“The hunting shirt was universally worn. This was a kind of loose frock, reaching half way down the thighs, with large sleeves, open before, and so wide as to lap over a foot or more when belted. The cap was large, and sometimes handsomely fringed with a raveled piece of cloth of a different color from that of the hunting shirt itself. The bosom of this dress served as a wallet to hold a chunk of bread, cakes, jerk, tow for wiping the barrel of the rifle, or any other necessary for the hunter or warrior.
“The belt, which was always tied behind, answered several purposes, besides that of holding the dress together. In cold weather the mittens, and sometimes the bullet-bag, occupied the front part of it. To the right side was suspended the tomahawk and to the left the scalping knife in its leathern sheath. The hunting shirt was generally made of linsey, sometimes of coarse linen, and a few of dressed deer skins. These last were very cold and uncomfortable in wet weather. The shirt and jacket were of the common fashion. A pair of drawers or breeches and leggins were the dress of the thigh and legs; a pair of moccasins answered for the feet much better than shoes. These were made of dressed deer skin. They were mostly made of a single piece with a gathering seam along the top of the foot, and another from the bottom of the heel, without gathers as high as the ankle joint or a little higher. Flaps were left on each side to reach some distance up the legs. These were nicely adapted to the ankles and lower part of the leg by thongs of deer skin, so that no dust, gravel, or snow could get within the moccasin.
The moccasins in ordinary use cost but a few hours of labor to make them. This was done by an instrument denominated a moccasin awl, which was made of the backspring of an old claspknife. This awl with hits buckshorn handle was an appendage of every shot pouch strap, together with a roll of buckskin for mending the moccasins. This was the labor of almost every evening. They were sewed together and patched with deer skin thongs, or whangs, as they were commonly called.”
“In cold weather the moccasins were well stuffed with deer’s hair, or dry leaves, so as to keep the feet comfortably warm, but in wet weather it was usually said that wearing them was ”˜a decent way of going barefooted;’ and such was the fact, owing to the spongy texture of the leather which they were made.”
“In the latter years of the Indian war our young men became more enamored of the Indian dress throughout, with the exception of the matchcoat. The drawers were laid aside and the leggins made longer, so as to reach the upper part of the thigh. The Indian breechclout was adopted. This was a piece of linen or cloth nearly a yard long, and eight or nine inches broad. This passed under the belt before and behind leaving the ends for flaps hanging before and behind over the belt. These flaps were sometimes ornamented with some coarse kind of embroidery work. To the same belts which secured the breech clout, strings which supported the long leggings were attached. 93When this belt, as was often the case, passed over the hunting shirt the upper part of the thighs and part of the hips were naked.”
93 “The linsey petticoat and bed gown, which were the universal dress of our women in early times, would make a strange figure in our days. A small home-made handkerchief”¦”
“They went barefooted in warm weather, and in cold their feet were covered with moccasins, coarse shoes, or shoepacks”¦”
“The coats and bedgowns of the women, as well as the hunting shirts of the men, were hung in full display on wooden pegs around the walls of their cabins, so that while they answered in some degree the place of paper hangings or tapestry they announced to the stranger as well as neighbors the wealth or poverty of the family in the articles of clothing.”
113 “Our clothing was all of domestic manufacture. We had no other resource for clothing, and this, indeed, was a poor one. The crops of flax often failed, and the sheep were destroyed by the wolves. Linsey, which is made of flax and wool, the former the chain and the latter the filling, was the warmest and most substantial cloth we could make. Almost every house contained a loom, and almost every woman was a weaver.”
Families usually tanned their own leather, no mention of using brains. “The blacking for the leather was made of soot and hog’s lard.”
“Almost every family contained its own tailors and shoemakers. Those who could not make shoes could make shoepacks. These, like moccasins, were made of a single piece of leather with the exception of a tongue piece on the top of the foot. This was about two inches broad and circular at the lower end. To this the main piece of leather was sewed, with a gathering stitch. The seam behind was like that of a moccasin. To the shoepack a sole was sometimes added. The women did the tailor work. They could all cut out and make hunting shirts, leggings, and drawers.”
Doddridge, Joseph.
Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia and
Pennsylvania from 1763-1783, inclusive, Together with a Review of the State of Society and Manners of the First Settlers of the Western Country. (Akron: The New Werner Company), 1912 [Original Publication date 1824 by the author]
This is quite a bit of info for starters. A lot of my research doesn't involve clothes, honestly, I just run across it and take notes lol.
Another good source is JFD Smyth,
A Tour of the United States of America which is available at
archive.org.
And here is the 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center. There are really detailed photographs and period paintings that are really helpful, especially for the details. Superbly organized so you can find what you're looking for easily. It is not frontier oriented, really, but covers a lot of territory nonetheless.
18th Century Material Culture Resource Center