Among the survivors of the De Soto expedition no less than seven list their occupation as that of tailor and one as a stocking maker. Maybe there is something to be said for joining the evil conquistadors sewing circle.
 
 

Basic Clothing for the Soldier or Sailor of the 16th Century

• Constructing a Pleated Shirt
• Sewing a Flat Cap
• Constructing Breeches

• Clothing on the De Soto Expedition
• Clothing of the Expedition West of the Mississippi
• Costuming Books for the Age of Discovery

• The Elizabethan Costuming Page
• The Costume Page
• The Milanese Tailor's Handbook
• The Real Landsknechte
• Costuming and Needlework Links
• Franchesca V. Havas (Costuming Links)

This article is the first in a series, as time and space allow, intended for someone interested in putting together a basic, minimum outfit of a soldier or sailor representative of the Nárvaez or De Soto expeditions, with a minimum of skill and expense. Although the conquistador is commonly depicted as a fairly heavily armed man there are a number of situations where not wearing a lot of armor or fancy clothing is more practical. For example, in portraying camplife; cooking, gathering firewood or fodder for horses, unloading supplies, erecting tents etc. Also even in certain combat situations such as members of a cannon crew, or the back ranks of pikemen it is not necessary, or even desirable to be heavily armed.

Please note the term “clothing” in the title rather than “costume”. I have always found that thinking of oneself as wearing clothing rather than putting on a costume helps to instill the right attitude towards re-enactment. So from the ground up the basic outfit will consist of sandals, breeches, a shirt, hat and for a military look an esqupil.

Rope sandals or alpargata can often be purchased at beach/surf shops or online at Gurkee Rope Sandals.
 
 

As you can see from the diagram on the right, the pleated shirt or camisa is constructed from four very similar pieces. Note that the front of the shirt neckline is about 1 ½ inches lower than the back piece. The dimensions shown are for a men’s medium to large size. Feel free to adjust as necessary, the shirt is so loose fitting that the dimensions are not critical. It requires about six yards of cotton muslin or linen.

Assembly instructions:
 
 

Attach the sleeves to the front and back pieces along the diagonal sides as shown below.

Fold this cruciform piece over and sew the sides of the front and back pieces together along with the underside of the sleeves as shown below. Note, a 4 inch gap needs to be left at the end of the sleeves.

Now that you have a ridiculously overlarge piece of fabric its time to pleat it down to a more manageable level. To do this use a simple basting stitch as illustrated below.

Run the needle and thread back and forth through the fabric spaced about ¼ to ½ apart.

Pull the thread tight to scrunch the fabric together into a manageable size. This needs to be done at the ends of both sleeves and along the neckline.

In addition to the pieces previously cut and assembled, two cuff and one neckline piece are needed. The cuff pieces should be about four inches wide and the width of the wrist plus one inch. The neck line should also be four inches wide and either the width of the neck plus one inch or wide enough to pull over one’s head  depending on the style desired. examples of both types are visible in the Weditz, Authentic Everyday Dress of the Renaissance book mentioned below. If going for the tight neck version, make an additional cut of four to six inches long center of the front panel of the shirt, fold and sew the edges down. Also sew ties at edges ofthe cuffs and at the neck closure. Fold all four of the edges of the cuff pieces in ½ inch and fold over. Then place the previously gathered sleeve edge inside the folded cuff piece. Spread out the ruffled edge evenly, pin down and sew. Repeat these steps for the other cuff and neck piece. Hem the bottom edge, if necessary , and the finished product should look something like this:
 
 

Some applicable hints for those without much sewing experience:

 

Use needle and thread, scotch tape does not last through the first washing and staples rust.

Use the selvage edge of the fabric on the bottom to avoid having to hem it, although frowned upon in Home-EC class this is an extremely period technique.

Wash and iron the fabric before cutting.

Use an iron to press down the fold lines.

Although machine sewing is perfectly acceptable on the inside seams, you will find that hand sewing the cuff and neck pieces goes much quicker and produces a better result with all that gathered fabric trapped between the pieces.

Consider reinforcing the V at the neck piece, this seams to be were the most stress takes place with this design.

When pinning together the pieces, watch and make sure the seams are all on the same side. With this design it is extremely easy to sew it accidentally half-n-half.

Flat ties, which you can sew yourself, do not knot up as easily as round ones.
 

