Instructor Perspective: Men's Shirts

This is the first of a series of posts by our Hive Instructors so they can share with you their perspectives on reproducing 18th century clothing.  

Why You Should Learn to Make A Man’s Shirt

OR

How About Them Details??

By Victoria Brenckle

            Since you are reading this post on The Hive’s website I am going to assume that you have already seen the fabulous workshop selection for the 2012 season. Next, I am going to go out on a limb and assume that most of you were swept away in daydreams of tuning up your gun or making leather breeches. Perhaps your mind wandered towards overalls or waistcoats because those get “seen” and are important to get to first.

            Why would I accuse you of such things? I know because I was there. I came to the Rev War via the 1630’s which was, by the way, a century and a half BEFORE the Revolution. (I wish someone told me that when I started in Revolutionary War reenacting.) I wore my old clothes to my first 2 events. The first thing I made was a jacket; outerwear.

            Now, as a seasoned so called "veteran reenactor", I will share the most important rule in building an historic impression. Start from the inside and work out!   I can now assume the two questions that come to mind: What do I do in the meantime? and Why should I do that?

            The first question is the easiest; either show up and soak it all in as a spectator to start with or ask your group where the slop chest is or who will let you borrow an outfit. As long as you are actively working to get yourself outfitted, most reenactors do not mind loaning clothes a few times.

            On to the harder question. Why would I make you put off the chance to learn all that other cool stuff first? Here are my reasons:

·       By studying inventories and reading copious primary sources, Matt and I see the same thing over and over again. Men had numerous shirts. You see, shirts got dirty since they were worn closest to the skin (which was not cleaned as frequently as yours is…assumptions again). Do you change your underwear everyday but wear your pants more than once? Eighteenth Century men followed the same pattern. Shirts were the most worn, laundered and replaced item in a man’s wardrobe. If you have a shirt now, wouldn’t you like to have another? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to repair it? How about to make another when that fabulous shirt you make with us gets tired? We’re teaching you how to fish here people!

·       By fish I mean…sew! When you make a shirt by hand you need to learn and use (over and over and over again) those basic stitches that are used to make other 18^th century reproductions. Sewing a shirt by hand will force you to make your stitches smaller, neater and quicker than you are now. Once you construct a shirt by hand, you move from basic to intermediate sewer. An intermediate or advanced sewer will reap the same benefits of smaller, neater, quicker stitches as well!

·       As I compose this post on “Cyber Monday” I know how easy it is to acquire a ready-made shirt. Truth be told, you can order one for less money than this class costs!

Will that shirt be made of appropriate materials? (Probably not)

Fit you properly? (If you are lucky)

Give you the warm fuzzy inside feeling of being the most accurate you can be? (Definitely not!)

·       You will have not one, but two experienced historians, sewers, and nice people to help you along the way as you construct the most important garment an eighteenth century man wore!

Sign up to make your own shirt or a shirt for your favorite man.

Looking forward to working with you,

Vicky and Matt Brenckle

e-mail v_rebal@yahoo.com to sign up

(Also, please note that we will offer the option to make a woman’s habit shirt. A habit shirt is the undergarment a woman wore under her riding habit, it looks similar to a man’s shirt but is much shorter. If this option interests you then feel free to write to me.) 

Happy Thanksgiving from The Hive

In the 18th century there was no "Thanksgiving" as we know it today, you know, turkey, stuffing, football.....  Rather, "Days of Thanksgiving" were routinely declared.  And you have to love how they were sometimes, matter of factly, announced in the newspaper, like this example from 1766 -  Lt Governor proclaims a day of Thanksgiving, and by the way, a ship sprung a leak, the mackerel is plenty and there was a ship wreck and everyone died. A stark contrast to today's super-hyped holiday.

It would appear as things heated up between us and England that Days of Thanksgiving in the Colonies, took on a more focused and important purpose. Take a look at this one by John Hancock in 1774 who includes in thoughts that, "harmony and union to be restored between Great Britain and these colonies". 

In 1777,  progress during the war was cause for a Day of Thanksgiving

In 1783, a Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed to be thankful for a "cessation of all hostilities"

So as we launch headlong into the craziness of the holiday season, why not take a minute to reflect on  how our 18th century forefathers and mothers viewed Thanksgiving and be thankful that they left us their words to study and to learn from.

