Culloden Tartan - Reweave of the original. Anyone interested?

[figheadair]

I am going to recreate the original coat as closely as possible. Are any photos available of the back and interior of the coat?

Another XMarker also has a plan for makig a copy of the Culloden coat. He may choose to join in.

I have pics of the front and back but none of then inside and, as far as I know, none exist ; or is it li,ely that the museum would be keen to take it of the manikin and take some. The STA has a copy made by/for Skeoch Cumming c1910 which would have probably have been a copy of the original (which he owned it at the time).

[thehighlands4me]

Another XMarker also has a plan for makig a copy of the Culloden coat. He may choose to join in.

I have pics of the front and back but none of then inside and, as far as I know, none exist ; or is it li,ely that the museum would be keen to take it of the manikin and take some. The STA has a copy made by/for Skeoch Cumming c1910 which would have probably have been a copy of the original (which he owned it at the time).

Figheadair, I love all the buzz created by this tartan! On behalf of all of us who are anxiously awaiting it's competition, thank you so very much for all that you bring to this crazy world of tartan that we all seem to orbit in. We are looking for that one post that says "the tartan is complete, now taking orders"! Please keep us posted figheadair.

[IsaacW]

I would love to see people's reconstructions of the original coat. I recently made a tartan coat and would love to see what others create!

[MacSpadger]

Another XMarker also has a plan for making a copy of the Culloden coat. He may choose to join in.

Here are some pics that show the unusual shape of the sleeves, (by today's standards). They are shaped somewhat like a hockey stick. The pics are poor quality, I snapped them on my mobile phone.








The Culloden coat currently lives next to a 1800's double breasted jacket, where no attempt has been made to match the cut of the tartan on the bias.

[IsaacW]

That shaping on the sleeves looks rather common for 18th century jackets.

[thehighlands4me]

That shaping on the sleeves looks rather common for 18th century jackets.

Awesome pictures IsaacW, thanks for sharing them. Figheadair, what's the word on the progress of the tartan?

[IsaacW]

Awesome pictures IsaacW, thanks for sharing them. Figheadair, what's the word on the progress of the tartan?

Not my photos! I did comment though

[thehighlands4me]

Not my photos! I did comment though

Regardless, always nice to see the Culloden jacket.

[MacSpadger]

That shaping on the sleeves looks rather common for 18th century jackets.

Hence my brackets, (by today's standards). But even by 18th century standards, (we have over 100 examples), the curve on this jacket is rather more pronounced.

[Orvis]

The sleeves on 18th century men's coats did have rather more pronounced curvature, especially early in the century. I've also seen patterns for military regimental coats that have distinct curvature to the sleeves. Examine published pattern books from the period (tailors used them slavishly) and you'll find that the curvature varied from one book to the next. Another consideration in determining the amount of curvature was where the sleeve patterns were placed on the cloth (four sleeve halves were cut out to make two sleeves), in this case tartan cloth that was probably only of single-width (about 27 inches wide). When laying out their patterns on the cloth, tailors tended to cram them together to get the most pieces out of a given piece of cloth. In the case of a regimental coat, it takes about 2-1/2 to 3 yards of fabric. But in this case, look at how the tartan sett is matched at the seams - I believe that feature required more cloth to be used to get the desired matches along the seams.

The quality of the Culloden jacket strongly suggests that it was made by a tailor in one of the towns or cities, but itinerate tailors also travelled in clan areas and set up shop in a local house and did work for all comers, but the gentry got their best work. For example, look at how the sett of the tartan is matched at the seams. Lady Isabel Grant, in her book Highland Folkways (still in print), discusses the itinerate craftsmen (tailors, tinkers - who made dirks and other metal pieces - and weavers) who travelled around the Highlands making objects for the people, and especially for the higher social classes. I also have a modern booklet describing a Highland outfit (now in a museum) made for a prominent English Jacobite that visited Scotland in 1744. The outfit consisted of a fancy tartan jacket, breeches and tartan hose (all in different red-based tartans, the thread-counts of which are given), and the booklet provides the outline of the pattern pieces required to make these items.

As far as the Culloden coat (as a whole) is concerned, it is nothing more than a simple sleeved lined waistcoat with a French collar, applied false cuff tabs, and cloth-covered buttons. There appear to be no pockets in the side of the coat - no pocket flaps are displayed - but there may be rear-facing pocket openings in the ends of the skirts on each side. I've talked to people who are well-versed in 18th c. costume tell me this is not an unknown tailoring feature for that period.

Thanks for providing the photos of the Culloden coat as displayed. I really enjoyed studying them! I was also intrigued by the red-based tartan hanging behind the coat - Murray of Tullarbidine?