Civil War Uniform Shirts - Should You Use a One or Two-Piece Body?

Civil War Uniform Shirts: When to Use a One and Two Piece Body! By Paula and Coach McCoach http://www.civilwaruniforms.net Is Coach's patriotic shirt pictured on http://www.civilwaruniforms.net/shirts.htm a one or two-piece body? The patriotic shirt is a 2-piece body but it does not have to be because it has shoulder straps on it. This is a Charlie Childs pattern with some of my own variations. A common pattern is a one-piece body with gussets under the sleeves with or without a collar using the same pattern. You can vary the widths of the cuffs to copy original photographs. There is no standard pattern - even issued shirts were made off civilian patterns of the day. The variation of shirts is mind-boggling. You will see everything. The most common shirt has a placket front with about 3 buttons. But you will see shirts that button all the way down. There is everything from A to Z. If you see a shirt in an original photo and you want to copy it, do it. The red, white, blue on this shirt was a copy. Patriotic shirts were a common theme. All topstitching should be by hand. If you don't have enough material to do a 1-piece body, you can do 2 and piece them together using a shoulder strap. It depended on how much material they had. You can only tell if it is a 2-piece body if you turn the shirt inside out. Yes, the 2-piece body was common during Civil War times. There were many civilian shirts during the war and they varied greatly because many of them were sent from home. All my shirts have glass buttons on them, but that is no rule either. Coach McCoach invites you to join the Civil War Uniforms Newsletter and receive weekly updates on shirts, jackets, haversacks and more! Let us do the research for you, so you can enjoy your Civil War Reenacting Hobby. Get quick information with time and money saving tips in each issue. Free Civil War Uniforms course with your subscription. Go to http://www.civilwaruniforms.net to join! 2005 permission granted to reprint this article in print or on your website so long as the paragraph above is included and the contact information is included to coach@civilwaruniforms.net and http://www.civilwaruniforms.net