Reconstructing History #RH206 - Men's Renaissance Breeches or Trunkhose Sewing Pattern

1570s-1600 Elizabethan Breeches, or Trunkhose, also known as pumpkin pants.

Fits waists 28"-50". All sizes included in one envelope.

Wear with RH205 Elizabethan Doublet Sewing Pattern.

Also included are assembly instructions, embellishment suggestions, and the extensive historical notes you've come to expect from Reconstructing History.

In the middle of the sixteenth century, a style of breeches that theoretically began as a way for mercenary German soldiers to carry more plunder (Pluderhosen) gradually shortened. They eventually became the new fashionable style in the courts of Europe from the Holy Roman Empire to Spain. These paned breeches were often constructed from strips of elaborately decorated silk and braid gathered or pleated into a waistband and legbands. They became popular just as silk stockings came into use by those who could afford them. The shortness of the breeches exposed the maximum amount of stocking possible, thus highlighting the wearers wealth. They were also a showcase for fine textiles as they were constructed of strips of pinked taffeta and satin and brocade and lined with more silk. Unlike the Pluderhose, the lining did not emerge from between the panes but rather showed through demurely.