brain tanned leggings

[sms77]

I am about to make my first pair of leggings from deer I tanned myself and could use some help on patterns. I am trying to portray the longhunters. I will be wearing these with a hunting shirt that goes down to mid-thigh and a breech cloth. My questions are how high past the knee should the leggings come to be correct? Should they be form fitting to the leg or just one circumference all the way thru like a tube so to speak? Would waxed linen thread be ok or should I use fake sinew? All help would be appreciated as I have a lot of work in the hides and want them right the first time.
Thanks

 

[Black Hand]

Described as being "a hand-span above the knee" and form-fitting. Used well-waxed real linen and avoid the fake sinew as people can tell it is fake sinew from 10 yards away....

 

[sms77]

any advise on how wide of a flap to leave on the side.

 

[George]

I have references saying...

"laced upon the outside, and always come better than half way up the thigh"

"leggins made longer, so as to reach the upper part of the thigh"

"cloth coloured leggings half way up his thigh"

"all the Indians wear what are called leggings, which reach from the instep to the middle of the thigh."

Spence

 

[crockett]

Well you are correct to get as much data as possible. It seems to me the leggings would have to be tapered otherwise the lower part would be too baggy. There is the question of fringe. I don't think the eastern style had fringe. There is the question of a strap or band going under the foot.
I am pretty certain linen thread would be pc. I would NOT use artificial sinew because it frays and I'm not sure how long it lasts. If you decide on sinew buy some of the real stuff from Crazy Crow and forget all the worries on using it. With real sinew you leave one end dry and use it as a "needle" The hole in the leather is made by an awl and I will quickly stick a small brad in the hole before it closes back up. I'd buy some cheap vinyl and make a proto-type from that and them use that as a pattern.
In any event-I agree about not wasting brain tanned hides. Do plenty of research.
On using sinew- I'll do a whip (wrap around) type stitch like in summer camp as a kid. When only an inch of sinew is left tuck it under the last three wraps and feed in a new piece- not that hard or time consuming.

 

[54ball]

Link SE Indian Leggings....Cherokee,Creek, Seminole, Shawnee
Link Seminole buckskin leggings

I used a combination of both styles. The one I made looked like the first link but were attached together with thongs like the second link.

As far as length above the knee, Indian leggings became higher above the knee and clouts became wider as time progresses. White culture influenced the Indians and as the 18th Century progresses their dress becomes less modest.

 

[tenngun]

Real sinew makes its own needle, in that when you soak it you leave the last inch or so dry, so you have a short hard piece to dive through the hole
Needles had to be made one at a time and were expensive in monies buying power back then. Needles and thread were sold on the frontier back then.
One pain using real sinew is its short. It feels like every inch you need start a new one. It isn't really that bad, but feels that way.
Linen thread is hc and easier to work with.
Sinews real fun thing is it shrinks when drying making tight stitches tighter then you can ever pull with thread.
If your doing a white frontiersman impression you could do an Indian style, but your leggings may also have been more like gaiters just sewn instead of buttoned. Buttons were also relitivly expensive.
Local tribal veriations of flaps can be a pain when worn, Indians were making cloth leggings almost as soon as they could buy cloth, whites use of leggings were practical driven, and not style driven. Worn just to protect the leg or the leg of cloth trousers. You could look at form fitted tubes with out any deceptive element.

 

[tenngun]

I ment decorative element.

 

[Bill Mc]

The next thing I make will be leggings. The shirt I made, I used lacing which seemed much easier than sewing.

Comments?

 

[SgtErv]

I haven't seen documentation on how the leggings were sewn. (Not saying there isn't any). I have seen documentation for leather lacing for mocassins. I would recommend whatever PC material you can get the tightest stitches with.

I just made some with waxed linen thread and they work great. The stitches are sort of big and I may resew them if they start to come apart. They haven't yet and I've worn them a good bit and squatted, etc.

There's a really good thread in this section of the forum where a lot of the guys helped out and I posted progress pics along the way. I believe it's titled "tips on making deerskin leggings?"

