Civilian Men's Dress Shirts

[CC sewing]

Hi,

Can anyone suggest a resource for researching men's civilian dress shirts fabric? (And yes, I did use the Search function.) I'm trying to figure out the best fabric to use. The pattern I have (Laughing Moon #107) was recommended to me. It has a reprinted by permission excerpt from Shirts and Men's Haberdashery by R. L. Shep and Gail Cariou. In the excerpt for shirts from 1840-1870, the authors state that "Cotton was more frequently used for the body and sleeves of dress shirts, with the collar, cuffs, and bib of linen."

The trouble is - there are so many different cottons out there. The pattern itself suggests white cotton broadcloth or Egyptian cotton for the main body, with pique for the bib and the cuffs.

After searching online for both cotton broadcloth or Egyptian cotton, I have only come up with a cotton/poly broadcloth that I don't want to use. There is Kona and Pimatex 100% cotton and a "quilting" cotton. I am not sure of the difference in these or if they would be right for this shirt. I'm muddled as to what cotton to use for the CW era that would be an appropriate choice. And what about pique?

Any help/suggestions would be most appreciated!

Thanks.

[Carolann Schmitt]

Re: Civilian Men's Dress Shirts

The original Civil War era men's dress shirts that I have in my collection are made from tightly-woven long-staple cottons with a smooth finish. One of the fabrics you listed, Pimatex, is very similar in appearance and hand to the fabric used on some of the originals. Pimatex is made from Pima cotton, a long-staple cotton with a silky finish. The Egyptian cotton available during the period was another long-staple cotton with a silky finish. Today the term can be used to describe a similar fabric, but it is also used generically by some retailers. I've found "Egyptian" cotton at one retail chain that was closer to a utility muslin than a fine shirting. "Quilting" cotton is usually made from cotton with a shorter staple and does not have as smooth a finish. It often is woven at a lower thread count to make hand-quilting easier. Of these three, I recommend Pimatex. You could also check better online and bricks-and-mortar stores for fine cotton "shirtings" - a term used during the period and today. There are quite a few of these available, although usually from storefronts.

Pique is a fabric woven with a textured or "diaper" weave. It is available in a variety of weights and patterns. It is usually made from cotton, but I've found linen piques on a few occasions. The pique I've found on extant garments is lightweight and usually woven with a small (1/8" or less) checked pattern. You can find pique at better fabric stores or from shops that specialize in heirloom sewing. You can also use a fine tightly-woven linen for the collar, shirt front and cuffs.

I highly recommend Thoughts on Men's Shirts In America 1750-1900 by William A. Brown III. (Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publications, 1999). The author examines a number of original garments and has line drawings with measurements of each shirt. You can easily draft your own pattern from the drawings. The book you mentioned, Shirts and Men's Haberdashery: 1840s -- 1920s has some good information but most of it is post-war and the last quarter of the century. Although a modern book, Shirtmaking: Developing Skills for Fine Sewing by David Page Coffin (Taunton, MA: Taunton Press, 1999) is full of the fine details of shirt construction, many of which have not changed since the mid-19th century.

The Laughing Moon pattern comes is a wide range of sizes and has a lot of historical information, but many of the design details of the shirt are more typical of post-war garments. It can be "retro-fitted" to have more of the characteristics of shirts c.1855-1865. Past Patterns #007 Men's Shirt is a square cut shirt that is more typical of styles worn c.1840-1850, and would be somewhat out of fashion during the Civil War era. The shirt patterns produced by Martha McCain for Simplicity (now out-of-print) were taken from original garments and are characteristic of shirts c.1845-1860.

[Arthur Stone]

Re: Civilian Men's Dress Shirts

Celeste, I've made a couple of civilian mens dress shirts and i find that useing linen makes a very nice shirt, pure linen. If you can get a hold of a cotton calico pattren material that would be great too. But it's hard to find, It looks great with pleats on the front of the shirt too. Also, try to make a stand up collar on them, not a lot of people do this style. I used the " Thoughts on Men's Shirts in America" for reference on making my shirts. It is a must have book! I posted a few pix of a couple of the shirts i made so you could check them out, all hand sewn. I hope this helps in your endeavors.
Keep on sewing!
Art

[Canton Zouave]

Re: Civilian Men's Dress Shirts

We sent you a lengthy reply via email.

A good source for linen and good long staple cotton for us has been:

Zincks of Berlin or Gohn Brothers. Call them and see what they have in stock as it does come and go quickly.

[CC sewing]

Re: Civilian Men's Dress Shirts

Thank you all for your excellent input here and in e-mail! The information and photos are so helpful. I didn't realize that men's shirts from the 19th century could have so much detail to think about.

I have ordered the Thoughts on Men's Shirts In America book. I can't wait to have a look at it. I also ended up getting the David Page Coffin Shirtmaking book, now I think I will have plenty of information to make this work. I ordered my fabric today as well. Oh, and I've been having a lot of fun finding white china buttons on e-Bay. (I've got a nice little antique china button collection started now.)

I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again!