Pattern, Plains Indian Cloth Dress

Missouri River Brand Patterns

Plains Indian Women’s clothing styles have remained basically unchanged over the last 100 years. This conservative attitude is further reflected in dress styles being straight cut & rather long by todays standards. Materials varied from a light cotton calico, popular for everyday wear, to the fancier and more expensive velvet, wool stroud cloth, or the ultimate: rainbow or white selvedge broadcloth. Many times the upper portion of a dress made with these heavy materials was cotton lined, especially when the yoke was decorated with elk teeth, dentalium or cowrie shells. This made the dress more attractive as well as providing extra support for the decorations.

Our pattern will make a basic Comanche or Sioux style dress. Information is also included to allow easy modification to any of the following styles as well: Blackfoot, Crow, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Kiowa-Apache, or Plateau.