Use a fairly heavy weight material such as wool, velvet or brocade for the cap and canvas or muslin as a lining. Also needed is a piece of buckram, a very stiff fabric (ask at the fabric store) for the brim.

Measure the circumference of your head and divide by ã (3.14) to determine the approximate diameter of your head. Then cut three doughnut shaped pieces; two of outer material and one of buckram for the brim. The diameter of your head plus 3-4 inches.

Also cut two round pieces; one of outer material and one for the lining. The diameter of this piece should be 14 to 20 inches. I recommend playing with some scrap material first to get the desired sizing correct.
 
 

Sew the two outside brims together about ¼ inch from edge.

Turn this ring inside out and press flat. Trim the buckram piece to fit and insert inside the brim pieces.

Sew the round top piece and lining together, again about ¼ inch from the edge. As was shown in the previous article, run a basting stitch around the perimeter and pull tight until the diameter of the top piece approximately matches the inner diameter of the brim piece.

Tack this down in about eight places and commence sewing the top and the brim together.

Interestingly enough the hat can be used as a Frisbee. One boring afternoon at De Soto National Memorial I discovered the excellent flight characteristics of such hats. regretfully none of the chroniclers mention the Spanish as having played the flying sombrero game, but it does endlessly amuse children and adults alike.
 
 

Of late I've had a number of queries along the lines of, "When are there going to more, 'Sewing with Tim' articles? My apologies to those of you standing there with a cap and shirt but no pants, which would be rather awkward, unless of course you're doing a Bill Burger 'Juan Ortiz' impression.
 
 

To develop a pattern for simple breeches cut up one leg of an old pair of jeans along the inside seams. Iron flat. The resulting piece should look something like this:

If knee breeches are desired, put the remaining pants leg on and mark the line just below the knee. Transfer this mark to the flat pattern and remove the remainder from the bottom.

Next, cut the flat piece along the outside seam. Stretch out the front and back pieces to 2-3 times the original width depending the the degree of bagginess desired. Trace this enlargement on some paper for the basic pattern piece.
 
 

Measure your waist and the distance around your leg, just below the knee. Cut out 1 rectangular strip 6-8 inches wide & your waist measurement plus 2 inches for the waist band. Cut out 2 rectangular strips 4 inches wide & your leg meassurement plus 2 inches at the knee bands.

Cut two pieces of fabric from the main leg pattern previously developed. Fold one of the leg pieces over and sew from the point of the crotch down along the inside of the leg seam stopping about 4 inches short of the bottom. Note, you may well find that in stretching the pattern the bottom of the leg does not quite line up. If this is the case simply trim the excess off the bottom. Repeat with the other leg piece making sure to fold it over in the reverse direction.

Join the two leg pieces together. Start at the point of the crotch and sew up to the center back. Again starting at the crotch, sew the leg pieces together along the front seam for about four inches, (wher you will find the the zipper on a pair of modern jeans). I strongly suggest reinforcing the crotch area as it tends to be the area that gets the most stress.

Though clearly too baggy to be worn at this point the breeches should at least resemble shorts at this point. Fold down and "hem" the unfinished area around the front. Likewise do the same to the bottem 4 inches of the pants leg seams.

Next, the waist and leg strips need to be folded in 1/2 inch all around the perimeter, ironed flat, and the corners clipped. 

Gather the bottem of the leggings intil they are about teh same length as the leg strip. Fold the leg strips over and place the gathered leg inside the leg band strip. If you're using buttons for the closure be sure to leave at least an inch in excess to allow for closure. If using ties, gather to the full lenght of the band and insesrt them before hemming. Hem the band. As a practical consideration I find it much easier, and more period too, to hem by hand. The gathers are so heavy that using a sewing machine to attach the band is extremely difficult. The waistband is put together in the same matter, again allowing a button overlap if desired. If you intend to use a drawstring don't sew the narrow edges all the way up.
 
 

At this point in the construction of the breeches there is clearly one point of immodesty that needs to be covered up. In modern jeans this is accomplished with a zipper, however in the 16th century a codpiece was used. In its simplest form, most appropriate for these very basic breeches, a codpiece is simply a triangular piece of flap of fabric attached with buttons or ties.
 
 

Cut out a triangular piece of fabric, about 12 inches wide by 13 inches long. Hem and finish all the edges.
 
