How Did Pioneers Make Their Clothing?

Going to the store to buy new clothing is something that most of us take for granted.  If we do not see anything that we like at the first store, we just go to the next one.  It was not always this easy.  Pioneers that traveled across and settled the country in the 1800s did not have stores to buy their clothing from.  What they wore they made, but have you ever wondered how?

Woman's work - The pioneer women made the clothing that the family wore.  This was all the way from the skin out.  Sewing machines were not mass produced until the 1850s and they were very expensive, so everything that they wore was made by hand.  The average family owned very few clothes and what they owned they took very good care of.

Making cloth - There was fabric that was commercially available for sale in some places but not in a large supply.  Most pioneer women made clothes from the wool that had been sheared from the sheep.  They straightened the wool by carding it and then used a spinning wheel to spin it.  The thread was then ready to be used or made into fabric.  They used different flowers and vegetables to create colors that could be used to dye the fabric.  This process was so time consuming that women would get together and use it as a social event.

Cotton and flax - Cotton could only be grown in certain climates and although flax was more plentiful it was difficult to process. Both of these elements had to be processed before they were used to process or make cloth.  As a result of this most clothing worn by the Pioneers was made of cotton, linen (flax) or wool.

Tanned hides to create outer wear and bed coverings - These included cow hides and deer skins.  Flurry pelts of other types of animals were also used.

Made by hand - Once the materials were chosen, patterns were created and the outfit was cut out and sewed together by hand.  Socks and other components of clothing were occasionally knitted or crocheted.