Why Shear Sheep?

Charles Lox owns C&C Sutlery out in Emmett and Charles, with his wife Ellen have developed quite the little industry in manufacturing Civil War period clothing for those enthusiasts who like to re-enact the war. It may be a mom and pop business but it uses a lot of wall as Charles points out: “We buy wool by the bolt. This happens to be 50 yards of wool in this bolt and we buy multiple bolts as you can see right here wrapped up and of course that is how they ship them. Different color wools, different north or south. You see wool that we make for modern coats that have the camouflage. ” Greg Faulus does the cutting in the back of the shop. He lays out the pattern for each garment ordered, and with the help of a fabric saw equipped with an 8 inch cutting blade, He will cut each piece and pass on the results to the seamstress for assembly. “I make my chalk marks with my tailor’s chalk and that’s where it gets loud. This is a 3300 RPM saw and it has an 8 inch straight knife and this is the guide that goes over the top of it to keep the fabric from jumping and it runs on little bearings. I drop it down on the material like you would a skill saw or a jigsaw. There you go. One waistband for a pair of pants.