18th Century Hunting Shirt

Attached is a photo showing the collar of an 18th century hunting shirt I made about two years ago. I used the measured drawing in Beth Gilgun's book, "Tidings From the 18th Century." The directions were easy to follow and the pattern is simply a series of squares, rectangles and triangles of various sizes. I began hand stitching using a backstitch (shown in an early chapter) and did the front seams and much of the collar in this way. It was challenging and it made me realize that if something takes you that long to do you had better do it right. You come to understand the saying about a stitch in time saving nine as well. You are much better off fixing the problem before it gets severe, possibly necessitating the construction of a new garment. If goods were so hard to come by in our time people might take more pride in their work and take better care of what they have. Craftsmanship is a rare skill I think.

I ended up finishing this shirt with my wife's Singer sewing machine, but there were still a few spots that required hand stitching. It's a good skill for a woodsman of any century to have.

Enjoy your journey.

-The Feral Man