Leather

[TheJohnnyReb1861]

I had bought a pair of suspenders with leather tabs. It was more of a rough out leather dyed black. I know now that they are inaccurate, but when I handwashed them the dye got everywhere, all over the canvas straps. I asked the seller about it, they said it was historically accurate. That theres no solution except modern ones. Is that true? Did all leather products leak dye when wet or subjected to alot of friction. If there was a historical solution, what was it? Thank you and God bless

 

[RedRover]

Sounds like cheap stuff made overseas. Many vendors just class their junk as "historically accurate." Whatever that means.

Leather back in the day, and even today, is often "iron dyed" which cannot bleed out, as it is not actually a dye, but a chemical reaction which turns the leather black, etc.

Some vendors that sell or make fancy suspenders of the 1860s styles (contact for availability, etc.)

S&S Sutlery Gettysburg...

NJS Suspenders... Gettysburg

And certainly some others...

Simple cotton/linen etc. suspenders without leather were also not uncommon. Easy enough to make your own.

 

[TheJohnnyReb1861]

Sounds like cheap stuff made overseas. Many vendors just class their junk as "historically accurate." Whatever that means.

Leather back in the day, and even today, is often "iron dyed" which cannot bleed out, as it is not actually a dye, but a chemical reaction which turns the leather black, etc.

Some vendors that sell or make fancy suspenders of the 1860s styles (contact for availability, etc.)

S&S Sutlery Gettysburg...

NJS Suspenders... Gettysburg

And certainly some others...

View attachment 476602


Simple cotton/linen etc. suspenders without leather were also not uncommon. Easy enough to make your own.

View attachment 476599

View attachment 476598

Much appreciated, this was quite helpful

 

[TheJohnnyReb1861]

Sounds like cheap stuff made overseas. Many vendors just class their junk as "historically accurate." Whatever that means.

Leather back in the day, and even today, is often "iron dyed" which cannot bleed out, as it is not actually a dye, but a chemical reaction which turns the leather black, etc.

Some vendors that sell or make fancy suspenders of the 1860s styles (contact for availability, etc.)

S&S Sutlery Gettysburg...

NJS Suspenders... Gettysburg

And certainly some others...

View attachment 476602


Simple cotton/linen etc. suspenders without leather were also not uncommon. Easy enough to make your own.

View attachment 476599

View attachment 476598

I hear alot about suspenders causing buttons to pop off, is that true? If so, why? Is it a modern problem or was it also frequent during the civil war

 

[TheJohnnyReb1861]

Sounds like cheap stuff made overseas. Many vendors just class their junk as "historically accurate." Whatever that means.

Leather back in the day, and even today, is often "iron dyed" which cannot bleed out, as it is not actually a dye, but a chemical reaction which turns the leather black, etc.

Some vendors that sell or make fancy suspenders of the 1860s styles (contact for availability, etc.)

S&S Sutlery Gettysburg...

NJS Suspenders... Gettysburg

And certainly some others...

View attachment 476602


Simple cotton/linen etc. suspenders without leather were also not uncommon. Easy enough to make your own.

View attachment 476599

View attachment 476598

Could you also perhaps comment on my previous thread, thank you.Thread 'Wondering about trousers.' https://civilwartalk.com/threads/wondering-about-trousers.203410/

 

[DixieRifles]

I had bought a pair of suspenders with leather tabs. It was more of a rough out leather dyed black. I know now that they are inaccurate, but when I handwashed them the dye got everywhere, all over the canvas straps.

Im not an expert at all but I dabbled in making leather belts and pistols.
I stained my belt with BROWN dye and it came out great — consistent stain that lasted thru years of wear.
I made a flap holster for my black powder pistol and dyed it BLACK. It looked good but over time it faded and looked splotchy.
Then I got good advice. I dint recall his explanation but he said the Black dye was water based. His tip was to first dye the leather with Brown and then, after drying, apply the Black dye.
I used this tip when I made my Union belt with a replica 1851 buckle. Perfect!!
That belt lasted until I got dun-lap disease. My belly done lapped over my belt.

