jendobyns

Thanks, Sterling, those are great pics! Does the forum have a specific location for pictures used for reference like these? Or are they all scattered between different conversations?

How very interesting! Lots going on besides pockets to think about.

Ah, ok, that could explain why it looked like arabic script. And why zoom didn't work in trying to figure out letters Sorry to ruin the joke, my old eyes just don't work even with reading glasses sometimes. Especially when alcohol is involved

There were straw ticks, what we would call mattresses. Basically big bags filled with straw (or sometimes corn husks) and stitched up. If you were fortunate enough, you could have another filled with feathers. In inventories these are the "bed", what we would consider mattress, although that term did show up in one of Mission's quotes, so it could be a regional terminology thing. In some housekeeping manual I read that it was recommended one would use the feather bed on top of the straw in cold weather, then reverse it so the straw was on top in warm weather. Straw ticks could be emptied and re-filled to keep vermin down, and herbs could be mixed with the straw also. Some paintings (Dutch, iirc) show bits of mattress/tick peeking over the edge of the loft or out from bed hangings. Wether or not something like this was used aboard ships sounds like a question for Foxe. There could be a difference in materials between what was used on land -vs- sea.

I just can't see the logic, if it's known that pockets existed in earlier extant garments, why one would think something so useful would be abandoned in a later period or not more broadly adopted outside it's original use. And it goes to show that you cannot just rely on word of mouth when putting together your kit. This is particularly true for beginners. I will avoid stepping up on my soapbox by stopping here

Thanks! I'll try that in the morning when my eyes are cooperating.

Wonderful? Look closer... OK, I see it, but can't read it. Silly Mission

Mission, that's wonderful. Do you think you could add the detail pictures as well?

Some reenactor myths are hard to kill.

sure looks like it, tucked between the pleats.

Oh, if you scroll down on the page, there are detail images you can enlarge! Great pics of repairs. These clothes have been repaired over and over! Thank you, Neal Hurst!

Can't seem to find a better place to put this link, or if it's already been shared with the group. Here's an example of existing sailor's clothing from the period (dated _very_ broadly). In the Museum of London collection: http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Collections-Research/Collections-online/object.aspx?objectID=object-83032&rows=1&start=0 If someone can figure out how to actually post the pic rather than the link, I'd surely appreciate it!

Here's a good visual (albiet a bit later period) of just how fine linen could be made: http://www.nyhistory.org/node/22076

Could you tell us more about the book? Title, author, isbn? It sounds like a great reference.

Liberty's Exiles. Just got to the part where the author talks about American Privateers were raiding the coast of Nova Scotia during the Revolution. It's been interesting to read about where Loyalists ended up as the war progressed. Great fodder for first person interpretation.

Thanks! Will dust off the lace pillow and bobbins and see if the fingers will cooperate.

Beautiful! Do you know which "pricking" she used? I have been on the lookout for a similar structure for a shift neckline. Jen

I am writing from memory here, so I could have missed something sailor specific in the art work. Generally, coats are either approximately the same length or longer than waistcoats. If the pic of Bo you are referencing is in the series of three below yours, they are close to the same length, though the waistcoat looks a tad shorter to me, which would be appropriate. Best to compare the length you want with period art work depicting sailors. (look for threads including artwork). Enjoy the journey that is research!

Do you have any links to examples? I'd love to see them before making ones for my husband! The ones I saw weren't necessarily very tightly woven, but the threads were very fine. This fabric I got wasn't. I have a very fine linen shift that has just about finished it's life as a shift I'm thinking of cannibalizing for ruffles and cravats for my husband. Again, not extremely tightly woven, but fine threads.

Cool, you mean their 2.5 oz isn't like cheesecloth now? Last time I bought that weight from them that's what it looked like. Not fine at all, but wonderful stuff anyway. I'll have to order a swatch and see what it's like!

No, taffeta is not soft and fluid, it's rather crisp. Kind of like tissue paper, but a bit heavier, it feels rather "crunchy" to the hand. Silk the right weight is funny, you have to stitch it fairly loosely, 6-8 stitches per inch, or you can tear it along the sewing line like perforated paper. This gown is from the 1750's, but the point is that you can see the drape and weight of silk taffeta: http://www.kci.or.jp/archives/digital_archives/detail_6_e.html Cambric and lawn would really be better, because they stand up to the laundering necessary for a piece of neckwear. Holland is also a term for fine linnen, iirc, but I don't remember the weight exactly, and I sort of shop by hand and eye. I will try to check tomorrow when things settle down and I can get to my books. Really, the details you are looking for could show up in period probate inventories, if you can access any from the area you are in currently. Then the terminology you use with the shopkeepers might become easier. I can ask a German friend who is multi-lingual if she knows what you should ask for (she also does period clothing and research) but I'm not sure it will help. Burnley and Trowbridge in the US can also send you samples, which you could use to take shopping with you, just remember that samples are likely to still have sizing in them, so will be a bit stiffer than after the fabric is washed. Try the finer department stores, also, where they carry high end decorator fabrics. Do you have a Galerie Lafayette? i think they might be useful (if expensive, but all you need is a fraction of a meter). I seem to remember they had really good fabrics in the Berlin store (but it could have been somewhere else, it's been a while).

Good for you both! The pillow and the lace look wonderful!

May you all be blessed with all the rum and treasure you can handle in the coming year!

Welcome to the pub!

Here's another one for the file. http://www.nhursttailor.com/N.Hurst_Tailor/Welcome.html