Best wishes from all of us at the Hive and enjoy this Day of Thanksgiving!

Hive Workshops Fall 2011/Winter 2012

HIVE 2012 – Workshops – Minute Man National Historical Park Concord, MA

For questions contact: hiveworkshops@gmail.com

Breeches or Military Overalls: December 3 & 4, 2011 Sat/Sun

9:30am – 4 pm

The workshop will guide both beginners and experienced sewers through the process of measuring, cutting, constructing and finishing a pair of linen or woolen fall front breeches or military overalls. Students will have the option of bringing their own fabric, or purchasing a pre-cut linen or woolen breeches kit. Original garments will be available for study and inspiration.

Kit Prices: kits include pre-cut fabric pieces, thread, buttons for covering or metal buttons, thread, pattern, and instructions. Buckles are not included 

Wool Breeches kit - $120 

Linen Breeches Kit - $ 80

Fee:   $100 per person ("fitting models" may attend at no additional charge)

Instructor: Henry Cooke

To register:  hcooke4@verizon.net

Staymaking Workshop -- WORKSHOP FULL

January 7 & 8, 2012 Saturday/Sunday

9:30am -4pm

We will be making stays in the 18th century manner. We strongly encourage participants to sew the entire pair of stays by hand in order to produce stays that fit well, are easy to remodel in case of weight loss or gain, and can easily be repaired in the case of any broken boning.  However, if you are unable to do so, one can sew the channels by machine, with the rest done by hand.  As people have discovered in our other workshops, when constructing items in the 18th century way, hand sewing is easier and produces better results than machine sewing.  Besides, you can do it anywhere and it's very relaxing!

All materials for your stays will be supplied for the workshop, including linen canvas, thread (please advise if you are planning on sewing your channels by hand or machine), boning, leather binding and stay cord.  

All skill levels are welcome, stay making is not difficult, but it is time consuming. Some knowledge of hand sewing is helpful but not necessary. 

Fee: $150

Instructors: Hallie Larkin & Steph Smith

To register: stephzsmith@gmail.com

American Militia Cartridge Pouch

January 14, 2012

9:30 am - 4pm

You will construct a 19-hole cartridge pouch that would be appropriate for Seven Years War Provincial, Revolutionary War American militia, and pre-1779 Continental Army. The pouch will be complete with the wood block, black leather shoulder strap with brass buckle.

Fee: $75 includes materials -- Maximum Attendees: 6

Instructors: Roy Najecki & Joel Bohy

To register: roy@najecki.com

Making a Man’s Shirt

Saturday January 14 & Saturday February 11, 2012

9:30 am – 4 pm

A great beginner project in which to learn and practice your hand sewing but also a great way for more advanced sewers to create a thing of beauty! These two Saturday sessions will teach you the basics of constructing and sewing a man’s shirt. The classroom time will focus on learning the trickier details while you work on the easier things at home between classes. The second session will help you with the finishing touches like cuffs and sleeve buttons.

Fee: $100 (Fee does not include materials

Instructors: Matthew & Vicky Brenckle

Register: v_rebal@yahoo.com

Waistcoat as a Foundation Garment

January 14 & February 11, 2012

9:30 am -4pm

Ever notice how a well-fit waistcoat beautifully complements an 18^th century suit? Often overlooked because a coat covers it, the waistcoat is actually a man’s foundation garment. This two-day workshop will look at original waistcoats and explore the methods tailors used to create a good fit. By the end of day one, you will have drafted a pattern to create a superbly fit waistcoat, cut out your fabric and will leave with a homework assignment. The second session will be spent perfecting construction techniques and focusing on the finer elements.

Fee: $100 (Materials not included)

Instructor: Henry Cooke

Register: hcooke4@verizon.net

Stomacher Front English Gown - WORKSHOP FULL

February 18 & 19, 2012

9:30am-4pm

You will be constructing a hand sewn stomacher front/en fourreau back gown based on a period example and constructed in a period manner. This gown is correct style for women reenacting a period of 1760-1780. By the end of the weekend, your gown should be substantially completed. This class will require a one-hour individual fitting session scheduled prior to the class in order to focus class time on gown construction.

