Description

Nice coarsely woven muslin/cotton fabric shirt in documented period pattern with standard gusseted sleeves. We made a small batch of these black and white checked shirts for a Living History project based on a researched description of shirts received by men under General Custer’s cavalry command. (very limited number) Rise and fall folded over collar with classic rounded corners with plain front, no pockets. All button holes are hand-sewn with all original four hole black glass buttons. While this shirt was made specific to the description indicated it is also a basic and common commercially manufactured pattern shirt of the period appropriate for any soldier or citizen of the period from either side of the line.  To provide a reasonably priced quality shirt with a great look and no sacrifice of authenticity is our goal. In the “Ready-Made” norm of the period, all major seams are machine sewn as the majority of shirts produced during the war were. Even in the South, pre-war adverts for personal machines and church and society guilds with communal machines were well known. All “small” work such as button holes, etc. should be hand sewn as most period machines lacked this technology. In response to a recent inquiry concerning cuff button placement, in examining quite a few original shirts over the decades we have taken notice that there seemed to be quite a diversity in button v. button hole, and cuff slit placement on sleeves, especially those of the less formal varieties, as opposed to the universal norm today, attempting to more mimic the appearance of the formal french cuff.  Accordingly, we have placed our cuffs and buttons with some diversity also, but the slit routinely placed on the portion of the wrist most easily accessible on the inside with the off hand, as the utility shirt should be configured.  Note: After examining several documented original period shirts, we looked long and hard to find the coarse woven checked materials we desired to make our common shirts out of. We are confident that the result is a very authentic representation of the common quality material available in the day. Because the material is a produced in the manner of less refined coarse weave cottons, in order to better represent the quality that was mass produced during the period – as opposed to the higher tech produced “finished” cotton shirts of the modern era, there is occasionally some minor anomalies found in the weave. (skipping a thread, small thread pulls, balls, etc) They are not “damaged”, and if discovered after the garment is in production these very minor anomalies are simply left as is on the garment as they represent the types of issues we have observed on similar period undamaged fabric as well. If a thread is actually broken or the anomaly is large enough to require any treatment to avoid risk of real damage, we apply a period type remedy to the fabric, finish the shirt and discount the clothing item in question to cost. Such is the price of authenticity in common mass produced Civil War era material culture. (PLEASE SEE SIZING CHART FOUND AT TOP OF HOME PAGE for checked shirts that are pre-washed)