Red blanket?

[CWC]

I picked up a wool blanket in an antique mall last week. It's red with a black stripe on each end. There are no "point" marks. When were blankets of this pattern first introduced?

The price was good, so I bought it with plans to cut it and make leggings, mittens, winter moc liners, and other cold weather gear. Any ideas for other winter clothing that I should make?

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

I'm no expert on point blankets but I bet red blankets with black stripes were avialble before there were even "points" woven in to blankets.

Depending on the size of the blanket you picked up you may also want to consider a Canada (aka Canadian) Cap and a match coat.

 

[longbow-hunter]

I JUST PICKED UP A WHITE WOOL BLANKET WITH RED YELLOW AND BLACK STRIPES ON THE ENDS,FOR 12 DOLLARS. I WAS ALSO GOING TO CUT IT UP TO MAKE THINGS BUT GOT ANOTHER OFF WHITE ONE THIS WEEK FOR 1 DOLLAR, SO I'LL CUT IT UP, AFTER I DYE IT. YOU SURE CAN GET SOME GOOD THINGS AT FLEA MARKETS

 

[pichou]

I picked up a wool blanket in an antique mall last week. It's red with a black stripe on each end. There are no "point" marks. When were blankets of this pattern first introduced?

The price was good, so I bought it with plans to cut it and make leggings, mittens, winter moc liners, and other cold weather gear. Any ideas for other winter clothing that I should make?

Red blankets with black stripes were introduced by French fur traders.

Winter items made from blankets became common in the post-Civil War era.

Save the blanket for a blanket, and buy some wool cloth for your winter items.

White blankets with candy stripes were only traded (to Canadian Indians) by the Hudson's Bay Company, and weren't that common until after cartridge guns came in.

 

[CWC]

Winter items made from blankets became common in the post-Civil War era.

Save the blanket for a blanket, and buy some wool cloth for your winter items.

Pichou, would this include small items such as mittens, caps, and moc liners? I would have thought that blanket weight fabric would be perfect for making these.

I thought blanket leggings were common, but I just read an old post that concluded that they were only common among natives and trappers who spent a lot of time wading in streams.

 

[LaBonte]

Winter items made from blankets became common in the post-Civil War era.

Actually they were fairly common during the RMFT era of 1825-40. Many references from the period resources for blanket coats/capotes, leggings, etc. Francis Back in his MOFT Journal articlenoted one resource of 1803 that referred to the poorer folks in Louisianawearing square cut capotes made from coats.