Buckskin Clothing

I had never sewed anything in my life but buttons on ahad been outbid on by more aggressive bidders. I
shirt. That was even an experience that I did not relish.purchased a war shirt pattern from a company that I
Doing research on my family tree I became aware ofbuy Indian articles from. The pattern was not in my
the fact that my great grand parents were listed onsize. I could not find any patterns in my size. I took one
the American Indian rolls. The rolls were institutedof my shirts and traced around it, adding a few inches
during the infamous time of the trail of tears. I hadextra for the hem. I had bought a thread that was too
always felt that I had indian lineage because mylarge for the machine and continually experienced
mother looked the part. All of her brothers and sistersbobbin problems. The thread was even too large to go
had Indian features. The Indian aspect of our heritagethrough the needle of the machine easily. I went down
was rarely discussed by family members. My motherto a smaller thread and began to make progress.
never discussed her heritage even though she wasBuckskin is not an easy material to work with. It is very
dark skinned with black hair and high cheek bones. Mypliable and has almost a spongy texture to it. Use
sister looked Indian. I was dark complected. My dadheavy needles that are meant for sewing leather to
was Irish. He was fair skinned with light hair. I havedo the hand work. Some type of lubricant is needed
always felt a kinship to the Indian race.on the needles to make them go through the leather
I became very interested in anything Indian. I went toeasier. I used a heavy piece of leather to protect my
Indian art shows and inspected indian ware on e-bay. Ihands while hand stitching. I also used a pair of pliers to
had purchased a head dress which ended up beingpush and pull the needle through the leather. To my
too small for my head. I read books and articles onamazement I got all of the parts to match. I had even
Indian history. I purchased many articles whichgot huge compliments for my sewing ability. It looked
somehow seemed to quench my thirst for a feelingas good as any thing that I could have purchased. I
for the past. I am a large man with a large torso andnext looked at ways to decorate my shirt besides the
feet. I had been buying my clothes from a big mansusual fringe. I decided on horsehair, beadwork and
store for years. I had ogled the war and buckskin shirtsmedallions. I now had an expensive war shirt at a price
on e-bay and other sites for months. I had troublethat I could afford and in a size that would fit me.
finding indian war shirts in my size. When I came closeI needed pants to go with the shirt. I sent off and
to finding the right shirt the price tag was out of myordered a pattern for leggings and a breechclout. The
price range.pattern worked. The leggings and breechclout were
The next step? With my poor sewing knowledge Irelatively easy to put together. I now have buckskins
decided to try to make a war shirt by myself. I boughtthat will compare to almost any other. I saved money. I
the buckskin and then a sewing machine from Wal-learned a new skill and got a feel for what it must
Mart. The sewing machine was not big enough and didhave been like for the indians of old to produce their
not have the power to sew through leather.. I went toclothing. I am still searching for ways of recreating the
e-bay and purchased a sewing machine which wasIndian of the past. Yesterday I walked in the living room
advertised to sew leather. In fact this new sewingwith a full drape red fox hat on my head. My wife
machine was cheaper than the used machines that Idoes understand.