Fee: $130 includes the bodice and sleeve lining

Instructors: Hallie Larkin & Steph Smith

Register: stephzsmith@gmail.com

Constructing a Young Lad’s Kit  

February 18 & 19, 2012

9:30am -4pm

We often neglect our children’s clothing even though they are the real camera magnets and are oft times photographed in less than wonderful kits. Spend a weekend constructing a young lad’s outfit consisting of an unlined workman’s jacket and trousers or breeches. Learn how to build a little room for growth into the garment as well as some tricks to facilitate construction. Even if you don’t have a boy in the hobby, this is a wonderful opportunity to make up a kit or two in a couple sizes for your company stores so your regiment can easily outfit it’s younger members

Fee: $100

Instructor: Henry Cooke

Register: hcooke4@verizon.net

Fine Hand Sewing: Making a Shift

Saturday, March 10, 2012

9:30am – 4 pm

Is it time to upgrade your wardrobe with a new shift, historically accurate in every detail while honing your hand sewing skills at the same time? Enjoy a day of camaraderie and learning. Sharon Burnston, author of Fitting and Proper, will explain about the evolution of shifts during the 18^th century, and you will have an opportunity to examine an original F&I-era New England shift from Sharon's private collection. You will cut out and commence construction of your own shift using period sewing methods with the focus on developing your fine hand sewing skills. Fabric requirements and specifications will be sent to you on registration.

Fee: $50. Maximum class size: 12.

Instructor: Sharon Burnston

Register: millfarm@sprintmail.com

Making a Man’s Cocked Hat

January 15, 2012 9am - 12 & February 11, 2012 

9:30 m-4pm

The first session, will demonstrate the process of blocking your hat. During the second class, you will finish the hat blanks that have been blocked and stiffened. You will trim the brims to size, create and stitch in the linen lining, install an optional leather brow band, and stitch the worsted edge binding for British impression, steam/cock the hats, and attach the cockade for British. 

Fee: $100 Instructors, fee includes materials

Instructors: Roy Najecki & Joel Bohy

Register: roy@najecki.com

Leather Breeches Workshop

March 24 & 25, 2012

9:30am-4pm

Leather breeches were perhaps the most universal garment in the 18th century male wardrobe, from Royal Governors to slaves in the fields, these durable and comfortable breeches were the blue jeans of their time.  Join Jay Howlett and Jan Tilley from Williamsburg, VA for an intensive and very hands on exploration of the arts and mysteries of the breeches maker. Participants will receive all materials and notions to cut and fit a pair of buckskin breeches. 

This is an advanced level workshop requiring good hand sewing skills. Participation is limited to 8 to allow the individual attention requisite for proper cutting and fitting. Those sewing for someone other than themselves will need to have the wearer attend for parts of the workshop. 

Fee $400

Instructors: Jay Howlett & Jan Tilley

Register: rushonboys@yahoo.com

Trimming a Gown

March 10, 2012 - Saturday

9am-12pm

Learn how to use readily available materials, vintage trims and passementerie with which to embellish your gown.  We will examine what is appropriate for the gown you are wearing and how to achieve a period look.  You will also learn how to make fly fringe and how to enhance modern trims to approximate period ornamentation. Techniques like pinking, ruching, and adding cuffs and sleeve ruffles, will be discussed.

Fee: $40 includes trim samples

Instructors: Hallie Larkin & Steph Smith

Register: stephzsmith@gmail.com

Mitts 

March 10, 2012, Saturday

1pm-4pm

Create a pair of custom made silk or wool mitts based on a period pair from a private collection.

