Salem Massachucetts is hot. A good time to don 1804 attire and become an accountant in a West India Goods Store for the Annual Maritime Festival. Since the building is normally an NPS office, visitors are slightly confused when it magically tranforms into a store. More so when Kitty fills it with some tiny fraction of her 19th-century […]
Read more "The Heat is On"Well THAT was fun. I destroyed my first pair of gaiter-trousers and my favorite shoes, but it was worth it. Not allowed to talk about it. Let’s just say I understand why Peter Jackson likes Red cameras so much. Considering I only do living history a few weekends out of the year, I’ve finally reached […]
Read more "Drunk(er) Tailoring"A bit of inspiration–the March of the Guards to Finchley, by William Hogarth (1750.) George II might not have liked it, perhaps Frederick II had enough of a sense of humor to recognize some truth in the satire. All the chaos and drunkenness of this work perfectly sums up my feelings toward the Fusilier regimental. […]
Read more "Nearly Done."The over cuff is longer than the under cuff, but has about the same diameter. That means it needs to be stretched, and the under cuff compressed to sew it on. Here it is with the edges of the short sides stitched together. Press the puckers out of the seam, and turn it inside out. […]
Read more "Stotting Part Two"English regimental coat collars in this period mimic the lapels in construction. Here is the under collar attached to the coat with the seam pressed open. The lining and interfacing peek in at the bottom. As with armholes and sleeves, the neck opening of the coat has to be the same length as the long […]
Read more "Collar"So with the hooks and eyes secured over the form, and all the buttons buttoned this happened. Pinning the side seams makes the inside curve of the lapels so severe that the buttons are now too close together. Note to self: in future, sew on hooks and eyes BEFORE the buttons. Time to cut all […]
Read more "&%$##*&^%@!"As seen here, three evenly-spaced hooks and eyes hold the regimental coat closed. The bottom pair lines up with the fourth buttonhole in the lapel. The coat seams are pinned together, inside-out, on the form. The now familiar linen tape holds the lapel buttons on, sewn to the canvas interfacing. The ends of the hooks […]
Read more "Hooks & Eyes & Bays"The 18th-century soldier’s coat was his pride and joy. The tactics of the period called for close-order, fighting elbow to elbow, so it had to be snug. It must not interfere with the handling of the firelock either, but it also had to be comfortable. Usually, redcoats could expect a new garment issue every year, […]
Read more "The Regimental Coat"