 

[captaindrew]

No it is not normal, they sold you cheap . You can get correct braces ( suspenders ) from Wambaugh and White. You're having trouble popping buttons? Are you using tin buttons? Tin buttons easily cut through the thread, they're a pain in the ars. Switch them to bone or wood buttons and you won't have any more trouble.

 

[RedRover]

Iron dyeing leather is quick and simple.

Iron dye leather black...

From 1892:

From an 1898 work...

 

[RedRover]

I hear alot about suspenders causing buttons to pop off, is that true? If so, why? Is it a modern problem or was it also frequent during the civil war

They certainly can, especially when the suspender is made of a non-elastic fabric. Buttons for suspenders were sewn secure and flush to the waistbands, as in the top illustration below. The lower one shows a button with common "thread shank" where it buttons onto other cloth (like on a broad-falldown or fly front).

Thankfully, most folks recognized the value of the elasticity.

By the 1860s country ladies were more than capable of weaving suspender webbings with enough elasticity to prevent too much button popping...

From the 1830s on, elastic suspenders were commercially available.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, June 8, 1833:

But that being said, many country folks just made do with simple suspenders made from pieces of any cloth handy. There's a pair of blue cotton jean suspenders, with no buckles or tabs, which came from inside the walls of an 1840 Alabama house, that have been examined in some detail in a "Watchdog" newsletter article many years ago.

 

[TheJohnnyReb1861]

They certainly can, especially when the suspender is made of a non-elastic fabric. Buttons for suspenders were sewn secure and flush to the waistbands, as in the top illustration below. The lower one shows a button with common "thread shank" where it buttons onto other cloth (like on a broad-falldown or fly front).

View attachment 476616

Thankfully, most folks recognized the value of the elasticity.

By the 1860s country ladies were more than capable of weaving suspender webbings with enough elasticity to prevent too much button popping...
View attachment 476617


From the 1830s on, elastic suspenders were commercially available.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, June 8, 1833:

View attachment 476615

But that being said, many country folks just made do with simple suspenders made from pieces of any cloth handy. There's a pair of blue cotton jean suspenders, with no buckles or tabs, which came from inside the walls of an 1840 Alabama house, that have been examined in some detail in a "Watchdog" newsletter article many years ago.

All this information is awesome. I have another question though, I've heard that mainstream pants whether it be good enough or horrendous quality, cant handle campaigns. Why cant they? What makes more expensive pants able to handle it?

 

[RedRover]

All this information is awesome. I have another question though, I've heard that mainstream pants whether it be good enough or horrendous quality, cant handle campaigns. Why cant they? What makes more expensive pants able to handle it?

The last few pairs of sutler-row pants friends have given me to attempt to "repair" were made of some kind of fabric my folks used to call "rug hooking felt." It was not designed for human clothing. But its cheap, and kind-of looks like wool, but any modestly sharp point abrading the surface seems to practically rend it!

Mind you, there are many sutlers, and many procure from Asian vendors making civil war stuff, so the quality MIGHT differ between them. Here's an interesting ca. 2010 pamphlet regarding sourcing the overseas stuff...

Civil War Sutlery booklet: Google Books...

Reading it makes me wonder exactly how does one know the solder of these foreign made "civil war canteens" etc. is actually "lead free." Anyone ever tested one?

US Army trousers of the 1860s were made of "kersey," a stout, twilled woolen cloth that when cared for can last for many decades. I have friends who have been reenacting in the same pair of sky-blue kersey pants for nearly 30 years. There are American tailors and vendors who sell or make period garments out of good quality materials copying those of the period.

If the prices are too high for a budget, the answer is to buy the cloth from BandB Tart or Wambaugh White, etc., etc., and the good patterns from County Cloth or Past Patterns (Sandra Altman) especially recommend the latter's awesome US Army trousers pattern with extensive historical notes); and make the stuff yourself...