Who made clothes for medieval peasants?

Answer 1

We know that in the 6th century in Italy, St Benedict wrote in his Rule for monks that the cheapest type of cloth available in their area should be used for their habits (Regula Benedicti, chapter 55) - the cloth could be any drab and inexpensive colour at that time. The same chapter mentions that the abbot should make sure that each monk receives clothes that fit and are not too small.

The implications of this are that someone made sets of clothing suitable for monks, which were then stored by the cellarer (the monastic storeman) to be issued as required - there is no mention of who made the cowls, habits and other garments. It seems likely that either lay servants working for the monastery were given the task of cutting out and sewing these items, or some of the monks did the work themselves.

By the 12th - 15th centuries we have far more detailed information about everyday life in the monastic communities - but there is still no mention of who exactly made the clothes. The cellarer was still responsible for storing all items needed by the monks, including their black or undyed woollen clothes; it seems likely that he was also responsible for buying the cloth and having the garments made.

Since it would cost nothing to give the task to lay servants working for the monastery or to have some of the monks do the work, this is most likely what happened but there is nothing in the historical record to prove it.

Answer 2

I pretty sure the peasants made clothes for themselves