Why Hand Sewing should be the least of your worries

     Before I start this post, I should say that it's going rile a few folks. To the progressive types I might be preaching a heresy, and to the people who care less about what they wear and more about what they do, this might seem like I'm letting you off the hook. That I've finally seen the light and I don't care about the details anymore. Well, you're both wrong. So without further ado...

Michael Ramsey and Myself at Locust Grove. Micheal is one of the finest 18th century tailors in the hobby today. If you can afford his work, I highly recommend. 

There was and has been a major push in the last decade and a bit to move the hobby in the direction of hand sewn garments from head to toe. An admirable goal and I applaud those who make this commitment.         

    But, it is my opinion that hand sewing your clothes should be somewhat low on the priority list. 

    There's several reasons people list for not hand sewing their clothing. Money, time and not having the ability to sew. Money tends to be a bit more scary than it actually is. You can often find people in the hobby that will sew a garment for a reasonable price. Some folks will charge high prices, but the work is good so, I guess if you want that level of work, go for it. But suffice to say, it can be daunting. Not having the ability to sew and learning how can also be a daunting task when you're first starting out and of course theres the time aspect. Hand sewing takes a lot of time, and if you're not particularly efficient then sewing can take up huge chunks of it. 

    Now, stopping here, I just want to say. YOU SHOULD LEARN TO HAND SEW. At least so you can make some items or make repairs to clothing. But do you need to become the next bespoke tailor in the hobby?  No. 

    Theres a final aspect that I think is valid and that is, maybe you simply don't enjoy sewing. It might not be your thing. And that's okay. 

    So what should your priorities be? If it isn't hand sewn what should you be striving for? 

    First, the right materials. Choosing the correct materials. Correct materials will be the building block of the proper look. 

    Second, patterns and the right cut are crucial to achieving a period look. 

    Machine sewing, while frowned upon in some circles, will help you get in the field quickly and save you a lot of time. Machine sewn interiors will never be visible to the public or your fellow reenactors, however, anything visible should be hand sewn. I think this is a happy compromise to make. 

My shirt is hand sewn, but my jacket and trousers are machined on the inside with hand finishing 

    My kit is about 60-40 Machine to Hand Sewing. And I'm okay with it. Hand sewing has never been my cup of tea. I get really frustrated with it. So I usually buy second hand, order a machine sewn/hand finished garment, or if the price is right, something entirely hand-sewn. 

    So, what am I saying? Learn to sew. That's the best option. But if it's not your thing, it's okay. There's options. A completely hand sewn kit is cool and admirable, but I usually don't like being told someones kit is hand sewn. Feels like an invitation to stroke an ego. That's cool, your kit is hand sewn, but can you build this fire in the rain so we can stay warm? No. Also fine, but let's not act like anyone is cooler than anyone else here. 

    At the same time, not being able to hand sew yourself is not an excuse for making up whatever fantasy garment or ill fitting thing you can find wear because "People did with what they had" or "Out on the frontier they didn't know about the latest fashions" . Again, cut and fit are the key. 

    

Christmas Gambols

 

A few passages relating to the festivities around this time of year. 

Christmas is come, hang on the pot,

Let spits turn round, and ovens be hot;

Beef, pork, and poultry, now provide

To feast thy neighbors at this tide; 

Then wash all down with good wine and beer, 

And so with mirth conclude the Year.

-Virginia Almanac (Royle) 1765

 Our boy Nick Creswell writes of a twelfth night party : 

"There was about 37 Ladys Dressed and Powdered to the like, some of them very handsom, and as much Vanity as is necessary. All of them fond of Dancing. But I do not think they perform it with the greatest elleganse. Betwixt the Country Dances they have What I call everlasting Jiggs.

A Couple gets up, and begins to dance a Jig (to some Negro tune) others comes and cuts them out, these dances allways last as long as the Fiddler can play. This is social but I think it looks more like a Bacchanalian dance than one in a polite Assembly. Old Women, Young Wifes with young Children on the Laps, Widows, Maids, and Girls come promsciously to these Assemblys which generally continue til morning. A Cold supper, Punch, Wine, Coffee, and Chocolate, But no Tea. This is a forbidden herb. The men chiefly Scotch and Irish. I went home about Two Oclock, but part of the Company stayd got Drunk and had a fight."

 Also from Phillip Vickers Fithian in 1773 : 

"Guns are fired this Evening in the Neighbourhood, and the Negroes seem to be inspired with new Life."

