Jackets and adjustments

"I am exceedingly obliged for your exertions in forwarding reinforcements to this army. I like your plan exceedingly of equipping the troops with Jackets, as I am persuaded these may be had, and coats cannot; and tho' they are not quite as sightly, they will serve to render them comfortable." 

--Gnl. Greene to Gnl. Steuben January 7th 1781

Back to our favorite obsession, the US Southern Army in North Carolina. Fort Dobbs timeline hosted Kitty for the first time (as a disgruntled 16th century colonist,) and the fifth iteration of the ragged-ass Continental. A dearth of roads and wagons left them under supplied, but years of experience made them tough with a taste for campaigning.

The above tantalizing clue from Greene's correspondence paints an interesting picture of the time before Guilford Courthouse. Steuben appears to have pushed jackets pretty hard as a remedy to uniform shortages. Quality was lacking, and they were unlined, but better than nothing.

Philip Katcher's Uniforms of the Continental Army, describes rebuilding the North Carolina regiments after the debacle at Charleston. The public store at Halifax had "Pieces Course Blue Frieze," as well as "Soldiers woolen Jackets." Were jackets waistcoats? Did they have sleeves?

As a purely speculative venture Kochan and Phillips serge was laundered repeatedly to give it a frieze-like hand. The jacket is similar to British light infantry types. Cheap and cheerful. It should cover the waistband of the breeches or overalls.

Here is where photographs come in handy. Even with the shadows the body of the jacket looks okay, but the sleeves are way too big. A bunch of material can be removed from the seams to make them snug. Leave some ease around the elbows.

Always good, especially with new projects to look at photos of yourself for fit issues. Similarly a breeze on your hind quarters means your shirt is too short. A blanket cape is a great accessory to shield the public.

Federal Era Revised

Five years have passed since we tried our hand at an early 19th century tailcoat. John Lewis Krimmel provides some great inspiration, rocking out at the Wayside Inn. May have to forego the bullwhip, but checks and a cigar are always welcome.

The older the sewing efforts, the more horrifying the garment. The tailcoat pattern included some guesswork. It's remarkably helpful to have someone who knows surviving clothes well locate all the problems with the copy.

This sexy beast is in the URI Collection (1967.13.17) and known as the "Stonington Plaid." Details can be found here. Everything we want: mismatched pattern seams, fake pocket flaps, tail and breast pockets, unlined linen. Aside from input from Dr. Hammer, the Laughing Moon pattern will be our start point. A cotton fitting pattern will be used for sleeves and collar testing.

Considering how well it fits, the 2011 coat has serious issues. The neck opening is huge, probably why it doesn't hug the neck on the right side.  The front panels are the wrong shape, so the arm openings are strange. The back pieces are way too big, and for some bizarre reason the back sleeve seams are not centered. While we are at it, all the current early 19th century trousers are not tall enough. Might as well make news ones.

This was good, but we can do better. Next time: fitting pattern.

Legs And Linen

Linings are a great way to check fit one last time. Breeches should be tight. Make sure that the crouch seam is snug against the nether regions. Whip or tack the linings with big (one inch) stitches. If everything looks good, transfer any changes to the body and cut the lining back open.

Turn the breeches inside out and back stitch the inner seams and press them open.  Pull the linings together and line up their folded edges. Whip these closed. Make sure the outer and inner seams line up. If the leg seams start twisting use this to help resolve the problem.

What happens without a lining? Here are the bearer and the unfolded fall extension, back stitched to either side of a future fall cut. This is the front of a pair of linen Summer breeches. Seam allowance is only an eighth of an inch. More on how these go together is here at my old blog.

Adjustments

Here is the collar halfway off the coat. The old center-back seam allowance is visible, and the collar lining is free to shorten the collar to match the coat seams.

After the seams are pressed open, the collar lining pieces get trimmed and everything is overcast back in place. Over to the side seams.

The underlying waistcoat seams helped line up where the coat seam should be. All the material is removed from the back. With the skirt linings turned back, the canvas reinforcing panel is pinned back in place.

The folded pleats will hang from this, and it holds the hip button cord. An equal amount of material is removed from the back pleat edge to match the side seam.

Behold: the glory of the inside of a mid-18th century British-style regimental coat. Leather cord holds the buttons, and the half lining is apparent. More hemp canvas stabilizes the shape.

All the tack stitching is cut off the pleats and they are ironed flat. Next: the torture of refolding.  

