michaelsbagley

Okay, For the RH pattern sleeves, I always use the correct size arm peices with the correct size body peices... and depending on how deep I am doing the seams, I more often find the sleeve almost too big to fit into the arm hole. I can only imagine how much more of a pain in the butt it would be to use a larger sized sleeve piece than the body peice!!! I have to doubt and question whoever gave you that advice. Usually I deepen the seam along the arm by anywhere from quarter of an inch to a half inch for the last few inches of the arm approaching the arm pit to help fit over sized sleeves into the body, and this works for me. If you have cut (for example) a size 46 or 48 sleev for a size 42 or 44 body, this will likely not work for you. Although the design of the coat was not intended to do this, a solution you could use is to add some small pleats or gathers to help fit the oversize arm. I would suggest placing any gathers or pleats (if you do this) at the back so it doesn't impede movement. But IF you choose to go the pleat or gather route, note it will not likely correct, nor will it likely feel correct to the wearer. As for boiled wool, I thought wool was boiled to close to weave, and as such would likely not knap? At least that makes sense in my mind.

Not an easy question to answer because unfortunately more often than not names are NOT standardized in the fabric industry, so one company's "broadcloth" is another company's "flannel" etc. And even worse is the period names have been re-used and quite often for something other than what they were used for in period. There really is no evidence to prove or disprove the use of the period equivalent of modern suiting wool for sailor's jacket,s (that I know of), but I agree with you in that it doesn't seem correct. I have a heavy wool justacorp I lined in light weight wool. It worked wonderfully. I haven't researched blankets at all, but my guess is that your guess of blanket stitching would be correct.

Any good suggestions on better brands of shellac or should we just use whatever we can find at the local hardware box store?

Happy Birthday you Swedish Sea Rover you.... Hope it is the best one yet! Cheers!

I appreciate the advice QJ, I know there is a primitive shooting club (black powder and archery) about an hour east of where I live, and a friend has some family with a farm two hours north where I can go shooting with him on the rare occasion... It's a matter of time.

Yeah, from the various source I have looked to, it will be good for doing 1670s to 1710s impressions, which is one of the main reasons I did decide to go with it. I plan to use it at Searle's (a 1668 event), and I highly suspect no one will comment on it being out of place there either... Living in the suburbs of the city (even a small city) I doubt I'll get much chance to shoot with it, but if the opportunity arise to get out and try some target shooting with it, I will definately share my experiences. I'm going to have to look into that bayonet, I was leaning towards a plug bayonet, but my Red Coat portayal is aimed to be late enough that a socket bayonet would not be out of place.

Hey Quartermaster James, It is indeed the fowler.... I figured as the Red Coat soldier has pretty much become my primary impression a full sized musket would be more appropriate for the more military portrayal than a 'buss or anything like that. I'd appreciate any shooting tips you can provide me with, but I'll likely be using it to "push powder" (re-enactment blank firing) probably about 99% of the time.

HEY DIOSA!!!! I know it's your birthday and all, but I just got an email from Mr. Johnson, and he mentioned the dinner Friday evening. I had offered to make Jamaican style rice and peas (which is really rice and beans, them Jamaican's are funny about naming stuff)... Anyways, I know you and I had briefly discussed coconuts on some thread somewhere in the Pub (maybe on the coconut thread in Twill?), and I believe we last left it at my needing to remind you to check and see if the coconut tree in your yard has any coconuts on it and whether they are of a size to be edible, and if so to bring a few to Searles for me to cook with, if you are so willing? Well this is me reminding you. Please let me know, if there aren't as I will then have to buy some coconut cream to cook with. Cheers!

Happy Birthday Diosa, Looking forward to seeing you and Hurricane again in a few weeks. I won't have any of the green faerie to toast you with, but perhaps I might have something to belatedly toast you with that agrees with you. Cheers

Thanks Chole, ever since I had that conversation with Kass at RF5, I've been meaning to come back to this thread to correct that.

Since this is Twill the extra slot was originally designed and used for bayonets, in later colonial times sometimes a hatchet or small axe. Florentine was a style of the rapier era, which would have been over by about 100 years or more by the time the GAoP rolled around. I'm not saying fighting with two weapons never happenned during the GAoP, just saying as a practised "art" Florentine had gone the way of the rapier.

Young pine/fir needles are an excellent source of vitamin C. You want to gather the young, bright green growth, before it hardens. I am surprised that malt extract goes back so far. Would someone mind posting a picture of spruce tips? Since I have been on a pretty heavy brewing and wine making kick lately, and spring is right around the corner, I have been considering a spruce ale... I may even try this recipe, if I can find the correct trees around central Ohio... I doubt malt extracts go that far back and the above recipe is a modern adaptation, but I seem to recall someone on the Frontier Folk forum posting a reference to malt extract that dated to the 1780s (?), which does put malt extracts at a heck of a lot older than I would have ever guessed. The source for the citation

Well I just moments ago sealed the deal on a Doglock long arm from Middlesex Village.... It should be in my arms by Monday or Tuesday... M.A.d'Dogge, you can have your fishtail back now.