 

 Fit the cod piece to match the top of the waistband and sew the point to the crotch and up to the previously heemmed area (where the zipper would start on a modern pair of pants).

 Add button holes (or ties) on the codpiece. Attach buttons (or ties) tio the waistband and secure in place. Slashing optional!
 
 

...a nobleman named Don Antonio Osorio, ...with a doublet of blankets of that land, torn on the sides, his flesh exposed, without a hat, bare-headed, bare-footed, without hose or shoes, a shield at his back, a sword without a scabbard,
 
 

After the disastrous battle of Mabila when most of the spare clothing of the Hernando de Soto expedition had been burned and much was what was worn had been torn up to make bandages for the wounded, the army was forced to rely on native material to make new clothing. The result most have appeared more like something worn by Davy Crockett or a fur trader than that of the popular conception of a conquistador in padded and slashed breeches, a brightly colored double, and a plumed helmet. This research was gathered to help me in putting together a late Soto expedition impression for an event at the Parkin site in September of 1998 with the MVEP group. (This information may come in handy if you're interested in attending the De Soto 2000 event at Parkin).  The following is a review the details of this clothing as described in the narratives of the entrada.
 
 
 
 

Mississippi:

 
And so you know, reader, what life these Spaniards led, Rodrigo Rangel, as an eyewitness, says that among many other needs of men that were experienced in this enterprise, he saw a nobleman named Don Antonio Osorio, brother of the Lord Marquis of Astorga, with a doublet of blankets of that land, torn on the sides, his flesh exposed, without a hat, bare-headed, bare-footed, without hose or shoes, a shield at his back, a sword without a scabbard, the snows and cold very great;...¹

As they passed all the nights formed in squadrons and had such little clothing to wear—for the best equipped among them had only breeches and jackets of deerskin, and almost all were barefooted, without shoes or sandals...²

Arkansas:

...they went to the town of the Lord Casqui, and he gave food and clothes to the army,....³

Many blankets, deer, lion, and bear skins, and many cat skins were found in town [Pacha]. many [of the men] were still poorly clad and there clothed themselves. From the blankets were made loose coats and cassocks; and some made gowns and lined them with the catskins, as well as the cassocks. From the deerskins were also made some jerkins, shirts, stockings, and shoes and from the bear skins very good cloaks, for water would not go through them. There found there shields made of raw cowhide with which the horses were provided with armor.⁴

 
He [the cacique Tulla] brought many cowhides [buffalo] as a gift, which were useful because it was a cold land, and were serviceable as coverlets as they were very soft and the wool like that of sheep.⁵

Texas:

Furthermore, as the clothing they were wearing was made of deerskin and other similar skins, and consisted of only a garment tied at the waist, which served as shirt, doublet, coat, and cape, and as it was always wet with the constant rain or snow and the crossing of many rivers, so that it was a rare thing for them to be dry, and as much as they went about barelegged, without stocking shoes. or sandals, and inasmuch as to these personal deprivations and the inclemenices of weather were added poor food, lack of sleep, and their great weariness on such a long and toilsome journey,... ⁶

Back in Arkansas:

This going barefoot was one of the hardships that our Spaniards felt most of all among those that they endured on this discovery. For after the battle of Mauvila, where their extra clothing and footwear were burned, they were forced to go without shoes. Though it is true that they made some, they were of untanned leather and of deerskins, with soles of the same that became a shapeless mass as soon as they were wet. Though they might have used the abilities they showed in other, more important and difficult things in making hemp sandals such as the Spaniards in México and El Perú and other places make, they could not do so on this expedition to La Florida because they found no hemp or other material of which to make them. The same thing happened to them with regard to clothing, for as they found no blankets made of wool or cotton, they dressed in deerskin, and a single short garment served them as shirt, doublet and coat.⁷

Mexico:

All were clad in deerskins , tanned and dyed black—namely cassocks, breeches and shoes.⁸

Those who still had coats of mail rejoiced, for each one found a horse there [in exchange] for it.⁹

For among them were very noble gentlemen, and it aroused their pity to see them disfigured, black, lean, wasted, barefoot, and unclothed. They wore no other garments except those of deerskin, cowhide, and the skins of bears and lions and other wild animals, so they looked more like wild beasts and brutish animals than human beings.¹⁰

Well that’s certainly a far cry from description of the assembly held in Spain five years earlier:

He ordered a muster to be held, to which the Portuguese went armed in very splendid arms, and the Castillians very elegantly, in silk over silk, and many plaits and slashes.¹¹

Clayton, Lawrence A., Vernon James Knight Jr. and Edward C. More. De Soto Chronicles Vol. I &II (The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa: 1993.)

