Lighter, smaller hides lend themselves very well to making a lightweight shirt. Also, if you're up for having open sides for extra ventilation this project is very easy to make, with very few seams.
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| Buckskin Shirt |
Two hides were used for this project, about 26 x 22 inches each (I'm a fairly small guy). They were lined up and the top parts were cut in a straight line at the widest area. The halfway point was marked along that line, as well as 3.5 inches on each side of that point where the hole for the neck would be opened. Buckskin, especially thin hides, can stretch quite a bit so don't have a hole too large to start with. A 7-inch gap along the top line should satisfy most people.
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| Neck Opening |
For the hide in the back I cut a shallow half "circle" just 1 inch from the top edge of the hide at the marked halfway point. For the hide in front, that cut was 2.5 inches from the top edge at the halfway point. Then I cut a 3/4 inch vertical slit in the middle of the front hide for easier passing of the head. Cut it a bit longer if your head can't go through.
Then, starting from the edge of the neck I started sewing my shoulder seams. I used the baseball stitch to have a flat seam, with no overlap of the hides. The baseball stitch is a neat and easy one. Start out by punching holes all the way along the edges (I did that by punching through both hides at the same time so that holes would line up perfectly). Then, with a thong close to 4 times the length of your seam, come up the first holes with each end of the thong.
Referring to the picture below, the bottom end of the thong goes underneath the upper hide, then up through the next available hole in that upper hide. Then, the other end of the thong goes underneath the lower hide and up through the next available hole in that hide. Pull both ends tight so that the edge of the hides meet flush. Then start again with the bottom end of the thong going underneath the upper hide and through the next hole in that hide, etc.
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| Baseball Stitch |
Only sew your seams about 2 inches on each side. For the shirt to sit better on your shoulders and so that the front hide doesn't come up and strangle you when you move, you need to have a seam that comes slightly forward as it goes toward your arm. That will create a top-of-shoulder-to-armpit edge that is slightly longer in the back than in the front.
That means that the hide in the back can retain its straight top edge but the hide in the front needs to be recut at a slight angle (look closely at the first picture of this post and you'll notice that the hide in the back folds over the shoulder and is sewed just ahead of it).
For me, the edge of my front hide was cut 2.5 inches lower than my back hide at the end of my short "sleeves." That seems a bit extreme but somehow it works for me. I recommend that you tailor the cut to your own shoulders by putting the shirt on and seeing what looks best in the mirror. Fold the hides to the desired degree and pin them, making sure both sides are symmetrical. Then cut your front hide and continue sewing as before.
Now, you could sew the sides together to have a closed shirt but my hides were too small and I am happy to have open sides for extra ventilation so I just laced them loosely with a criss-crossing thong.
Put the shirt on and see how high the lace could go while still giving you full range of motion. For me it is 9 inches below my shoulder line (that will vary with both your body type and the width of the hides you have available). Then I punched holes about 1 inch apart on each edge of the hides. Holes shouldn't be too close to the edge or they could rip.
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| Open sides with a criss-crossing lacing |
Start with a strong thong at least 5 times longer than the edge you want to lace. A close look at the picture above should give you a decent idea of the lacing process. Start by going up the upper hole on side 1. Then cross over the other side, going down one hole further than the directly opposite one. Then go up the next hole on the same side and cross over to the other side, down one hole further than the directly opposite one (on side 1 that will give you two empty holes between where you started and where you are now). Then go up the next hole on the same side and start the cycle over all the way down the edge.
When you reach the bottom, right after you've crossed over, cross over again to the hole directly opposite instead of going up the hole on the same side. Then repeat the exact same pattern as before, this time going up the hides.
Depending on how tight the shirt is and/or how open you want the sides to be you can use a longer thong so the hides can spread out more.
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