Regimental Revisited

The mid-eighteenth century British regimental is a strange beast: voluminous, not sleek like those from thirty years later. It can be worn any number of ways. Rich officer types would often unbutton the lapels and shove their hands between the coat and the waistcoat for portraits. The shape is unmistakable: short sleeves, big cuffs, long with full tails, hint of a collar. Even the buttons are unique and stupidly expensive to reproduce. It's the convertible aspect that gives the greatest pains when fitting.

Our specimen is five years old, and was last converted for a full-figure Provincial two years ago. The waist has three-button closure, but the top hangs open. It can be worn double-breasted, buttoned at the waist, or open as seen in the painting above. The collar geometry suffers as a result.

Slowly removing material from the back panel at the shoulder draws the neck hole up and closer. Compare at right, the collar is off the right side and the excess pinned up. Fortunately, the top of the coat is unlined. Unfortunately, adjusting the shoulder seams adds volume to the center back, so the collar needs to be removed even further to correct the center back seam.

The pleats are unacceptable. Not only do they stick out too much when the coat is buttoned, but there is an embarrassing amount of material in the back panels here. The hip buttons might as well be under the arms. All this needs to be cut apart, side seams reshaped, and the pleats refolded.

Adjustments to the shoulder seam make fiddling with the top of the side seam unwise. The sleeves are slightly baggy at the top for a reason. Luckily, the coat's bell shape and three waist buttons make that unnecessary. The comfy X-Acto handle with a #11 blade is your best friend at this point.

  What the hell. Unsightly bulges like this are a good problem to have. Next time, re-pleating and the faux cuff flaps get some attention.

Thoughts On Late 18th Century Breeches

After another trip to help out at the museum, it occurs to me that others may benefit from my inebriated experience. I am by no means an expert, but I may be able to help someone with the agony of men's breeches.

Breeches are weird. They do not fit like 20^th century pants. If the wearer’s pelvis is squeezed and they feel as if they might fall off at any minute, they fit correctly. When working with a commercial pattern, ignore the assembly order and follow these directions instead. Use the pattern directions for making pockets, buttonholes, etc. These tips are most helpful if you have made 18^th century clothing in the past.

Start construction with the waist band. Measure the wearer around the top of their pelvis, below the belly and across the small of their back. The back of the waistband should include a one to two inch gap for fabric stretch and weight loss. The waistband should sit low on the pelvis and come up at the back.

When cutting the waist band pieces, make allowance for gut size and the fact that the front might not be horizontal. If the waist band slopes downward at the front, the sides need to be cut at an obtuse angle so the buttons and button holes meet correctly.

The waist band can be finished at this point. Leave some room for the bottom seam, but they can be lined, the buttonholes and eyelets finished, and watch pocket created if desired, but make sure to leave the bottom seams open to accept the legs. Fold the finished waistbands in half and mark the midpoint for attaching to the leg seams later.

Fall front breeches need to have the fall cut through the outer fabric and lining. Complete the fall binders according to the pattern directions and make button holes at the top of the corners. If the breeches are unlined, add fall lining pieces and leave the bottom loose.  The bearers can be sewn to the fall opening before it is cut. Since they overlap, the bearers can have a button and buttonhole, if desired. A gap can also be left in the fall seam to button the fall to the waistband buttons.    

Now for the hard part: the legs. Most breeches in this period are tight and should fit snugly right under the kneecap. Measure the wearer from the center of the crouch to one inch below the knee. If the wearer’s feet and knees point straight ahead, the pattern pieces need no side adjustment. Most folks are bow legged. If the breeches are to be lined, fitting can be done on the lining and the changes transferred to the fashion fabric. Make sure the pattern has a stand that sticks out on the leg back pieces at the bottom of the outer seam. This is for the buttons. Both front and back leg pieces should also have a tab that hangs down about an inch to support the band.  If the breeches are fly front, there should also be a similar stand on the crotch seam of the right front leg piece.  

If there is no lining, make muslin fitting pieces of the legs. Make them slightly larger than the pattern. If they are fall fronts, don’t cut the fall. If they are fly fronts, sew the fly seam shut for fitting. The crouch seam should be high, tight, and centered. If the center back pulls, material needs to be added to the top to make the back seam longer. Ignore the back gathers and vent for now. The center front seam may need some adjustment at the top for proper fit.

Pin the leg seams closed, and check to make sure the outside seam is centered on the leg.  If it is too far forward, cut material from the outside bottom of the back piece till it is centered. Make sure to remove similar amounts of material from the bottom of the front piece on the INSIDE seam. If the wearer’s knees point outward, this helps twist the seam to compensate. Gradually blend these cuts with the inside and outside seams all the way to the tops of the legs.  If the wearer’s knees point inwards, reverse the process. This works for trousers too, btw. Alternate adding or removing till both the inseam and outseam are centered on the leg.