1 Clayton. Vol. I. p.296.

2 Clayton. Vol. II. p.375

3 Clayton. Vol. I. p.300.

4 Clayton. Vol. I. p.117.

5 Clayton. Vol. I. p.126.

6 Clayton. Vol. II. p.471.

7 Clayton. Vol. II. p.495.

8 Clayton. Vol. I. p.165.

9 Clayton. Vol. I. p.166.

10 Clayton. Vol. II. p.539.

11 Clayton. Vol.I. p.50.

12 Avellaneda, Ignacio. Los Sobreviventes de la Florida: The Survivors of the De Soto Expedition. (University of Florida Libraries: Gainesville, Florida 1990) pp.81-82

13 Goff, Kent. “Letters,” Calderon’s Company.( Vol. 2, Issue 10, February 1998) p.6.
 
 

Hispanic Costume 1480-1530

by Ruth Matilda Anderson with 569 illustrations in black and white and 8 in full color. Printed by the Hispanic Society of America, New York 1979. ISBN 87535-126-3

This is the book for Spanish costuming of the early 16th century, covering men’s and women’s clothing in text and pictures. The illustrations are chiefly (and unlike those of most costume books) details and close-ups. The text rather then merely describing the illustrations, includes terminology, and period sources.

Authentic Everyday Dress of the Renaissance: All 154 Plates from the “Thrachtenbuch”

by Christoph Weiditz. Dover Publications, New York 1994. ISBN 0-486-27975-8, $11.95

For re-creating the clothing of the Narváez or de Soto eras' one would be hard pressed to find a better costuming source. These woodcut illustrations were published in 1529 and include depiction’s of Cortez back from his conquest in Mexico and Aztecs who accompanied him. There are also pictures of mariners, peasants, slaves, warriors, crossbowmen and nobles. The text accompanying the black and white illustrations details the coloring directions.
 
 

Although the following three books deal with a later period more appropriate to the Menendez era rather than De Soto’s, they are included because of their sewing and construction details.
 
 

Drafting & Constructing a Simple Doublet & Trunkhose of the Spanish Renaissance: Based on the Libro De Geomteria of Juan De Alcega

by R.W. Trump. Alfarhaugr Publishing Society, (1908 Oak Street, Eugene, Oregon 97405) 1991. ISBN 0-9623719-2-0

This book is essentially a Master’s thesis on the construction of one garment. At 120 pages you could not ask for a more detailed set of sewing instructions. I especially like the fact that the author’s illustrations are both photographs and line drawings of the same subject, capturing the best of both types of illustration.
 
 

Elizabethan Costuming for the Years 1550-1580

by Janet Winter & Carolyn Savoy. Other Times Productions, (361-60th Street, Dept. W, Oakland, California 94618) 1987. $15.00+$1.50 postage and handling

Designed originally as the costuming manual for a renaissance fair, it contains “easy-to-follow instructions” for the amateur. The book covers construction of head to toe clothing for all classes and sexes, and much of the material is applicable to the early 16th century as well.
 
 

Patterns of Fashion: The cut and construction of clothes for men and women c. 1560-1620.

by Janet Arnold. MACMILLAN LONDON LIMITED (4 Little Essex Street London WC2R 3LF and Basingstoke) 1985. ISBN 0-333-38284-6

This book is designed for the serious costumer, it takes surviving garments and in photographs, line drawings, and patterns show how they are constructed. Especially interesting, and almost unique in costume books, is that many of the photographs are of the inside of the clothing.
 
 

Tailor's Pattern Book 1589
 by Juan De Alcega, Jean Pain (Translator), Cecilia Bainton (Translator), j Nevinson, Juan de Alcega
 Publisher: Quite Specific Media Group Ltd; ISBN: 0896762343; Facsimile edition (April 12, 1999)

A combination facimile reprint, translation into English, and extensive notes.  Not a book for the beginner, but a wonderful resource for the experienced constumer seeking documention as to how period clothes were put together.  The book as patterns for both men's and women's clothing, ceremonial dress, barding for horses and even a flag pattern.
 
 

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