tribaltagz

I know the process for rolling fringe. I roll my own fringe for fans, but my question is how do I roll fringe for a pair of tab leggings? Are they rolled seperate and attached in the seam or what? I appreciate any help folks could give.

rodond

that is how i did the one i maded

tribaltagz

also, my uncle always told me that if you wear those skinny aprons under a black shawl wrap, it had to be red. Is there a reason for that?

Mr Bo Jangles

You have several options.

Here's two I've used.

When you join the seam, don't stitch it, use a length of leather, chalk line string, etc.... inserted thru a hole in both sides of where the seam will be in the bottom half of the legging. Now, roll your fringe, tie off the ends or in the case of leather, you can also secure the ends with a piece of metal, or use a crimp bead if you can find one big enough. Otherwise, tying them off with a knot works too.

This is historically accurate from what I've seen, and I've done it a few times on tabbed, fringed leggings.

The other option, though, cumbersome. Is to lay your fringe down inbetween the two sides, and sew it, either inside out so the fringe ends up on the inside when you're sewing it, and then when turned right side out, you end with a clean seam and your fringe on the outside, loose ends, hopefully, secure in the seam.

Another option, is to sew the seam up, and THEN go thru the process I first laid out for you, inserting the unrolled length of what will be fringe, into holes on either side of the seam, and then roll them, tie off/secure the loose ends.

Pictures would be helpful I know. ...but, I'm horrible in keeping my promises to post photos.....I'm short on time.

Another option. Add a piece of buckskin or whatever you plan on using for fringe, and sew it into place, THEN just cut them into strips for fringe. It's fairly common nowadays, as most people don't bother with rolled fringe on leggings. Many deem it too complicated and time consuming.

I for one like it, nothing wears or moves quite like a pair of rolled fringe, tabbed leggings.

OR.....get yourself some hides large enough to actually cut fringe directly from the legging once you've sewn up the seam. Typically, it won't work, unless you're super skinny, or you've got some huge hides. But, you never know until you try.

I've got a PDF File on Comanche Leggings, an old article by Joe Samuel Hays that essentially, lays out the whole process I described here, with the seam and the closure with fringe instead of a conventional seam, or the combination of the two. It's a bit confusing to explain, but, the article clearly outlines it all.

Fire me off a PM or an email and I'll send the file to you in PDF format.

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Str8Dancer49

Hey Mr Bo... Long time no see!

This is how both pairs of my leggins are. Twist the fringe together tight.... you may even want to wet it. When it twists itself back the other way, roll it tighter on a table top to get it nice and tight. I've even put a diluted elmer's glue & water solution on the rolled fringe to help keep them tight and kinda stiff for the long term....


My first pair of tab leggins (about 20+ years ago.... gah) were like this... instead of twisting two fringes together, each individual fringe is rolled on itself.... I put dictionaries to hold the legging down on top of a big piece of plywood, wet the fringe, rolled it, used a thumbtack to pin down each fringe so it wouldn't unroll, and then hit it with the elmers/water so it held its twist. If the fringe is long enough, after everything is dry, you can trim them to a uniform length....


I know that guy... haven't seen him in years. He used to be the curator of the Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton, so his article was based on the leggings in those collections, as well as on conversations with Kiowa and Comanche folks. In fact, I think I used that article when making my first pair of tab leggins....

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Str8Dancer49

I've seen old B/W photos of guys wearing "dark" - ie obviously not red - tradecloth aprons under their shawls. In William Meadow's book "Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche Military Societies" he has a photo of a whipman for a Comanche society, and his aprons under his shawl are really dark. Come to think of if, the red aprons under the shawl may be a Kiowa thing related to tradish gourd dance society attire, rather than just straight dance attire....

I think the red was just more highly valued since red dyes were generally more expensive, so if you were well-to-do, you could afford red. Also, I think alot of folks have relatively recently adopted the idea that red tradecloth is/was special in some sense - like from the Osages where some folks say its for the 1st born.....

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nika hinska

I've made a couple of pair of leggins. Mine I made out of white canvas and put it in the drier witha clean pair of shoes. Run it through about 10 cycles and it puts a real nice nap on the canvas. you couldn't tell it was leather without touching it and way lighter and cooler for those lovely oklahoma summer dances. aaannnywaays, I make my fringe out of pre twisted cotton cord (catfish line from walmart). Cut to length. dip the ends in elmers glue and roll them in your fingers. Then take a needle and thread and string the the needle through both ends og the fringe till you have the amount/ length desired. I then put the strung fringe on the seam and double sew it on the machine. I haven't lost a fringe yet. I had those leggings for 5 years now and have yet to reapply the glue to the ends. They're still twisted. Oh and its waaaaay cheaper than buying all that leather. Plus you can wash it if it gets dirty... also a plus!

nika hinska

I use twisted cotton cord (catfish line from wal mart). Just for the leggins though. Every other time I use leather and roll my own for gourds or fans. Cut the cord to length then dip it in elmers and roll the fringe and glue into thetips. I string the fringes together with a needle and thread then place the strung fringe in the seam and double sew it on the machine. I have them 5 years now and not one fringe lost or untwisted. I make my tab leggins with white canvas. Its a lot cooler and lighter.
Put the canvas in the clothes dryer with a pair of heavy shoes for about 10 cycles. It puts a real good nap on the canvas and no one knows its not leather without touching it. You can also clean them if they get rael dirty... another plus. And dying is even easier. A lot cheaper than paying for all that leather