Best material for trouserage

[Tengu]

The price of those linen trews I like has gone up to £80.

I have three pairs, but seeing as I am going to be living in my Iron Age kit....

Pondering making my own.

So far...

I have plenty shammy leather.
and a big bit of light check wool...but maybe too nice for trews.

Would these be too delicate for my bottom?

 

[Woody girl]

Can you find a linen sheet? I made a shift from one for my iron age re enactment costume when I worked at the peat moors centre. Ask your local charity shops to keep an eye out for one. A single sheet made a shift..just about, but should easily make a pair of trews.
The good thing about used sheets, is that they are nicely washed and worn in, so lovely and soft for next to the skin. Use pyjama bottoms for a pattern. It doesn't matter if you have to piece them. They would have done that anyway as fabric was labour intensive, so they'd use every scrap to make a bit of clothing anyway.
A double sheet should do you an under shirt aswell as trews if you are canny.

 

[Tengu]

I have plenty of tops.

Could make lined trews

 

[Woody girl]

I imagine woollen trews without linen under trews would be rather itchy.
With the linnen ones, if you get a hot day you could probably dispense with the wool ones, so they are handy to have.
I've been thinking of making another shift recently. I'm going to use a charity shop cotton sheet in a lovely pale green which is similar to a natural dye colour. Just found the right colour cotton today after months of keeping an eye on my local charity shop offerings, so now I'm ready to think about it properly.
I based my bushcraft wool smock on a shortened shift pattern and eyeballed it. It turned out fine.
Not hard to do, even with my singer hand sewing machine. It took about two days to finish it completely. For me, that's a record! I'm a slow sewer!