Perhaps the most visible part of any Federal soldier's impression, the humble fatigue blouse is argueably the most important garment a Civil War living historican can own.  Much debate in the living historian community has been given to having the correct "pattern" for the type of coat that is being reproduced.  Frankly, much of this debate has been in vain, for the simple fact that while construction details may have differed from arsenal to arsenal, and contractor to contractor, the pattern stayed the same for nearly every fatigue blouse produced.  While minor features such as facing width and collar shape may have been remarkably different between coat suppliers, these features are not differences in the pattern, but merely difference in the features.  
    Likewise, the differences in the shades of fatigue blouses cannot be underestimated.  Every dye lot was different, and produced different results.  The variables inherent in dying with indigo are so many that pure "labratory conditions" could not be achieved, and thus factors like humidity and basic chemical variations could significantly affect the shade of a dye lot.  The result was that even within an infantry company there were varying shades of blue.  Furthermore, it can even be surmised that within the same contractor shipment there would have been different shades present, and thus two blouses could be identical in their construction features, and yet be of two distinctly different shades of cloth!  
    Copied from an unmarked original in the Don Troiani collection, our blouse is appropriate for any Federal infantry impression from any theater or time during the war.  We place a sizing stamp into the sleeve linings of our blouses, but otherwise leave them unmarked.  The blouse is mostly machine sewn, with all exposed machine work done with our original 19th century treadle machine (yes it DOES make a difference,) and with hand sewing where appropriate.
   
   

   







Standard Grade Federal Contract Blouse...........................................................$145.00
    These blouses are constructed using our excellent indigo-colored wool flannel and are lined in the body with a tan wool flannel and the sleeves with cotton muslin.  They are sewn using indigo-colored thread similar to what is commonly offered today by other vendors.  The buttonholes are entirely hand sewn (as per every original fatigue blouse known to exist) as well as the sleeve linings and collar.  This grade of blousse is on par with the industry standard of authentic sack coats, hence the name "Standard Grade."