Good luck! It's an easy project made much easier with a pattern. The one thing I learned was that like mocassins these will stretch a little, especially around the thighs. Might be the same with brain tan? (I used commercial tanned). Mine are a tad baggy and my garters bunch them a little and it pinches a tad.

 

[George]

I haven't seen documentation on how the leggings were sewn. (Not saying there isn't any). I have seen documentation for leather lacing for mocassins.

I've seen very little. Smyth describes the leggings of Carolina backwoodsmen in 1784:
"On their legs they have Indian Boots, or leggings, made of coarse woolen cloth, that either are wrapped around loosely and tied with garters, or are laced upon the outside and always come better than halfway up the thigh:"

George Bendinger, 1784/1785, on a hunt with John Stovall, said they had on "crude leather leggings" laced with "whangs" (George Michael Bendinger to Lyman C. Draper, in Draper Manuscripts, 1 A 44-45)

Spence

 

[tenngun]

I recall reading that some years ago. In my minds eye I pictured cloth or skin wrapped and then lacing tied around the leg. In general looking like something out of a prince valiant cartoon. :idunno:
Westren leggings were often tied together with wangs cut from the skin, I wonder if that's what is being described. A laced piece would look 'crude' to a more 'civilized' man.
I am also put in mind of Germans retreating from Russia. Photos show crude leggings/gatiers made from old blankets.

 

[sms77]

I have been looking for waxed linen thread but there is alot of different sizes and colors. Does anybody have a resource for the most HC type. I checked Townsend and that do not stock any.

 

[SgtErv]

I used 5 ply. It's good, strong stuff. Got it from Amazon. A lot of craft stores sell stuff that looks similar but it is synthetic.

And, my apologies, the "tips on making buckskin leggings" is over in "The Craftsman"

Thanks Spence. Your database never ceases to amaze!

 

[crockett]

I don't know the HC way sinew was used but here's how I do it. Let's say you have a 10" long piece. You wet 9" and leave the tip dry. You make a hole with an awl and feed in the sinew until only a 1" section of sinew remains and then bend that 1" up along the seam to be sewn. As you wrap around the stitches the first three or four wraps go over this 1" end that is bent up along the seam and lock it in place. When I first started using sinew as I got towards the end of the first 10" piece I would leave the last 3 wraps loose and then tuck the dry end of the sinew under these wraps and start adjusting and tightening everything the tighten it- this took time. I would then repeat the whole thing with another piece of sinew.
As stated, sinew dries and shrinks. The thought occurred to me that maybe there was an easier way. I then changed things, I started the same but when I got to the end of the first piece I didn't leave any loose loops, I kept pulling everything tight until there was only the 1" needle left. I then fed in a new 10" section and pulled it through so there was a 1" tag end. I then bend that tag end AND THE 1" FROM THE FIRST PIECE up along the yet to be sewn seam. I found that the wraps from the second piece dried and held both ends without anything coming loose. This really speeded up the sewing. I have tried to find out if anyone has examined original clothing to tell how it was sewn so I don't know if my new method is pc.

 

[crockett]

BTW- if you decide on the linen thread, once again I'm not sure of the pc method but the wrap stitching uses a lot of thread and exposes the thread to wear. If I use linen thread I put a needle on both ends and start with the middle of the string in the first hole and then lace the seam like shoelaces in a shoe- going through the same hole with both needles- from opposite sides. This creates a solid row of stitches on both sides. At the top I back stitch three holes and just cut the tag ends- I've never had them loosen.
Since the linen thread is constantly getting pulled through holes it can fray, I'll therefore run a block of beeswax on it about every 6" of seam. The waxed thread won't fray.
In sewing leather you can also position the holes somewhat closer to the edge than with woven fabric.

 

[tenngun]

I have a bees wax candle stub. After threading the needle I stick it through the candle near the edge and pull the thread through. After a few passes I have a grove there and with thumb pressure can push it down on the thread as I pull through. I pull off about a yard of thread. And put the meddle in the middle, so I see with double waxed thread,