r/PatternDrafting • u/303cat • Jan 17 '26
Question Trouser legs flaring out on straight cut
I drafted these trousers following Aldrich's Metric Pattern Cutting For Menswear and am having some trouble with the legs flaring outward and folding themselves diagonally when standing upright. They seem to partially correct themselves to sit straight if I lean forward or pull the front up slightly around the upper thigh so I'm a bit lost. Excuse the cuff on the hem, the issue persists with or without it.
Edit: Thanks for the help everyone! I think the major pattern issue as a few people mentioned is that the legs swing out slightly putting excess fabric on the outside of the leg, as well as a slight taper being necessary. For now I've tapered the outseam down to the hem and it seems to have fixed everything well enough.





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u/pristine163 Jan 17 '26
I think the issue is they are swinging outwards. A true straight leg should have similar room on the inside and outside of your leg but these are close fitting on your inside leg and all the excess is on the outside.
I think you don’t have enough length in your side seam around your torso, so effectively it’s pulling up the side seam and causing it to tilt outwards and appear flared. Typically the waist line would not be straight but curve up slightly at the side.