Liberty Cuffs, Crackerjacks and more fascinating information about Vintage Navy Uniforms.
- Betsy Dolinko
- May 20
- 3 min read
I was recently browsing at a nurses rummage sale in Far Hills, New Jersey and when passing through hangers, my hand felt a good quality wool. I then noticed embroidery on the cuff, dragons. A vintage Liberty Cuff! I could tell by the hidden stitching that it had been done by hand so the garment immedietly got my full attention. I realized it was inside out and to my absolute delight, I realized it was the top of a US Navy dress blues uniform. This style of uniform was issued to enlisted soldiers until they got promoted to Chief Petty Officer, at which point they would have been issued a different uniform more similar to one worn by commissioned officers. The details took my breath away, there were so many! Of course as soon as I got home I did some research to learn more about the garment.
The uniform likely was worn during World War II by a sailor in the Asiatic Fleet. How did I figure this? I studied each of the patches on the uniform to get a complete picture of the time frame and ranking of the sailor this uniform was issued to.
One of the first things I noticed, it is hand made from a thick, heavy navy wool fabric. The inside of the cuffs have been hand embroidered. This is the Liberty Cuff which was what got my full attention. Liberty Cuffs got their name because in 1910 the US Navy banned decorative stitching from the cuffs of uniforms. Sailors started having the Uniform Tailors stitch embroidery to the inside of the cuffs. The sailors cuffs were checked for visable stitches on the outside in order to comply with regulation. If the sailors were caught with an "illegal uniform" they could have their liberty time cancelled! Because of this, embroidery was hand sewn only by a Uniform Tailor with a tiny blind stitch so that when the sailors were buttoned up in uniform you could not see the patches. When the soldiers docked and were on their liberty time, they would unbutton their cuffs and roll up their sleeves to show off their patches.
The next patch I noticed was a Ruptured Duck. The Ruptured Duck patch is actually not a duck! It is an eagle inside a wreath worn on the right hand side above the breast pocket. The nickname came about because the sailors thought it looked more like a duck than an eagle and joked with a saying along the lines of when you received one of these patches you would run home fast like a ruptured duck. This patch is very important for several reasons. First off, it is a patch that indicates an honorable discharge. It was issued to soldiers right before the end of their service to indicate an Honorable Discharge. During this time, there was a clothing shortage in the United States so soldiers were able to wear their uniforms for 30 days after being discharged. Wearing this patch showed the Millitary Police that they were in transit and not AWOL.
The next patch I researched was white stitching in the shape of 3 propellors, two up and one down. This patch was for Marine Engineers. Another indication on the uniform demonstrating that it was issued to an Engineer is the red band prick stitched by hand around the left armhole seam.
As a tailor, I also was impressed and appreciated the hand embroidery on the sides of the welt pocket on the left breast and matching on the front V. The stitching is done in navy so it is not very noticible, however stitching like that is not fast work.
What will I do with this piece of history? To be honest, I don't have a plan, but for now it is hanging in my private archives, next to an antique Red Cross uniform I collected years ago and other antique and historical garments.
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