Fee: $40 includes materials

Instructors: Hallie Larkin & Steph Smith

Register: stephzsmith@gmail.com

Gun Tune-up

March 10 & 11, 2012

10am-12pm  or 2pm-4pm 

Get your musket in top working order for the season—a clean well-tuned gun is a safe one. Join gunsmith Jim Casco for a hands-on workshop where each participant will perform a detailed inspection of their musket. He/she will dismount the lock and barrel and completely disassemble the lock. This will enable the participant to learn proper maintenance and discover any problems. Jim will guide the participants, step by step, through the procedures and be able to evaluate any problems and make recommendations to correct them

Fee: $25

Instructor: Jim Casco

Register: caspar@vermontel.net

Preserving the Harvest - Fresh Eggs

Last year and this year, at the Hartwell Tavern food preservation event, I put up fresh eggs, in an 18th century manner, to last all winter without refrigeration. This is the recipe I was given, but I don't know where it comes from:

To use lard or shortening to coat the eggs, first melt the grease and cool it till it begins to solidify again. Dip each egg in the melted grease individually and set them on a paper towel to dry. When the shortening or lard is dry on the eggs, rub the eggs with a clean towel, removing excess solid grease. Rub gently and buff each egg. Now repeat the process, before the shortening solidifies. Work fast, allowing the shortening to get almost solid before re-heating it. When dry put them in a box of ash and keep them covered until use.

Eggs should always be packed with the small end down, because the yolk will not settle toward the small end so readily as toward the large end or the side. It is important to have clean eggs but do not wash them as it removes the protective covering.

I've since done my own research; see below for documentation.
Last year, I melted commercial lard (the kind you can buy in some grocery stores, that's labeled "lard" and "manteca"). It was a chilly day, so I hardly had to let it cool at all. I rubbed the eggs, and then rubbed them clean. I had ashes sifted from the fireplace and a wooden box, and I put in a layer of ashes, set in eggs small end down, covered them with ashes, laid in a second layer, and covered them with ashes. I put the box in my "root cellar" (my basement) and kept them there from October. Every week or two I went down and fished out another egg for breakfast, and each egg was as fresh as the last. In mid-April, when my basement became palpably warmer, I put the the last four eggs in the fridge, and finally used them to make Hannah Glasse's recipe for nun's cake for a tea at the Needham reenactment, which cake was eaten with relish by all (particularly as I had substituted currants for caraway seeds).

Why ashes? Why not sand, as you use for potatoes? It might be for some chemical property of the ashes, but after fishing out eggs all winter, I think it's because ashes are soft, and if you were scrabbling your fingers through sand, you'd be too likely to break an egg. The Universal Cook, and City and Country Housekeeper recommends salt, but essentially everyone in the 18th century had a fireplace, so ashes were free for the labor of sifting them.
Why small end down? I am told that it is to keep the yolk from settling against the shell, but I haven't found documentation of it.
This year, I used a mixture of leftover bacon fat and sausage grease. It was messier, but we'll see if it works as well. Also, I buried the eggs in last year's ashes, and I found I couldn't pack the eggs as closely. It would have been better to empty the ashes into another container and layer them back in as I went.
Here are some more experiments to try:

• What temperature is my basement in winter? Colder than many people's since I heat with a low temperature heat pump rather than a gas or oil furnace.
• If I leave the eggs in the basement after it warms up in spring, how long will they stay fresh?
• This year, I didn't rub the eggs after greasing them. Will there be any ill effect other than it being messier?

Documentation

From The Universal Cook, and City and Country Housekeeper, by Francis Collingwood and John Woollams, 1792, p. 333.

From The London Magazine or The Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer, Vol. XIX For the Year MDCCL (1750), p. 180.

The Art of Hatching and Bringing up Domestick Fowls, &c., By M. de Reaumur, Of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris. Printed for C. Davis, London, MDCCL (1750), pp. 412–414.

Preserving the Harvest - Herbs

Herbalist Deb Fate-Mental taught our guests about herbs - what they were used for and how they were preserved.  Here is her report from Saturday's "Preserving the Harvest".

Deb shares her knowledge of herbs with our guests

Due to the warmer weather this year I was able to bring many fresh herbs as well as a few dried ones for my herb table at Preserving the Harvest.  I grow mainly traditional English herbs along with a few native North American plants.  I brought some good English staples – mugwort, comfrey, roses, violet, dandelion, burdock, yellowdock, horseradish, angelica, hyssop, lavender, witch hazel, oak, yarrow, lady’s mantle – and one native American herb, Lobelia inflata, that became quite popular in the early 19^th Century.   I had also made a conserve of rosehips to show people different methods of preservation, along with herbs preserved in oil and ones that had been dried.  In the morning I made electuaries, little herb candies.  The ones I made were for sore throats and contained powered marshmallow root and powdered slippery elm bark held together by honey.  These were used just like we use throat lozenges today (that’s where we get the idea from).  I ended up having quite a few as my voice and throat tired out by early afternoon!   

