M-48 parka - sewing patterns and materials

[nanoshores]

Hi, hopefully someone may be able to point me in the right direction. I'm looking to make my own silk liner for an M-48 parka shell I have and I'm wondering if anyone knows where I might be able to find patterns for these.
I've already made a couple of silk liners for my M-51's but for the M-48 due to it's hood design I was wondering if anyone has a photo of the sewing guide that must have been made for contractors back in the day. Otherwise I will need to create a pattern from the shell.
Lastly I'm debating whether to make the hood from wool cloth and would love to hear anyone's recommendations on the type of cloth used in an original M-48 liner. I think it might be the same as is found inside an M-51 hood and pockets but I'm not sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[physcult]

I think perhaps also post on this forum https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php

The guy ( I think Mike) at Fishtail Parka will know because they have produced silk replica liners for their coat. Unfortunately the liners they manufactured were slim for a more modern fit , but he has originals and knows all details of all Parka Coats well . Obviously I’m not sure if he will help because he’s in the business of selling parkas and related accessories, but who knows , he might ask you to make a batch ?, . https://www.fishtailparkas.com/

 

[physcult]

There are probably variants because there isn’t just one liner. There are a few versions . I think from memory the silk version fishtail parka made doesnt have the wool inside the hood. I’ll check later if I get time

 

[nanoshores]

@physcult Thanks very much. I've been in touch with Mike previously so I'll contact him again to see if he can share some info on the liner pattern. Thanks very much for kindly posting the pictures. Your M-48 Stonetail looks nice, some proper fur there! I have one as well, but I altered mine to include coyote fur and added a button and loop as per some of the originals.

 

[physcult]

I only bought the Stonetail for the liner . Unfortunately I found a Medium Stonetail for my Medium M48 on eBay the week before an XL one came up . The Medium liner fits around the hood and even lines up fairly well, but they made the arms and shoulders tiny. I couldn’t guarantee, but I think an XL Stontail liner would work in a MedIium M48 . Most M48’ seem to be larger sizes and huge . What size is yours ?

 

[nanoshores]

The Stonetail I have is a medium, the M48 is sized as Small. I've yet to receive the M48 as it is on it's way from Japan. But it is much bigger (around the chest) compared with the medium Stonetail. From what you say it is as I suspected that the Stonetail liners hood would be an ok fit but the chest etc will need adjustments made. If that is so then, fingers crossed, the job of making a new liner will be somewhat simplified.

 

[physcult]

The Stonetail I have is a medium, the M48 is sized as Small. I've yet to receive the M48 as it is on it's way from Japan. But it is much bigger (around the chest) compared with the medium Stonetail. From what you say it is as I suspected that the Stonetail liners hood would be an ok fit but the chest etc will need adjustments made. If that is so then, fingers crossed, the job of making a new liner will be somewhat simplified.

Ah ok, you bought a Stonetail as well. The size M certainly fits the hood pretty well in The M48 size M . The chest and especially the arms /arm holes are nothing similar and will need a lot of converting. If you do manage to make it work please follow up with a step by step guide so I can copy you. I presume the first job will be sourcing identical colour silk to the Stontail? Or will you just start from scratch?.

 

[nanoshores]

I sourced some silk from a local fabric store previously. There were two types. Neither of which I can reference for you, sorry. It was a while ago. But both in a relatively similar colour to the Stonetail but with different weights. I initially went with a thinner/lighter silk for my first liner then went with a denser silk for the next liner. The denser one is my preferred choice. But bear in mind that this was for an M-51 which is not as warm as the M-48 due to the hood design and the shorter zip. As silk is pretty expensive when buying in small amounts I may well go for the lighter silk if they have a colour that comes close. The first observation I have made is that the silk needs reinforcement that is lacking on the Stonetail version. Namely along the button holes and also where the hood meets the chin. Strengthening is present on the M48 Prototype button holes but absent from the chin area. Obviously the chin area is not going to be so relevant to have extra material attached for folks that don't live in a cold dry environment as they will probably rarely zip and button up the hood. So you might wish to skip with that extra detail. When I go down to the store I will, if possible, find out the name convention for the silk etc. The inside wadding is something I need to re-think. I've been using 1cm thick polyester wadding. Which for the thicker silk worked out quite well. But I would like to see if I can use a thicker wadding, say 1.5cm if possible when using a thinner silk and thus maintain a reasonable warm ratio between the two. Trial and error will decide this. I found previously that you will need 2 or 3 types of material. The silk, the pocket material usually poly cotton or just cotton (that doubles up as a protective layer around the button holes, elbows, armpits etc) and piping material (which you can make yourself from the silk or buy ready made if you find the right colour match). The last extra detail you might wish to consider is making a draw string for around the waist of the liner. This I added for fun that turned out pretty well helping make the lining capture warm air between the wearer and it.

 

[physcult]

Where are you based ? I’m in London and I’m not sure if we have any fabric stores left.

 

[nanoshores]

I’m based in Sweden but I’m sure there must be a fabric store in London. Otherwise you can order via Amazon or eBay which I'm sure will turn up something suitable. The great thing about making your own liner is that you can pick and choose according to your taste. Besides there were many different liners made for the m48. My favourite being in the duck camo version but finding that material in silk would be rare as hens teeth. Olive drab cotton is fairly common though so should be easy enough to source.Fabrics Galore, 52 Lavender Hill in Battersea could be a great option if a store is preferable. They should at least be able to point you in the right direction if they don’t have suitable cloth.

 

[physcult]

that store isn’t that far from me , but never knew its existence. I’ll check it out when I get the chance . Many thanks

 

[physcult]

The hood lining on my M1948 is just thin cotton type material- There is no wool or fur like in the pockets

 

[Erwin]

My favourite being in the duck camo version but finding that material in silk would be rare as hens teeth.

Are you referring to WW2 canopy silk printed fabric? Relatively not so hard to get this, frequently appears on EBay. This liner with German print on silk - Luftwaffe canopy is über rare

 

[physcult]

Are you referring to WW2 canopy silk printed fabric? Relatively not so hard to get this, frequently appears on EBay. This liner with German print on silk - Luftwaffe canopy is über rare

I think he means like the one on Fishtail Parka.com at £9999.00

 

[Erwin]

Understood that he's looking for genuine silk, finding this and making liner shouldn't be an issue.

 

[nanoshores]

Ok so I’m very nearly finished making the liner. Went for viscose instead of silk as prices for silk have rocketed since my last m51 liner was made. This was not an easy project as without a pattern it is totally bespoke. Only taken me 2 months! But I’m not a tailor so for those of you who are it should take much less time. Pictures to follow soon.

 

[nanoshores]

So here is the finished liner. Actually super warm and has already been tried out in minus Celsius conditions with good results.

 

[physcult]

That looks damn good. Great job. Does it button in nicely ?

So here is the finished liner. Actually super warm and has already been tried out in minus Celsius conditions with good results.

 

[nanoshores]

Thanks, yes it buttons in well. Took a bit of shuffling around to get everything lined up but thanks to this being a bespoke sew it was much less complicated than I thought . The hood was the fiddly part. Not having a pattern certainly made this a longer task but it worked out well in the end. The M-48 is so much warmer than the M-51 & M-65 and a lot more practical as a winter coat. An original wool lining would I expect just be too heavy and bulky . Going with a silk or in this case viscose lining is a great deal more practical.