Tom Brown Jr- Homemade Insulated Shirts

[Monk]

Hi all,
In one of his books Tom Brown Jr mentions how he used to make insulated shirts..basically take 2 old shirts one inside the other and put cattail down,leaves, etc. between the 2 shirts and use this system as insulated wear outdoors.

I have tried this out with newspaper and it does work. You need to try this out by matching up the shirts that you can still move when you have the insulating material inserted. On the shirt hems you can make a small slit(s) and use a sting in an "S" weave going around the shirt hems-this is to prevent your insulating newspaper from sliding out.

An interesting design is to use a padded/insulated shirt as the outer layer and an unlined shirt as the inner one-put some insulation in and you will be surprised how comfy this is.
To prevent the newspaper from sliding out the cuffs snap/button the inner shirt cuff to its second button while the outer cuff button/snap on its first button. You need to try folding the newspaper sheets in different ways such as over the shoulders of the inner shirt to find out the way it works best. You will find later after 6 to 8 hours if active the newspaper will be damp from the sweat evaporation from your body. To avoid the noise factor after you insert the newspapers you can "scrunch" the material by crunching the shirt with your hands..this takes out quite a bit of the rustling paper sound effect.

I have not yet tried out leaves or better hay-it might be better than newspaper in that it would not retain the sweat. Newpaper ink is dirty so do not wear this on a good shirt and do not wash this garment with your other clothes.

Has anyone here tried out this system and come up with improvements or suggestions?

Monk

 

[Mastino]

Try the Playboy instead of a regular newspaper. I found it warmer

 

[sandbender]

Has anyone here tried out this system and come up with improvements or suggestions?

It doesn't sound too comfortable, however I have been shown a pair of Sámi boots which were insulated with straw, "very much warmer than man made boots" I was told.

Mors Kochanski's site has some notes on dressing for the cold which may interest you, you can download them from here

 

[wicca]

Always wanted a "Mail" shirt...

 

[Toddy]

I have to admit I can think of an awful lot of things I'd stuff layers of clothing with before I'd use leaves or newspaper unless in the direst of straits.

The old tramps did use newspapers for warmth under their outer coats though. Would well manipulated corrugated cardboard not be at least as effective and simpler to use ?

Inuit use a kind of grass, that is actually referred to as Kamik (their boots) grass.
Silica in the grass keeps the feet healthy, insulated, and it shapes quickly to the foot. I think our best bet would probably be the leaves from the grain grasses, not the stalks.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[moccasintracks]

I used to have a vest that was designed to have lead weights inserted into it to allow one to build strength


When I was a kid I would take the lead weights out of it, and wear the vest with "campin' stuff" in the pockets. I noticed that if I collected a lot of shredded cedar bark it created hot spots in the pockets I was carrying it in.

Once I tried filling all the pockets with cedar shavings.
It smelled nice, but created lots of cold spots where the pockets were sewn.
If you had staggered pockets inside and out you could stuff it to keep warm I suppose.

Personally give me a nice under shirt and a pull over shirt, upgrade to wool if cold, cotton type if hot, and sometimes a nylon anarok for outer layer.

 

[forestwalker]

It doesn't sound too comfortable, however I have been shown a pair of Sámi boots which were insulated with straw, "very much warmer than man made boots" I was told.

That was Carex rostrata (bottle sedge), prepared by "combing" it much like one would do linnen or nettle. I've tried it, and it it quite comfortable. Must find a bigger supply before next winter and try it out more seriously.

 

[Toddy]

Thank you for the information
Do you know if the sedge dried or retted before it is 'combed' ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[forestwalker]

Thank you for the information
Do you know if the sedge dried or retted before it is 'combed' ?

Dried and combed. No retting AFAIK. My books are all 350 km north of here, so I can't check my memory to make sure.

You shold be able to use an old linnen "comb" if you can find it, or just a few nails in a board. Then work it soft with your hands (rubbing between the palms, etc).

The advantage is that is is supposedly even better than wool for the "absorb water and stay warm" bit, and quite easy to dry quickly.

 

[Monk]

Paolo,
hee, yes, Playboy lining might be more warming psychologically!

forestwalker,
sedge, you're talking about the long stringy whitish colour "grass" found in a boggy area?

I have tried this in wellingtons and it does offer insulating value only problem is it has a tendency to shift around in the boot. Was thinking of putting it between layers as in the Russian "footwraps" used in old jackboots

Also have tried hay as an insulating material in shirts but you have to "comb" it by hand and arrange it and it can move away from the shoulder areas.

I got into this as I was experimenting with a layered shirt system...an inner canvas or wool shirt and an outer lined shirt. The advantages of this is that it's cheap and if you use big sizes you can move freely and also fit a sweater underneath.

Just thought that it might be interesting to try this out.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

[forestwalker]

forestwalker,
sedge, you're talking about the long stringy whitish colour "grass" found in a boggy area?
/quote]

if the stems are triangular in cross section it is almost certainly a Carex species. Consult a field guide for firther identification.

I have tried this in wellingtons and it does offer insulating value only problem is it has a tendency to shift around in the boot. Was thinking of putting it between layers as in the Russian "footwraps" used in old jackboots

It was traditionally used inside a somewhat softer boot, and there is trick to putting it in, you have to kind of make a nest what the foot is entered into.

Generally speaking the coarser hays are better for bedding than directly under clothes. I also recall reading about "straw" or "hay" used inside the braided birch bark shoes, and as we all know Ötzi had hay of some sort inside his shoes.

A friend of mine one made a sleeping bag from some old sheets and cattail down. Heavy and not very compressive, but worked quite well.