Begin by first making a toile pair of shorts which has the correct crotch & hip/bum fit you like. Get this bit right first, length doesnāt matter at this stage.
Next step is then to make up a few long separate leg tubes. Iād recommend that these each be made from a rectangle 70cm wide by at least 150cm long. Just fold the rectangle in half to make a long 150cm+ tube about 34cm wide (which should be plenty big enough to get a leg through). Make a few of them up so you can experiment with different types of tunnels and folds.
You can then use these long tubes to fold and subtract pairs of holes in exactly the same way you do with a Subtraction tunnel dress, except the holes you cut are a generous leg circumference, approx 36cm.
Try concertina folds, valley folds, mountain folds, coil tunnels, multiple tunnels, and if you like try making tunnels from other shape tubes rather than rectangles. This is the crazy exploratory part!!
Once youāve made a few experimental tubes you can then try them on a human leg! Put them on at different angles, rotating them around the leg to find the best look, as well as turning them upside down (itās a parallel tube, so there is no top or bottom, back or front, left or rightā¦ itās up to you to experiment and decide on orientation!)
Take lots of photos to document this process, then you can look back at them all together to find your favourite leg shapes.
Once youāve got this sorted you can then slot the leg tube over the pair of shorts you cut which has the correct crotch/bum fit, get them positioned at the right level/height, and then masking-tape or pin the two together (masking-tape is more flexible!). Then once done you can carefully extend the outer side seam and inside leg seam snaking down to the hemline through the tube avoiding cutting across any seam lines. Take your time figuring out the best route.
Sometimes itās possible to get rid of one of these two seams and have a one-piece leg instead, it depends on the design/fit.
Then once youāve drawn your side seams you deconstruct the toile by cutting down the side/inside leg seams youāve drawn and releasing all the pairs of circular holes. Make sure you mark plenty of balance notches on the toile!!
Youāll then be able to lay the deconstructed toile completely flat and trace off finished patterns which get rid of the join between the shorts and the tube so theyāre now a one-piece pattern. Then you can recut this toile and check for fit, add pockets/fly/yokes as needed, before remaking it in finished fabric.
I usually mirror left & right legs so that the pattern is āCut X1 Pairā, but of course you might prefer to have two completely different asymmetrical legs, itās up to you.
Itās at the fitting stage, on a real human being not a lifeless mannequin that you decide what feels right in dynamic movement, not just what looks good. Fitting and adapting the pattern is essential to get right as all people are different.
Voila!
Give it a whirl and post prototype results using the #crazyleg or #subtractioncutting hashtags.
Remember Subtraction Cutting is an experimental and practical methodology, so youāll need to work around material and geometric problems, take risks, not be frightened of uncertainty or happy accidents, and ad-lib until you find the right solution. The design comes last not first, so be prepared to be shocked/surprised.
Welcome to the cray-cray pant-cult and happy pioneering!
āļøj
