So you want to make or upgrade your Civil War uniform shirt, but you don't know where to start. What type of material do you use, should you use metal, porcelain or bone buttons, should you have a collar on your shirt, what about cuffs - how many inches are they supposed to be, should you hand stitch button holes, where should you put pocket on your shirt, Ahhhhh!

Your questions about making your Civil War uniform shirt authentic are answered in this shirt article and continue to be answered in 101 Tips for Your Authentic Civil War Uniform Shirt Course at http://www.civilwaruniforms.net/authenticshirts.htm

Here are some of tips for making Your Civil War Uniform shirt authentic:

4. To start, you could purchase a shirt that is already made that has machine buttonholes in it and rework buttonholes to make it look more authentic. Take a seam ripper and pick out buttonholes and handwork them.

5. I would pick out and redo by hand all exposed machine stitching. Someone can show you how to do that in about 15 minutes. You should have about 6-7 stitches per inch. You have just increased value of your shirt and made it more authentic.

32. "Pockets were not sewn on most shirts, and not at all on army-issued shirts. Heavier shirts had a breast pocket or two. The pockets were generally lower on shirt and larger than breast pockets on shirts today.

33. Buttons were metal, wooden or bone, or sometimes commercially made from other products, such as glass or ceramic materials. For Southern troops, different styles of buttons can be used, including bits of wood, bone, or even acorns. You can use dental floss to tie them on, but make sure modern materials are not visible.

38. Battle shirts are a bit controversial. Some troops, especially early-war Southern troops, had a tunic or heavy shirt instead of a wool uniform coat. It would fit over a regular shirt but was not as heavy or bulky as wool jacket. Before you get a battle shirt, make sure one is documented for your regiment's history, since they were not typical and are controversial.

When thinking about a collar for your Civil War shirt, as I always say...look at original photographs. The collar/shirt combinations that you can use are endless.

Original photographs show shirts with collars that are different colors from shirts or same color as shirt. I have seen and used high collars, low collars, rounded-edged collars and square-edged collars.

Some shirts had button on collars, and many shirts were collarless. ECHOES: ARMS AND EQUIPMENT OF THE CONFEDERACY shows seven shirts on pgs. 154-155, and each one has a different collar.

Pvt. John Burgwyn MacRae Starr's North Carolina is a dark blue wool collarless pullover shirt while one below, Pvt. Andrew Thomas Beam, 28th South Carolina Volunteers' shirt is white cotton with a square edged collar made of same color and material.

An imported shirt from England with only a slit in front and a button to hold two sides together appears on same page. There does not appear to be a placket or a collar anywhere to be seen on this British shirt. Bri. Gen.David A. Weisiger's shirt is a pullover shirt made of a butternut color type material, which is also collarless.