The bottom seams of the leg fronts should be slightly concave, and just below the kneecap. The rear seams convex, and just above the hollow at the back of the knee. Keep the bottom seam tight to help hold the stockings in place, and follow the knee contour closely. There is not much movement below the knee, but there should be a small pocket above for knee movement. Some breeches have a slightly longer inseam than out. 

Once everything in front is nice and snug (looks like the image above) sew the center front and back seams of the outer fabric and any lining. Make sure to leave the top back open a few inches for a vent. Sew the first inch or two of the outer leg seam together, and make pockets, if desired. If making fall fronts, complete the fall lining and finish the fall. If these are fly fronts, make buttonholes and a finish the button stand. Add fly buttons. If making unlined fall fronts, whip the loose bottom of the fall lining to the crouch seam. 

Turn the legs and waistband inside out. Match front of the waistband pieces to bearers and pin the fronts of the legs to the finished outer waistband. The waistband should be upside down at this point. There is considerably more material on the waistband front. The back of the waistband should an inch or so longer than the leg pieces at the vent if there is a vent insert. If the vent will be open this isn't needed. Gather the rest to fit. The back should form a moderate bag to sit into. The front of the waistband gets sewn to the bearer pieces. Sew the outer waistband piece to the legs and turn it up. Sew the waistband lining down (don’t sew through the watch pocket.) Add a vent triangle piece if desired, leaving the eyelets free on the outside.

Button the waistband inside out on the wearer and check the fit one last time. If all is well, the bottom of the legs can be trimmed to ½” below the kneecap and just in the hollow at the back of the knee. After any last minute adjustments, unpin and finish the inner leg seams. Finish the outer leg seams as far down as the button stand. Clip the seam allowance into the button stand so it lies flat under the front leg piece. Add buttonholes and buttons in a line that matches the seam above. There may be some excess material at the front, but this will be gathered into the band. 

There are many styles of knee band, follow whatever directions come with the pattern. Measure the wearer’s leg just below the kneecap and subtract the button panel overlap—this is the size of the opening the finished knee band SHOULD have for attachment to the leg. Turn under and stitch knee band bottom seam and knee band lining seams (make sure to make a left and right!) The longest part is at the front and gets inserted into a buckle or gets a buttonhole. The back of the knee band is about an inch long and will most often get a buttonhole for a buckle or a button. Finish the sides and top of the knee bands as far as the opening left for the legs (the size of the wearer’s leg measure below the knee.) Clip the outer knee band fabric and pull out the small tab for leg attachment. 

Clip the front and back leg bottoms within ¾” to 1” of the outside edge and up to the height of the seam allowance. This will allow the knee band to overlap the button stand on the legs and hold it securely. Pin the knee band upside down, to the bottom of the leg, starting with the long part at the front. Gather or ease any excess leg material into the knee band at the front and sides, to make a kneecap pocket. Sew the seam allowance and turn the knee band down. Sew the lining over the seam allowance, but not to the button tab on the outside of the leg. Instead, sew the loose end of the knee band vertically to the outside of the buttonhole tab. It should look like this.

Sew the tab at the back of the knee band to the button stand like this as well. The knee band ends will overlap and snug down tightly to hold the stockings up and the breeches down. Finish with either a button and button hole or just a buttonhole to hold a buckle.

Fly front breeches are now complete. One last fitting is recommended for fall fronts, to mark the bottom of the fall edges and where the buttons should go. The fall should be tight and not gap too much when sitting. 

Fitting

M. de Garsault tells us: "Before sewing the fronts to the backs, pin them together and check by the measurements. Sew the armhole down to where the pleats begin, then sew the shoulder seams..." I'm not sure how this was done in the 18th century. Women were fitted for stays and had their gowns put together on them. Since the lining seams are open, I have pinned them out of the way, and buttoned the coat inside out on my form.

The center back seam looks a bit wonky, so I'll need to take more out of that by pinning and marking it with chalk. Adjustable men's dress forms are hard to find, but vastly superior to stabbing yourself with pins and bleeding on your project.

Here is the mess from the front. I only made the mistake of fitting a coat WITHOUT a shirt and waistcoat on the form once. Perhaps the best part about having a form is it allows you to step back and say "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED THERE?" And "THAT'S NOT STRAIGHT! I HATE SEWING."

After all the side and shoulder seams are back-stitched, the lining seams are turned under. These are pinned together and whip-stitched, then I can try it on.  Next time more grumbling.