This photograph doesn't show much, but this is my shell jacket. It is the only thing that I worked on today. Ah, what better way to spend a day off. Sleep in, and spend the day staring at American Civil War uniforms. Specifically, Union/ U.S. Army uniforms. Also, spent a few hours watching reruns of Season 1 of Walking Dead. All in all, a good, restful day.
My shell jacket is approximately 85% finished. The sleeves are kind of baggy, but as I drafted the pattern based off of two patterns (and my imagination, with the aide of actual Civil War shell jackets), I was expecting imperfections. Still... Not too bad! The cuffs look pretty good, and the whole thing is fitting me quite nicely. A bit of work to do yet (well, hand-finishing, buttons, and the collar, but that's about it), but goodness me... I'm delighted with how it's going! I might not wear anything else once it's completed. Just kidding, but seriously... it's giving me such joy. It is a dark navy blue, with yellow piping on the cuffs, and around the collar (or, there will be once the collar is completed). I am going to age it like crazy once it's finished sewing, and maybe get some people to tackle me into the dirt a few times (to give the illusion of being knocked off a horse or attacked in battle or something). I want it to look as if someone was wearing it for a few years. Although, in all technicality, this jacket would have only seen a year or so of battle. I am giving it plain pewter-colour buttons, as I am particularly fond of 1863-64 and by that time in the Civil War, they were running low on brass. Thus, brass was put towards the more important use of being in cannon barrels, instead of buttons. This meant a different material for buttons. If I make another jacket after this (you can bet that I will!), I intend on ordering replica buttons from this great site I found out of the States, The Winchester Sutler Inc. Great references, great information, plus, a great source for every single individual aspect one could possibly need for assembling the most accurate Civil War costume possible. They have every time of button that would have been used during the Civil War. Which is neat. And really convenient. Moving on...
I am kind of cheating with this jacket. I am making it because I want to wear it to a Corb Lund concert. However, I am also going to use it as a project in school. I'm thinking about doing a performance piece while wearing it. Kind of a monologue, spoken by a cavalry medic. No, I'm not a man... my friend suggested being a war widow reading her husband's field journal while wearing his jacket. I don't quite want to do that, but I probably have options. Or, I just pretend to be a man or just all around gender ambiguous. The whole idea is heavily inspired by Corb Lund and his song 'I Wanna Be In The Cavalry (Reprise)', and the horrors of war in general, so the soldier jacket is important. Well, more of an officer jacket. The whole thing is kind of ambiguous. All around, I think doing a performance piece about the dead soldiers and all of these things would be interesting. I'm just really inspired by these lyrics:
"We were finally forced to feed on horse
and carcass we could scrounge.
When the wagons stopped and we'd burnt their crops
to charred and barren ground
With morale in doubt, and our pride run out,
no honour did I see
All I seen were a thousand dreams
piled dead in front of me."
(Corb Lund, 'I Wanna Be In The Cavalry (Reprise)')
Whatever the case, we'll see. I just know that it wasn't going to be for school, but now it is, because it ties into my history of medicine and embalming interest, as well as my historical interests in general. So, why not use it as a project? Plus, I'm making sure that my craft is impeccable. Surprising myself at the fact that my sewing skills are getting way better. Huzzah!
More on this later... Maybe in my other blog, but nonetheless...!
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