hand sewing a seam only to have to rip it all out once I realize that I've screwed it up. In the future I would be interested in hand sewing some garments, though. I feel that it is just one more way to connect with the life of a civilian woman during our time period.

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I am glad to hear that a solid linen would work for the shirt. I read in the instructions of the pattern that I ordered that linen was recommended for the bib, collar and cuffs, but that cotton should be used for the body. It doesn't take the time to explain why the mixed fabrics would be ideal, but maybe the actual instructions in the packet will go into more detail. Thank you so much for your advice!

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Very interesting! I would have never considered that. My partner is a very unique size (6'9) and so we have a very difficult time finding reenactment clothes for him. We portray civilians in the Living History Museum of Nevada City in Montana, and unfortunately we are fairly removed from the war there. I thought it might be fun to send letters back and forth with soldiers from other parts of the country as if writing a brother or lover that has gone off to war, but unfortunately I haven't managed to find the time with my sewing and... well, life. :) In any case, thank you for taking the time to comment! It's a great feeling knowing that there are others out there who support newcomers and are eager to give advice when requested.

[Ambrose Bierce]

Re: Civilian men's shirt sewing pattern

I am way behind on commenting on this thread and will not add anything to the already great tips and advice thus far offered.

However, I recommend Thoughts On Men's Shirts In America if you do not have it. Lots of great information in that book to include studies of many shirts, changes in styles, pattern development, and dimensions of the original garments illustrated. A great resource.