A Quilted Mystery

These seem, for all the world, to be a pair of quilted breeches made from an old petticoat. The questions surrounding it abound for me, and if you have answers to any of them, please, do chime in.

The very small fall-front would seem to indicate that they were for a woman, rather than a man, and if so were they made for the sake of warmth? Decency? Comfort? Or, going completely crazy with the imagination, so that a woman might pass as a man? We know that at least one man did spend a long time passing as a woman, and gender-bending adventure has a long history in literature. What about in real life?

In more mundane questions; what dimensions does it take? Why was it made from an old petticoat? Was the staining the reason it was re-cut, and does that provide any clues as to it's use (surely something pre-stained would be worn under petticoats)?

I just love all of the questions this one item provides.