Using a men's draft for women's slacks

[Anna]

True, given that I know most of my usual alterations I can make some adjustments in the drafting stage. I guess it's just the engineer in me that wants to incorporate as many measurements and figure adjustments as possible into the initial draft so that there are fewer iterations- and I'd like the instructions and drafting methodology to incorporate this rather that being based on industry standards for some imaginary figure.
I know that sounds demanding but sometimes it seems that nobody actually knows how to create a pattern exactly for someones body type so they just slap something down that matches a few key measurements and then nip and tuck and slash and spread to their heart's content until they cut something reasonably well fitted.

[posaune]

It is not demanding. When you are a custom tailor you should know what to do. Time is money and each try costs time.
If you look at the little booklets Schneiderfrei has published (der praktische Zuschnitt), you can see how an already existing trued and tried pattern (basic pattern)  is used to get a draft which is custom without the step of making a muslin or drafting a new pattern. You lay it on the fabric rotate and push the pattern around so you get the draft for a certain posture and measurements without making a new paper pattern.
lg
posaune

[TTailor]

You cannot have a starting point that is custom. The starting point is always a standard based on standardized measurements and height.
I am repeating and agreeing with what Posaune says.

What one needs to learn is how the draft works so that one can make changes at the patternmaking stage. That is what all custom and bespoke tailors and dressmakers do. Once you understand how the draft works then you can modify it as needed. The trick is knowing how to modify. This was traditionally taught in person so there are not as many written resources detailing how to.

I think what seems to be frustrating you is the lack of inclusion in the draft for exactly where to make changes for individual measures. That has to be a separate discussion and learning experience otherwise the basic draft is cluttered with information for too many body types.

[Schneiderfrei]

My admittedly limited experience has shown me that the rundschau drafts, properly selected for body types, give the closest fit I have found to date.

[theresa in tucson]

I too, took the Suzy Furrer pants drafting class without much success.  I have successfully made several pair of jeans but that was a combination of a Bootstrap pattern and cloning the crotch curve from my favorite Wrangler's with a tweak or two of my own.  But those were work pants and not for dress-up.   I have a pants draft done from a man's draft from an old book from the 70's, Jane Rhinehart's "How to make Men's Clothes".  The pants I made fit, were comfortable and looked great from the front but I never managed to get the wrinkles out from under the seat.  Looking at the blue and the red PDF of the men's and the women's draft gives me a glimmer of the direction to go towards.  I think it's time for me to revisit dress pants again so thank you posaune for the PDF.

[Anna]

You are absolutely right TTailor, I understand that creating a draft based on industry standards/measurements makes sense and it is the lack of inclusion in the draft for exactly where to make changes for individual measures that frustrates me, as well as the "try it and see how bad it is then make changes" approach rather than attacking what are bound to be glaring issues up front before wasting fabric on a muslin, admittedly it still won't be perfect but both the in-person class and the craftsy class advised AGAINST making modifications to the standard draft before making a muslin-- this just seems backwards to me.

[TTailor]

You are absolutely right TTailor, I understand that creating a draft based on industry standards/measurements makes sense and it is the lack of inclusion in the draft for exactly where to make changes for individual measures that frustrates me, as well as the "try it and see how bad it is then make changes" approach rather than attacking what are bound to be glaring issues up front before wasting fabric on a muslin, admittedly it still won't be perfect but both the in-person class and the craftsy class advised AGAINST making modifications to the standard draft before making a muslin-- this just seems backwards to me.

Well I think that it helps to learn a draft first, so follow the standard measurments given and draft to those, just to make sure you understand all the instructions.
Than it helps to understand the proportions of the standard measurements given in the draft, both length and circumference.
After that it helps to draft again.
Best case scenario is to draft for someone else who measures close to the standard, sew a muslin  and fit them to see how a standard fits.
      (This is where the system falls apart for most people. They do not have the opportunity to cut and make and fit multitudes of people. That is the true learning process. So, frustration results because people expect that a process of years should be able to be distilled into " I want to draft trousers for myself and i want them to be perfect right off the bat.)

Then it helps to identify where the individual figure difffers from the standard and plan on how to address it in the draft.
In your case you must draft big enough for your hips as a starting point. Then plan on how to reduce from the hips to the waist size so where and how deep the darts are.
That is why I suggest a series of photos to identify the shape of the body.

Sometimes the numbers say one thing and the actual body shape calls for something else. That is also why the draft is merely a starting point.

[spookietoo]

I would find it interesting to know which commercial patterns you have used with some degree of success.

Your waist/ hip ratio is similar to mine in my younger days, when I was forced to make all of my own trousers as RTW did not fit. The fit you describe, also describes my preference, due to having a short rise and short torso. I think knowing what you have tried and still had problems with would be helpful, as I am curious to see if there is perhaps a "disconnect" of sorts in what you are trying in order to achieve a perceived goal.

I agree with Henry, with regards to trousers, if you are in the right ball park however you achieved the draft, tweaking to fit should be attainable.

[Tailleuse]

I've never understood what 'sloper' is supposed to mean, though it seems to me it is just another name for a block pattern.

They are sometimes used interchangeably, but technically a sloper is a basic draft without seam allowances, which makes it easier to develop into a pattern.