Sewing Pattern – Free Culottes

Step number one is to change the shape of the Culottes. Easy for us, the leg-lines are exactly how we want them, so there is no need to change that. If you want a wider leg style, follow these steps (OPTIONAL):

1. Draw a straight line from the waistline to the ankle line
2. Cut through the line without cutting through the waistline
3. Add as much width as you want at ankle level (known as cut and spread method)

This design is also known as the Palazzo pants.

This design has a curved waistband and we’re going to draw it by lowering the waist line and connecting the pieces together

1. Define how big you want the waistband (in my case 4cm) and lower it on your design
2. Separate the pieces and connect them together (centre back, side back, side front and centre front). They should create a rough curve
3. Smoothen the curve
4. Add 4cm to the centre front of the waistband. This is to account for the fly and the shield.

We drew the waistband to be cut on the fold so the 4cm extension only needs to be cut on one of the sides (the one that has the shield attached)

These Culottes have 2 types of pockets, the ones at the front and the ones at the back. Let’s start with the ones at the front.

1. The opening is 4.5cm wide by 16.5cm deep
2. For the facing, mark a with of 3.75cm from the pocket opening and create a parallel line to the opening
3. To draft the Pocket lining, follow the drawing on the image until it touches centre front. It should be 10cm deep at centre front and 30cm deep at centre seam.
4. If your pattern has darts, remove them by cutting through them

The Front pocket is going to have the following pieces

1. Front piece: This is the front piece but remove the opening of the pocket
2. Facing: This is the piece after the pocket opening and will be cut in the main fabric
3. Backing: This piece is the opening + the facing and will also be cut in the main fabric
4. Pocket lining top: This piece is the top part, so the whole pocket minus the opening. It will be cut in lining fabric
5. Pocket lining bottom: This piece is the full support of the pocket

The back pocket is a bit less complicated:

1. Draw a square of 15 x 15cm
2. Reduce the bottom part of the square to be 10cm (make sure it’s centred)
3. Lower the “square” 2cm and shape the pocket like the one in the drawing

I’ll also give you some guidance on how to place the pocket, but you can do it however you see fit.

1. On the centre back mark 2.5cm below the yoke
2. On the side back lower 3cm below the yoke
3. Connect these two points. You can place the pocket in a way that the top is touching this line. It doesn’t really matter if you place it at the centre or a bit to the side, whatever is easier for you to sew.

One last piece you’re going to need to make these pants is the shield that goes into the fly construction. For it, create a rectangle that is as long as your zipper plus 2.5cm and 8cm wide.

Finally, you can also add some belt loops (not in the image). I like to add 6 of them, and the dimensions are 4 x 10cm. If you’re using a heavy weight fabric there is no need to interface them.

And just like that, the pattern is ready! The only thing left to do is adding the seam allowances.

1. Add 1cm seam allowances everywhere (except for the fly, the centre back of the waistband, the hems and the top of the back pocket)
2. The fly has no seam allowance
3. The centre back of the waistband has no seam allowance as it’s cut in the fold
4. The top part of the back pocket has 2cm (3/4in) seam allowance because it’s folded twice
5. The hems have 2cm (3/4in) seam allowances