Clothing from the Civil War era (1855-1865)

Where to start! Hm... well We could just talk about whatever comes to mind. How about that?

First thing came to my mind was how hot that era's clothing was (as in temperature ). I've actually taken part in a few reenactments, and those wool uniforms get pretty toasty at 110 degrees (no joke, it was really bad here this last summer). I'm guessing that you are a reenactor...what state are you in Civ?

North Carolina. Its VERY hot. But, when you use natural fibers, its a heck of a lot cooler than using man-made.

And yes, I am a reenactor. Big surprise, right?

Of course

Did you know you can edit posts? Theres a little button on the top right side of the post.

So there is.....*General S bows* "You have my thanks fair maiden".

hehe you're welcome.

SOOOOOO y'all start talking about clothing....but why do I suddenly read "can we start a topic on rock and roll?!!?!!?!???!?!?

Pitiful, totally pathetic, disssssgraceful!

Us here at Civil War Rocks are the BEST st going off subject

How could I have Missed that?!

haha yes. Maybe we should get an award of something

(go to the Eragon thread)

I just did... Maybe we could stop chatting and stay on topic for 1 day

sounds marvelous! Alright, clothing......................................................................um, yeah, about clothing........................................oh yes, go to www.xanga.com/SouthernWriter. I just put a post about "Creating the Right Impression....
(ssslight edit)...
~Taken from Creating the Right Impression And What it Involves ~

Clothing is probably the second on the importance list of things that you need to create your picture. There were different “pictures” that you can do; there is a General’s wife, or a lady from Philadelphia, or a daughter of the regiment, a soldier’s wife who does the cooking, a civilian shop owner, a mayor…now that is just to name a few. There are many images that you can create. One of the most important parts of clothing, is making sure that you dress your age whether or not you act older then you really are. The importance of length in dresses is sometimes one of the most misunderstood facts about clothing. In the 1860’s, and even before and after that, little boys were seen in pictures to be wearing dresses until they were potty-trained, and/or of an age to help “father with work”. Little children, regardless of their sex, would have had their dresses lengthened to way past their toes as infants. Yet, as the young one began more active, the clothing would begin to shorten, until like I mentioned, the young boy would pass on his dress for knickers. Around the same age, young girls would have had their dresses shortened to about their knees. The older a girl gets, the longer her dresses got. It wasn’t until the age of 16-18 that the dresses got to be adult length, which is to the floor. I made the mistake of having my first dress be floor length, and I was only 12. My dress at that point should have been mid-calf. I have made both of my sisters’ dresses to fall to where it was appropriate for their age, and I have put tucks in the skirts so I can let the skirts down when they get older. I am at the age where I would actually be married, but that doesn’t mean that I can wear my skirts to the floor. At the moment I have my skirts come down to the top of my ankle for ease of movement, and that is where they would have fallen at my age. Of course, I can not talk about our clothing, without talking about what our clothing is made from. My mom and I began doing research on fabrics, and after we felt like we had a faint idea of what was needed, we became our search. When we started to look for fabric for our dresses, my mom and I first had to find out what the correct patterns on the fabric were. We found numerous hints on finding the correct make of the material, the correct thickness, patterns, and what certain patterns were used for. For an example, most fabrics for a good work dress were made out of 100% cotton, and were made out of a homespun, which is mostly seen in plaids, and then there were also dresses made out of a printed calico, which was also 100% cotton. Another detail that researchers have discovered is that for a printed pattern on a dress, especially for a work dress, the bodice was often gathered with a fitted lining. It is often hard to find material suitable enough, but with a considerable amount of research, and with looking through many stores, material can be found. There are such things called “Reproduction material” in fabric stores today, but that does not always mean that type of pattern or quality was available in the 1860’s. The types of fabric that were used are; Linen, Cotton (usually 100%), Silk (that includes taffeta), and Wool. Another thing that we had to be careful with is that we made to sure that what we picked for fabric was authentic, and by authentic I mean paying attention to details.

Very nice! Though if anyone wants to make a dress out of homespun, your my hero. Homespun is VERY hard to sew (like my apron ) and it looks like its been worn alot before you ever wear it. if you're going for the lower, lower class its perfect. But if not, I would reccoment running from it.

Well, let's see here....one, no two of my dresses are homespun, two of my three sisters have a homespun dress apiece. My five brothers all have homespun shirts...but, Yes, I will agree, homespun fades quickly. I can't figure out why you would have such a hard time sewing with it though. I've had to deal with 5 1/2 yards of fabric on my sewing machine, but have never had any problems. You're right, homespun is for the lower class, and that is usually what my family and I usually enact. As we usually are refugees following the soldiers, we need good work dresses.

The problem I had was that te print didn't stay strait. It stretched a lot and the color faded.... and I only washed it once.

I thought that refugee were supossed to be upper-class?? They were the only people who had money enough to leave everything and go with the army...

Either you had very poor quality homespun, or else, hmm, what else. I really don't know what to say, Civ! Except that my mom and I have never had a problem with homespun.

Refugees....
Are the people who have been kicked out of their homes by a military influence. Example: one family's home town was just occupied by the opposing force, and those soldiers want to use your home as a hospital, therefore leaving you no chance other then to leave, or be killed in your own home. I really do not want to offend you, Civ, I guess I'm just trying to make sense.

Wow, Trin, 5 1/2 yards? Amazing. How long have you been using a sewing machine?

A refugee is someone who follows the army because they have no other choice. I think what Civ is describing is a camp follower, some one who follows the army because they want to see more of war........talk about stupid lol. Kind of like a groupie. That reminds me.....I'm going to go start a topic on rock. cya!

I guess I should have made myself clearer to y'all. That five and half yards of fabric is generally speaking of the skirt for most of the dresses I have made. Let's see....I've been using a sewing machine for about say, 5 or 6 years (wow, that IS a long time!)

how do you get ahold of homespun?

I usually find homespun at Walmart, or Jo ann's. As it takes roughly 7 to 8 yards to make a woman's dress, my mom and I wait until there are sales.

Yes but Trin, To just pick up and move along with the army, you need funds. So it would be the middle and upper classes that did it. Have you ever read Sarah Morgan's diary? It says a lot of stuff about the refugees being richer than most people. Camp followers? Not too many refrences to that other than the rare laundress and woman of dubiouse moral.

My favorite person (and one of yours too Trin) is Elizabeth Clark. She made a post on this one day on either Authentic Campaigner or CWreenactors. I can't remember which one.

Edit: Oh and I got the homespun at the same place you did. Wal-Mart.

Hmm, thanks for the info, Civ. I'll definitely look her post up.

No problem! Maybe I'm messing things up.... I don't know...