In my experience more re-enactors DON'T ever use their swords for stage combat than do... And hip hangers are a heck of a lot cheaper than decent stage steel... But if you do intend to eventually get into stage or re-encatment combat, save you pennies and get a good stage steel weapon.

If it existed online, I'd probably know about it... That isn't me trying to be arrogant, I have just looked that thoroughly and that often... That said Look here and Here you can learn a lot. The pattern used is (I believe) later 18th century, but some further research on shoes from the 1680s to 1720s and the use of the techniques in those web pages would likely lead you as close as you are going to get without taking some expensive and exclusive courses or classes.

Well Montery, I have stumbled across the book "The English Housewife" which has a pretty in depth chapter about brewing in it. Now this writing is a little past Elizabethan as it was originally published in 1615 (Elizabeth dies in 1603 if memory serves me well), but I am guessing that would be more than close enough for you? Here's the kicker though, parts of the book can be found online, I think I have even staggered across a facsimile copy of an 1683 edition at one point online. But not having looked at an earlier edition I am not sure if the 1683 facsimile edition I stumbled across is heavily revised from the original 1615 edition or not. I think you can buy the book on Amazon in soft cover for prety cheap (about $20 +/-), and I think it is a transcription of the ortiginal text. I'll have a peek through my book marks when I get home and see if I can provide you with a link to one of the online copies of the text. I also recall stumbling across a page of links to various 15th and 16th century scripts on brewing at one point as well. I'm sure if I can find that link again, you'll have more than enough to go on.

Link to Kate Souris' blog - However, this blog is on a Living History Worldwide page, (kind of like mySpace or Facebook for re-enactors only), and for some reason an account needs to be set up in order to view member pages or blogs through this network. Wihtout going too far off topic, this Living History Worldwide thing is particularly awesome for those who do multiple periods or would like to add non-pirate re-enacting to your roster... But if piracy is all you are interested in, the Pub, the Tavern and the Pirate Brethren board are still the best places to be... and I can't say I've really found any pirate re-enctors on LHW that aren't already on the Pub, Tavern or Brethren board(s).

I think you're read on it is probably more accurate BlackJohn... I also forgot to mention that there may (will?) be some information forthcoming regarding how to get on as a "volunteer" for insurance if one doesn't have their own. It's a shame you might not be at this one BlackJohn, I was looking forward to finally meeting you. Here's hoping you can make out for at least Sunday... My wife was not too keen on the amount of travel involved in the other event, and she's pretty sure she can;t get the Friday off she would have needed to attend the other event, so I am saying at this point, this is a very likely event for me.

I dunno, the antics of Comrade Primate were fairly amusing... But I'm not sure if there is much of a story there... Probably more of a needed to be there to see it.

Well, it seems like this event MIGHT be back on. I'll repost any information provided by the organizer here once things are firmed up. The one catch for the ressurection of this event is that any hopeful participant MUST have $500,000 or more liability insurance to participate. Personally I am very torn, I found a different non-pirate event the following weekend I was considering, but now that this one might be back on....

Tabby weave (also sometimes called basket weave) is always safe for just about any and every time period. Most commercial fabrics sold as "wool flannel" are a tabby weave (although a slightly fulled/felted/fuzzed tabby weave). Wool twills are good as well. According to Wikipedia Gabardine is a weave that was invented in the late 19th century, and really didn't become prominent until the 20th century. Although I think my Red Coat is made of a Gabardine (it was on sale).

Okay, I'll start with Men's... Cravat or Neckerchief - 2 to 3 ounce linen, or any lightweight silk, although I generally advise against Duiponi no matter what name people call it (Raw Silk = Duiponi = Shantung , again going from memory here, different names, same second rate silks) Shirts - ~5 ounce (+/-) linen for an average shirt, you could go finer or heavier for a more gentlemanly or more working class shirt if you chose to. Breeches - at least 7 or 8 ounce linen (or heavier if possible), or just about any weight wool you can find. Wool Garbendine (if memory serves me well) is not a very period authentic weave. Jackets/Coats/Waistcoats - Same as breeches. Not having worked with silk hardly ever, I will hope that someone more knowledgeable on silks will speak up. For now, off to dinner.

Lady B, are you talking about me? I'm incredibly sorry but I don't recall giving any advice on buttonholes... But I'm glad it was helpful if I did... And are these the buttonholes you were talking about?

That's a really good question... All the evidence I have seen is pictoral, so that reveals... Nothing. But I do have a good supply of both brass and copper rivets so that if any information comes up proving one or the other I will be prepared.

If memory serves me well, that buckle is from G Godney Godwin (Sutler of Mount Misery), and it is a 1.75 inch buckle, and I tend to cut the straps an 1/8 inch smaller than the buckle width for room to play. And I think all the parts are cut to the same width for simplicities sake. That said, if I was to make another one, I would proabbyl want to try and find the same buckle in 1.5 inch if possible.