Ranger Pants

[Ernildir]

I need to make me some Ranger pants. A pair of authentic pants/trousers is quickly rising on my to-do list as I expect to finish some linen braes I have been working on for leggings practice within a week. And my moccasin project will be going haltingly for a bit as I will need to stop soon and take some time to figure out how I want to do the lacing system. So I need something new to sew but I haven't got a pattern.

Could any of y'all please recommend some patterns for some good Ranger legwear?

Thank you.

[Ringulf]

He he! I have become quite partial to my Dwarven Ranger Russ Pants myself!
They are voluminous (as am I) and are not quite as svelt for moving through the underbrush in a tangled forest, but they are actually very cool and protective for life as a "Southern Ranger".
Though I am not sure that the Firstborn could pull them off the way the Khazad can, I will still include the very simple pattern and directions re-written from another minamalist source on the web by Ranger Brandwyn.


Bear in mind the measurements are for a 6' 300 Lb Dwarf! so size accordingly!

[Ernildir]

Thank you for the suggestion, Ringulf! It certainly looks amazing on you. I personally wasn't aiming for the baggy look, and I'm not sure it would fit my style, but once I finish up my moccs I will be able to get a better idea of whether bagginess will work for me. It can be awesome, but sometimes it just looks a little silly with footwear that is at or approaching knee-height, as my moccs will be. We'll see. I suppose I always have the option of just adapting the pattern to eliminate the bagginess, though, regardless.

[Ringulf]

Yes I understand, they are not for everyone and some styles of footwear would not make the look, but you should look at some of the picks I put up on the "Soft Kit" section as there are a lot of examples of the way they are worn and how they look on a human rather than a dwarf! hee hee!

[caedmon]

I need to make me some Ranger pants. A pair of authentic pants/trousers is quickly rising on my to-do list as I expect to finish some linen braes I have been working on for leggings practice within a week. And my moccasin project will be going haltingly for a bit as I will need to stop soon and take some time to figure out how I want to do the lacing system. So I need something new to sew but I haven't got a pattern.

Could any of y'all please recommend some patterns for some good Ranger legwear?

Thank you.

Well.... what is the look you're going for with legwear? I tend toward the 18th c. with a medieval flair interpretation of Northern clothing, and would go toward knee breeches.

On the other hand many go with a Viking/Saxon interpretation, which would have the cut of Ringulf's pants with much less volume.

Another alternative is that as legwear is generally hidden by tunic & knee-high boots, you could use a modern pair of pant that you like as a pattern. Rip the seams, ignore pockets & fly as superfluous, and do a drawstring waist.

Finally you could go with a later medieval look like the dungiven trews (but not in plaid)

[Ernildir]

I've been thinking, and have decided that it would be an adventure to have somewhat baggy legwear. I suppose I will just use this pattern and tone it down a bit.

Thanks!

[Ernildir]

After studying the instructions, I seem to understand most of it, with the exception of the pleating bit. As far as I can tell, (using the given measurements as an example) the cuffs, which have a circumference of 10", must be attached to the legs, which have a circumference of 22", and somehow the pleats make that possible. But I've never worked with pleats so I have no idea how to do that.

[deadextra]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=pleat

[caedmon]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=pleat

Hey, there's no call for sarcasm. A gentle answer raises all boats, and might convert a few people. Anyway, in this case pleating done in the correct manner will not be achieved with modern sewing standards. Granted my information is from Google, but not everyone is going to know that they need to google "Haithabu påsbyxor".

The Viking/Russ trousers seem to be mostly based on pictorial sources, with a single fragmentary extant garment, the Haithabu trousers to attest the style. I worry that the fragmentary nature of the piece and it's method of preservation (it was cut up, covered in tar, and used to stop up leaks in a boat) might mess with the reliability of it's reconstructions, but the style definitely is reasonable and attractive.

The pleating is assumed to have been done in the same manner as 10th c. Scandinavian linen pleating.

You can also see examples of finished pleating for the knee cuff and another take on the pattern on this swedish site.

Finally check this out for some nice details of another reconstruction's waist pleating here.

[Ernildir]

Thanks for all the info, Jack!

A lot of good visual stuff to help me out once I get going. I still haven't figured out how physically and mathematically to accomplish the pleats without a deficit or excess of material when I've gone around (and I need to pleat the waist as well as the cuffs? o.0) but I suppose I could probably find a pleating tutorial online somewhere with a bit of searching when I get there. Until then, I've actually figured out how to proceed with my moccs sooner than I expected, so those are back in full swing and will be keeping me busy for quite some time, putting my trousers on hold for a while.

[Yavion]

Thanks for all the info, Jack!

A lot of good visual stuff to help me out once I get going. I still haven't figured out how physically and mathematically to accomplish the pleats without a deficit or excess of material when I've gone around (and I need to pleat the waist as well as the cuffs? o.0) but I suppose I could probably find a pleating tutorial online somewhere with a bit of searching when I get there. Until then, I've actually figured out how to proceed with my moccs sooner than I expected, so those are back in full swing and will be keeping me busy for quite some time, putting my trousers on hold for a while.

If you're using a sewing machine you can also just gather them instead of pleating. Do a longer running stitch and then pull on the threads to cinch it up, like a draw string. It requires strong thread, but you get nice, even gathers that you can sew the cuffs and waist over.

Hope that helps... I'm not always good and describing things...

[Ernildir]

Okay... I've been thinking about how I want to manage this, and now I have a plan, so please tell me whether or not you think it is flawed.

I want to make these pants with the leg circumferences augmented by 20cm. So am I right in that each rectangular leg piece would need to have a width of half the circumference of my waist + 20cm?

As for the pleats, I believe I have conceived of a way to manage them... does it sound like it would be a good idea to have 20 pleats running equidistantly around my waist, each displacing 2cm of extra circumference, and 10 pleats acting in an identical manner around each of my legs at the cuffs?

[sgainbrachta]

A rather simple pair of pants probably exist in your closet, or more likely on the floor...

Think of how a pair of sweat pants are made! So simple- and if you do them in a nice wool or a heavy linen- they will look great! I add a double-thick triangle to the front- sewn on the bottom point (crotch) and buttoned on the top 2 points as a cod piece. The waist is done as a drawstring, or again- I did mine with buttons.

This will work with loose gaiters, or tall boots, either one- and with almost any choice of fabric, too.

Just don't do an elastic waistband. Because that would be wrong on every level.

*edit* the codpiece is a stretched out triangle, not equilateral... It is rather tall, sewn for an inch or two up from the crotch (not quite right where all 4 panels attach~) and about 5-7" wide at the top. Mine buttons right below the waistband, and I have a single button under it (on the verticle pants opening) to keep my fly fully closed...

[Manveruon]

Apropos of nothing, I just happened upon these pants over on Etsy, so if anyone wants to buy instead of making their own, these look to be a pretty good specimen of what folks around here seem to prefer:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/97532481/me ... v1_other_1

[sgainbrachta]

I know folks who've bought from them, they do good work, so you'd be "safe" in ordering from them. I believe they do everything based on your measurements, too- so it's a fully "custom" build~