madPete

TBD - More to Follow...

Lay each side of the body flat on the floor or table. right-side of fabric up. Pin the ends and the center of the waistband to the body. Material right-side to right-side. On the fly and back opening pin the waistband flat for about an inch from each end. If you do gathers the traditional way, now is the time. I dont do gathers the traditional way, so what follows is just my method.. I then split the difference on the extra material and pin again in the center of waistband that is still loose.. basicaly splitting the difference each time. Then I proceed to bunch the fabric every 1/4 to 1/2 inch and pin. This is the way I do gathers. Once you have this pinned, you can hand stitch or machine stitch (1/4 to 3/8 inch from the edge). Up to you, because this ends up hidden inside the waistband. Note: I flipped one side over after I pinned both.

Next is handstitching, although you can do this with a machine. Its one of the few parts that may be visible at times. Before you stitch make sure you've pinned them on the proper side of the body, so that you have two halves mirror image of each other. Hand stitch the inside of the fly on the right and left main body Hand stitch the back opening on the right and left main body.

Turn the waistband right-side out and flatten. spray with a spray bottle and iron the waistband flat. I didnt have a spray bottle so I got a little crazy splashing water on the waistbands. trim any excess from the hems so its fairly even. you can shorten the height of the waistband at this point if you wish. I try to keep them about 1 to 1-1/2 inches wide plus the hem width.

Cut two waistbands approx 2 1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch longer than half your total waist size. This allows a half inch hem and each end of the waistband. Cut a second set for the inside of the waistband. I always use a softer linen on the inside, sometimes the heavy linen is a bit scratchy. Often I'll used striped linen as a lining for the waistband. pin them together right-side to right-side (if there is one, most linen is the same either side) The waist bands are then exactly half the total waist size. 1 for each half of the main body of the slops., right side and left side. When you put a button hole in the front left of the waistband, the waistband will overlap and inch or so. This opens a slight gap in back where the tie will go and leaves a small amount of adjustment with the ties in back. Stitch starting at one end. I backstitch at the ends and every 3-4 inches over the entire length. Then if a thread breaks it only unravels to the point of the backstitch and is easily repaired. Not that this is a problem, but slops are made for heavy work, so... Stitch the length of the waistband on one side only. Stitch both ends. Trim the corners, so when it is turned right-side out, the corners are not bunched together.

Now left side front and left side back get stitched together at the side seam. Same with right side front and right back. I machine stitched this portion. stitch sides together right side to right side. fold hems over on the inside (wrong side). Lay down on the fabric and stitch through the edge of the hem and the main body. Optionally you can stitch just the edge of the hem. French seam diagram for clarity...

Here are the main sections pinned and ready to hand stitch fly and back opening. make sure to do opposites on right and left sides (i.e. a mirror image)!!

Since I'm in the process of making a pair of slops, I started taking pics. figured might be a good tutorial. First - I'm going to mention washing and drying your fabric on high heat. This will eliminate 95% of any shrinkage in the fabric. You certainly dont want them to shrink after being stitched together and taking your careful measurements into consideration Here are the main sections of fabric cut for the slops. two fronts and two backs. Left front and left back will be stitched together at the side seam. As will the right front and right back.

Thanks!

I will have something for the auction, probably hand made. Just not sure what exactly... yet.

Welcome aboard! Yo Ho!

Bring a sample of your fabric to Ft Gaines. I'm supposed to demonstrate clothing and bring fabric samples anyway. If its something I can use or even suggest a good use for it could be worthwhile. I can't use more fabric til after Ft Gaines anyway. My hands are full right now. Seam is not as clean as it appears. It is machine sewn, but it blends in on that heavy fabric. I dont normally do french seams, but it was easier than my regular method, and probably stronger, at least for the side seams. I keep trying new things now that I'm not so burned out on stitching. Trying new things keeps it fresh.

Honestly dont know anythign about french cuffs, but I like that material, makes for a nice shirt!

William took a lot of pics and posted most of them on facebook. We did some staged ones on the beach burying treasure, marooned etc... I'll ask If I can post them here on the pub.

Here is the side seam (french seam) and the preparation for handstitching the fly and the back slit

When I make sleeves, I always use the last 3 or 4 inches of seam as the open part of the cuff and roll the edges of the slit. Then the point of the underarm gusset goes in the other end of the seam and that way the seam is always underside of the sleeve.

I like the looks of that shirt! Can't tell if that is the cuff or the collar, but cuffs were actually narrow on men's shirts like 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. just for reference. I have no clue on womens clothing...

working on a couple pair of slops now... These are a heavier material (10oz linen) than I've used before.

Yummy ? oh, I forgot... You are on a road trip LOL

I reworked one of the stools and made another... The dark one use to be the thick round one, sorta natural color with Pine seat/oak legs... and the hexagon is the new one I just made, Pine seat/Birch legs. These will be shipped to ft Gaines for the event. Might even add one to the auction!

We are planning a Potluck for Saturday night prior to the Auction before the Mast. Potluck will be for the whole camp, i.e. anyone who wants to join in. So far we have: Vegetable stew (Mercury cook crew) Chicken and "Flinglings" Dumplings (Fayma and Anne Marie) Queen cakes (Fayma and Anne Marie) Stynky's Rice (Stynky) Potatoes, sweet corn to toast on the coals (Mercury Crew) Sloppy Joe (Chaos Carol) Pea soup (Michael Bagley) Apple Crisp (Fayma and Anne Marie) Chilled Fruit Salad (DIosa)

just trying to get the word out so you have time to think about it! Per William on Facebook... Auction Before the Mast We're planning an after hours auction/fundraiser on Saturday the 16th. A traditional auction before the mast involved the selling of a perished sailor's goods to other crew members, so we'd love donations in that ilk. If you have kit, clothing and other items you'd like to donate, please contact me privately about adding to the sea chest and set aside some money to support the Fort for supporting us!

5) Firearms I hesitated on this one, since I'm light on details for this event. I'm flying and am already overloaded with camp gear and extra stuff we need for cooking, so I've punted on Black powder weapons this time around. But here goes. For those flying in, there will be some black powder available. Chris is local and has offered to sell us a couple cans so we dont have to transport. Its for small arms quantities only, sorry cant help on the cannons. If needed, we can organize a rolling party for cartridges. Speaking of cannons, there will be several cannons on site and opportunities to fill cannon crews. So if thats somethign you are interested in by all means find the cannons and ask if they need crew. I'm not familiar with the procedures at this specific event. They are not subject to the state park regulations like Fort Taylor since they are run by the city of Dauphin Island. Having said that, I would be prepared for weapons inspections and safety rules once we get there. We always want to be safe and no accidents. I would plan on paper cartridges regardless. There is a thread from earlier years in the Armory regarding flying with firearms. Hardcase, TSA lock, no powder and must declare when checking in. I can't comment further as I dont know what if anythign has changed in the last couple years. Remember for those replica weapons... If it looks like a gun it will be treated as such. So probably best to follow same regulations and declare it. Traveling with weapons thread Knives, swords etc must also be in hard cases and checked baggage when Flying

Nice Job!