We had a lot of visitors, many of which were quite curious, asked questions and made comments -- "This, I like!"  There seemed to be several themes running through the day.  The first was the belief that our ancestors gathered much of their medicinals and that they were native American plants. I’ve not seen much documentation of settlers using native American plants until the 19^th Century.  Describing them, yes.   Noting how natives used them, yes but our ancestors using them, outside rare occurrences, no.  Our ancestors brought plant seeds with them, along with the women’s Books of Physick, and planted gardens.   English people planted good English herbs.  

The second theme I noticed revolved around isolationism.  This was especially apparent as I was next to Val, who was making mead with popular spices of the day (cinnamon, cloves, pepper, ginger, etc.).  People seemed to think that colonial people moved here to become isolationists and that everything was local and that trade was something to be avoided.  Many people assumed that all those exotic spices were grown here.  I got the same reaction when people found I had used olive oil for preserving the herbs.   “I thought the colonists didn’t want to trade for anything with anyone.”  Really?!!! I heard that several times throughout the day. Needless to say, we had lots of teaching moments.

It was a great day and a wonderful opportunity to educate people.  I think people learn much more about 18^th Century life from displays and demonstrations like Preserving the Harvest than they do from watching battle reenactments.  I get asked very few questions at reenactments but was overwhelmed by really good questions on Saturday.  This event was excellent and great fun!

Preserving the Harvest -- In a Pickle

I selected pickling as one of my demonstrations/experiments, though it will be hard to top last year's pickle-o-rama brought to us by Niels & Carmen, which included everything from cucumbers to samphire.

Last year's picklefest!

On a smaller scale, I tackled pickled mushrooms, beets, turnips and carrots.  What was pretty interesting about the period receipts, was the wide use of mace, peppercorns, nutmeg, and allspice.  Very different from the typical herbs and spices we generally think of when we think of pickles.  Here is the receipt I used.  Since I was not planning on storing the pickles I made, I put them in sterile modern canning jars and passed on using a bladder to seal them.

From "The Compleat Housewife"

I also picked beets, turnips and carrots from a receipt in "The Pennsylvania Housewife" written by Past Masters in Early American Domestic Arts.  What was intriguing, was that the receipt called for cochineal (which are dried beetles used to dye things a wonderful scarlet color -- think British officer's coats).  Why would you need to add an expensive dye for something that had beet juice in it? I will make these pickles again without the cochineal to see if it really made a difference, but I'm guessing that the turnips wouldn't have turned out a deep pink and the carrots wouldn't have taken on the wonderful red color that they did just from the beet juice alone.  Funny, you could always expect a reaction every time you showed the tourist kids the vile of cochineal beetles and explained that they are still used today for natural red food coloring -- "EEEEWWW, I've eaten bugs!"

Pickled beets, turnips & carrots

While searching the period cookbooks, my husband Ken got a kick out of one receipt in particular -- Pickling Sparrows.  Seems as if larks or squabs could be used as well.  The pickling process took several months and -- "when the bones are dissolved, they are fit to eat".  Not sure I'll be trying that receipt next year.  Anyone else want to give that one a try?

Coming tomorrow -- our herbalist.......

Preserving the Harvest - The Learning Process

 Living in a time when a full bounty of almost any food imaginable is available year round at your local grocery store,  it's hard for most people to wrap their minds around the concept of transforming today's harvest into forms that will last till things start growing again months from now -- and without the benefit of refrigeration and modern canning practices.  At our "Preserving the Harvest" event at Hartwell Tavern our guests were exposed to a variety of methods used to ensure a food supply through the winter and early spring.

Over the next week, we'll share some of the food preservation techniques we tried.  Most of the time we can reasonably reproduce a receipt from a period cookbook, servant's directory or household guide, even when it involves obtaining that not so readily available ingredient, but what we often are missing is the common knowledge base of the time which most often it is not so much the how you do things but why you do them.  By actually going through the process you frequently learn more about what you don't know and that's where the real fun is - in trying to unlock these mysteries!