 In 1772, the Virginia Almanac observed :

"This Month much Meat will be roasted in rich Mens Kitchens, the Cooks sweating in making of minced Pies and other Christmas Cheer, and whole Rivers of Punch, Toddy, Wine, Beer, and Cider consumed with drinking. Cards and Dice will be greatly used, to drive away the Tediousness of the long cold Nights; and much Money will be lost at Whist Cribbage and All fours"

If you have anymore quotes, please leave some comments! Hope everyone has the merriest of Christmas feasts, warm drink and good company. 

 

Off the Rack or Putting together an impression when sewing isn't your strength

       There was a time in this hobby when the only real option for correctly made clothing was to purchase the wool or linen, pattern it yourself or purchase a pattern and do some slight altering. But, thankfully some vendors are really upping the game on what is available off the rack. 

    I thought I would post here to highlight some of those items that I think are being well made and completely legit options for putting together your 18th century kit. 

    South Union mills is offering an excellent ready made trouser for a decent price. 

Click to go to South Union Mills Store 

    They also make an excellent waist coat and frock coat. Kobuck did a product review that you can check out here. They also offer blankets, knit caps, socks, and shoes. Making one big purchase from them can take you a long way and outfit you for your first event or replace a lot of gear that is maybe not quite up to snuff. 

    William Booth, Draper sells market wallets and knit caps that are ready made. 

    M Brenckle is an excellent hat maker. He is on Facebook and is easy to communicate with. 

    William Caldwell isn't exactly an off the rack sutler, but his hunting shirts have been very popular and he is usually very quick with his turnaround. 

    Something to think about is this. Would it be great if we all had sewing skills and we handmade every single piece of clothing? That would be ideal. Often times a lack of sewing skill or time is used as an excuse to wear sub par clothing, clothing that doesn't fit or isn't made incredibly correctly. The good news is there are better alternatives now and those excuses are quickly becoming obsolete. Fit is more important than the stitching in my opinion, at least the interior. A hand finished, machine stitched item will serve you well and look great. The real thing that makes all the difference is the tailoring. 

    This is a really great and exciting time to be in the hobby. Lots of awesome stuff going on. I see it all the time. I couldn't have dreamed of some of it happening back a couple decades ago. Wether it's the 13th Virginia, Davis and the boys at Frontier Culture museum with Crocketts Western Battalion, the Jersey Grays, David McClanahan and Will Manire. You can go on and on. A lot of good fervor right now. I love seeing Ethan Yazel using his podcast to highlight some of the great people in this hobby doing cool stuff. There's so much good stuff happening. The hobby isn't dying, it's just finding a new trail. Follow it. You'll have a good time. The off the rack clothing is just one aspect of improvement the hobby has seen over the last several years.  Don't let hand sewing or not knowing how hold you back from getting involved! 

Musings...again. It's Kobucks fault

 

    I'm glad that Kobuck is writing prolifically again, because it pushes me to muse. Sometimes I muse on here more than I think I should instead of just sticking to primary sources and putting the information in front of people and letting them decide what to do with it. 

    Why does it matter so much to get this stuff "right". Especially when for a lot of this we aren't even necessarily doing it in front of the public. Private events, backyard camps and hunting trips. Who cares if you're wearing the right clothes. It's the spirit of it, right? 

    I think sometimes because of the modern world we live in, it causes us to want to experience another time. And we then go about romantically concocting notions of rugged individuals living off the land in some kind of bushcrafter survival paradise. "Out here they're beholden to none, not living by another's leave". Cool story bro, but that's just our James Fenimore Cooper, Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier cultural mythos at play and it's VERY HARD to escape from it. 

    I think sometimes the fight is no longer, hey guys lets do this better, its become more so lets call a spade a spade and quit pretending like this bushcraft weekend in historically inspired outfits has anything to do with what guys in the 1760s backcountry were doing. Let's admit that there's two hobbies going on within this larger hobby and stop conflating them. Maybe your group shouldn't go on YouTube and claim to be portraying long hunters of the 1760s. Maybe just say "We are historically inspired bush crafters using some of the skills of the past to have some fun and get away from the modern hustle and bustle for a weekend." Who knows, maybe we all need to admit that's what we're doing wether our clothes can be documented down to the stitch or not. 

    I don't know what the answer is. We all do this hobby for different reasons, I just really have a hard time with disinformation. So put a disclaimer up or something. Or not. Probably doesn't matter. Shoot flintlocks, build fires, make a shelter and have fun. Oh and read some primary sources and try to do that too.    

    In other news, I think we're gonna do some Tshirts again, and I've got new Shirttail Mess "Liberty or Death" stickers. Stay tuned for that. Go read Kobuck's new
blog post about aping the savage. It'll make you rethink some things.