Culottes Drafting Methods Comparison

There are millions of ways to draft culottes patterns, but which one is the best? On this post I will do a Culottes drafting methods comparison based on 3 books that I have at home, so we can find out together.

The Culottes Foundation

When drafting pants, we talk about four different pattern foundations. There was a time where it was not appropriate for women to wear trousers but they needed something more comfortable than skirts to ride bikes. This is how the first of the four foundations was invented, and it was called the Culottes Foundation.

This pattern was drafted from the a basic skirt block by adding a crotch extension to define the separation between the two legs. The Culottes are defined by having a long crotch extension and by hanging away from the buttocks and the abdomen. There should be more than 15cm ease around the upper thigh and the crotch length should sit comfortably.

This pattern can be drafted from a basic skirt but it was more commonly used with A-line skirts to create more flare and to keep that skirt look.

On today’s post I’m going to do a Culottes drafting methods comparison by using 3 different drafting methods based on these three books I have at home:

The three books follow exactly the same procedure. Note that I will use the same skirt pattern to draft the three examples and it has one dart at the front and two darts at the back. I will not address how these darts affect the fit on this post but I will do it on a future one.

The Measurements

To draft this pattern you will need the following measurements:

• Crotch depth/body rise: You can measure this by sitting down on a flat surface and measuring the distance from the waist to the flat surface on the side of your body.
• Hip circumference: Measured around the widest part of your hips.
• Full length: Measured on the side of the body from the waist line to the desired length – for more accurate results it is better to measure full length as shorter versions of the trouser will need adjustments.

The Drafting Methods Comparison

Note down all these measurements and grab your skirt pattern because you are ready to start drafting. The steps to create the pattern are the following:

• Transfer the skirt block into the paper. Make sure you mark the centre front (CF) and back (CB), the waist line and the hip line.
• Define the Crotch depth, this will be the measurement you took and some ease depending on the book procedure (between 1-2cm)
• Extend the skirt from the waist line to the desired length
• Add the crotch extension, this is calculated differently depending on the book
• Create the crotch curve – Every book has its own method to do that but this will depend on everyones’ body shapes

Now that we have the patterns, we’re ready for the Culottes drafting methods comparison. On the left image the three final patterns are plotted.

• Helen’s version has the most ease around the thighs
• Ann’s version has the least ease around the thighs
• The crotch depth is at the same level for Helen and Ann and 0.5cm higher for Winifred
• All the front curves are similar (right side)
• Helen and Ann have a very similar back curve with Helen’s version scooping a little bit more – this means there will be more fabric for Helen than for Ann
• Winifred’s back crotch curve scoops the most which means that it is the one that has the most amount of fabric on that area
• All crotch lengths are at least 2cm longer than my crotch length with Helen and Winifred having the longest and Ann having the shortest

Now that this is clear, let’s look at the actual fits!

For more accurate drafting instructions, you can find my version of the pattern here.

Drafting by Helen Joseph-Armstrong

This book explains the drafting instructions really well. It is easy to understand, has plenty of graphics and gives you some tips on how to fix any fitting issues. If you like the Metric system like me, get ready because this book is in Imperial system.

As for the fit, this method had the widest legs (which is very obvious at the back). The vertical and horizontal lines sit where they should be. The only problem I see is that there is too much excess fabric at the back. There is not enough space between my legs to account for all that fabric so it gets folded in a strange way.

If I was fixing this pattern I would definitely be reducing the crotch extension of the back pattern.

Drafting by Winifred Aldrich

This book only has a little section to explain the drafting procedure. Also, it doesn’t treat the pattern as a foundation but as an alteration of the skirt foundation. It is very easy to follow and also has more than enough graphs to show the process

Winifred’s version is very similar to Helen’s, but we can see how changing little things the fit is very different. In this case the vertical and horizontal lines sit in the right position. The back had the deepest crotch curve which means more fabric. This is very obvious both at the front and back crotches. The front has a little bulk of fabric that Helen did not have, and the back has wrinkles with parenthesis shapes.

If I had to fix this block I would change the crotch curve of the back and probably make the legs smaller too.

Drafting by Ann Haggar

Ann Haggar’s book treats this pattern the same way as Winifred does. It is not considered a basic block but a modified skirt pattern. This book is great because the drawings are in scale and if you are not sure about something, you can always double check. It is very easy to follow but you have more freedom than the other two books. For example, there are no rules on where to start the crotch curve. This can be good or bad depending on who you ask.

Straight away you can see that this book gives the best fit out of them all. This pattern has the least ease around the thighs which also means the shortest crotch extension. It still gives the culottes look without having too much fabric between the legs. All the lines sit where they should be sitting too. The buttocks definition on this pattern is my favourite and there are no wrinkles. There are some pulling lines at the front crotch but nothing too major.

With pants, it is very difficult to know when to stop fixing issues and I think I would stop here. But, if I could change something, I would modify the front crotch curve a little bit to correct those wrinkles.