Buckskin Pants Pattern

About Your Buckskin Pants Pattern

This style of buckskin pants is typical of those worn by the trappers, traders, and frontiersmen from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast beginning in the late 1700’s and stretching to the end of the 18th century. While many of the mountain men outfitted in St. Louis with commercial cloth trousers, the rigors of the frontier soon rendered them useless and they were then replaced by elk or buckskin pants copied from the cloth ones. Leather trousers held up much better under the rough conditions of trapping, riding, and frontier life in general, and were made either by the mountain man himself, or by Indians from a friendly tribe.

Decorations varied considerably and most pants were quite plain; however, fringe was very popular and some examples even sport floral beadwork down the front of both legs! Other variations include a sawtooth edge on the fly cover and rear “foxing”, or reinforcement on the back section of the legs and seat which might also have a sawtooth edge.

Our Buckskin Pants are authentically designed and simple to construct. They are extremely serviceable and can be worn with either a belt or suspenders.

This was standard wear for Eastern woodsmen from the French & Indian War until well after the Revolution. Includes several options for cuffs, cape and fringe treatment. Sizes M, L, XL and XXL.

Notions

Simulated sinew or heavily waxed linen or cotton button and carpet weight thread; 5 buttons of pewter, antler, bone, or shell; beads or other decorative touches if desired.

Material Requirements

Fringe: Authentically styled fringe (an optional addition) can easily be cut from the outer edges of the hides leftover from the cutting of the basic pants. This fringe does not need to be all in one section, and can be pieced together to conserve leather.

Suggested Materials

Early trousers were fashioned from native tanned, smoked hides. The best substitute for these is smoked German tanned buckskin, but commercially tanned deer or elk hides in a smoked color such as gold, or a lightly smoked color such as willow or tan also works well. A garment suede such as split cowhide may also be used.

---

18th & 19th Century American Historical Reenactments

There are persons interested in virtually all historical eras of most countries who participate in WWI and WWII reenactments, Viking, Roman, Napoleonic Wars (i.e., Waterloo), etc. In this article, we’ll stick to the early American eras as those are the ones whose participants that Crazy Crow Trading Post supplies. These include: American Colonial Civilian Reenactors, French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mountain Man Fur Trade Era, Frontiersmen, Longhunters & Trekkers, Civil War & more.
Go to Article >>

Getting Dressed Up for Your First Mountain Man Rendezvous!

Take a look at our Mountain Man Rendezvous Clothing & Accessories article on "dressed for your first Mountain Man Rendezvous". In addition to discussing the topic in general, we feature a number of books and DVDs that, while prepared for Mountain Man historical reenactors in general, offer information that will be particularly helpful to beginners.
Go to Article >>

Davis Mountains Brigade Rendezvous Camp Photo Gallery

Introducing Crazy Crow's Rendezvous events photo & media gallery. Images & video organized by Rendezvous to make it easier for you to find great ideas for your Rendezvous clothing, shooting & camp supllies.
Go to gallery >>