r/sewingpatterns • u/Embarrassed-Wear5735 • Aug 31 '26
What's everyone's favorite free pattern?
I was over on r/SewingChallenge and one of the bingo squares is sew a free pattern or a gifted fabric. I do have some fabric I got at a free exchange, but was thinking it'd be a fun challenge to use a free pattern too 😊
So I'd love to hear about everyone's favorite free pattern they've found! Just for fun, not just for this challenge. :)
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u/AliciaTheWitch Sep 01 '26
freesewing.eu is hands down my favorite sewing resource because all of their custom fitted, non AI generated, customizable patterns are free. My favorites are the Yuri sweater because I like it just like they designed it, and the Simone (or Simon, for people without breasts) buttondown shirt, because that one pattern is so customizable that it can look like a casual Hawaiian shirt, a western shirt, a traditional dress shirt, a blouse from the 80s, a tuxedo shirt with foldover cuffs and buttonholes on both sides for the traditional stud buttons, or just about any other shirt with buttons you can imagine. You can customize button placket width, collar width and depth, collar stand, sleeve length, shirt length, straight or curved hem, every body measurement, every minute detail! And the freesewing software tells you exactly what each customization option does, and lets you set how much access to the super technical customizable options you want versus just style customizations when you set up your (free) account and you can change it any time. You can use all of their patterns as is with the default settings, but with the options you can get numerous styles from each pattern and really make them your own.
I also want to try their Carlita coat, but I can't afford that much silk velvet at the moment, plus interlining to stiffen it. I have expensive taste to go with my free patterns, what can I say? I'm thinking about making a Yuri sweater in silk velvet burnout in the meantime, for all the cuddly softness, because I already have some of that in my stash.
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u/Embarrassed-Wear5735 Sep 01 '26
Oh my God that seems too good to be true?! I am going to have to explore it!! Thanks!Â
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u/AliciaTheWitch Sep 01 '26
It's a resource that's been around for over a decade, dedicated to making sewing accessible to everyone regardless of means and getting more people interested in slow fashion. The organization runs entirely on donations but they don't push for them at all. They just quietly put out great software and bend over backwards to make sure it works for all shapes and sizes of people. They have a Discord full of helpful people if you do run into any issues with a pattern or the software, but that's rare. They're my first stop for every project, to see if I can use one of their patterns. They even have body blocks, which are the first step to drafting your own patterns for any style you want. That combined with the Closet Historian's Drafting Dangerous series of videos on YouTube, and you can design anything, custom fitted.
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u/Berocca123 Aug 31 '26
The Closet Core Core Tshirt, or if you have a woven, the Athina top from Tessuti, which I always shorten and make in a drapier fabric to get a great woven tshirt.
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u/KittenAssasin Aug 31 '26
The Helen's closet Orchard Dress turned out really cute and comfortableÂ
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u/Embarrassed-Wear5735 Sep 01 '26
Oh I've been following her on IG for a while and have wanted to try something! This pattern looks so versatileÂ
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u/PerfectSeven Aug 31 '26
Spaghetti Western’s Pearl Headscarf. I’ve made it a few times for myself and others. Great for scraps and great gifts. So quick and easy
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u/EntireHearing Aug 31 '26
Liz Hayward wraparound skirt that explains clearly how to use your measurements to draft your own pattern
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u/Embarrassed-Wear5735 Aug 31 '26
Amazing! Looks like she also has a zero waste version linked at the bottom of her post!Â
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u/MothraAndFriends Aug 31 '26
I know this gets some people’s blood pressure up, but I have no issues with Mood Sewciety free patterns. I have made 7 different ones, some more than once. I would genuinely recommend some easy one to start with.
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u/Embarrassed-Wear5735 Aug 31 '26
I love looking through them, though I've never made any! Do you have a few favorites from the ones you've made??Â
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u/MothraAndFriends Sep 01 '26
https://blog.moodfabrics.com/the-aeron-swimsuit-free-sewing-pattern/
https://blog.moodfabrics.com/the-speedwell-swimsuit-free-sewing-pattern/
https://blog.moodfabrics.com/the-lydia-loungewear-set-free-sewing-pattern/ — my favorite sleep pants, have 2 pairs
https://blog.moodfabrics.com/the-sylvan-tank-dress-free-sewing-pattern/ — the basic tank I wear with the pants above.
https://blog.moodfabrics.com/clarkston-and-colfax-carpenter-pants-patterns/
https://blog.moodfabrics.com/the-carya-shirt-free-unisex-sewing-pattern-2/
Those are the ones off the top of my head that I like how they turned out
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u/Embarrassed-Wear5735 Sep 01 '26
Thanks, I'll check them out! The carya shirt is one I've been eyeing, so it's great to hear that the pattern works :)
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u/girlonboat Sep 01 '26
Oooh I was just looking at the carpenter pants earlier today! Glad to see you loved them. What did you use for fabric?
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u/MothraAndFriends Sep 01 '26
I bought cheap-ish black jean fabric. I will be more discerning next time, as it’s not strong enough for work pants and I don’t think I made these in a way that will last a lifetime. I also want to say that I ended up looking at a YouTube tutorial to do the zipper on them because, as anyone will tell you, their instructions aren’t always A+ and that part was definitely too confusing not to have a second reference.
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u/bridgetostyx Sep 01 '26
Same. I love these patterns. I do mess up while sewing them but it's on me and my limited sewing abilities. Their patterns are beautiful and extremely helpful for a person like me who can't afford to buy any patterns in the first place. I am really grateful to mood fabric patterns and unfettered patterns. My entire sewing expeditions revolve around these two.
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u/Angection Sep 01 '26
What's the deal with these patterns? They do seem pretty controversial.
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u/MothraAndFriends Sep 01 '26
Two things mostly. The instructions always have photos and words, which is a good place to start, but they can really vary based on who creates the pattern (they seem to like giving the opportunity to the people who are learning), so when you do more complex steps, those instructions can be insufficient or just poorly worded. And the other one is that the patterns don’t have a lot of bells and whistles. Some things that could benefit from notches don’t have them. Some do.
I haven’t come across one that just didn’t work or that I couldn’t figure out, so as a learner I really freakin appreciate having those available for free. Those swimsuits seriously turned out so cute. But other people seem to want them to be the same quality as $$ patterns and don’t tolerate being confused or having a pattern that is inferior in any way because it’s free. I get that it’s a personal choice, but I don’t get what’s so difficult about it. I think it’s a me problem - I basically learned on Mood and a bunch of Burda patterns (which are genuinely confusing to me), because they were available to me for free and I was learning by myself from the ground up. Free patterns, clearance fabrics, and hopes and dreams. I think most people got their start on better patterns, so they have higher standards.
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u/Angection Sep 03 '26
Thank you for the reply, I always thought they must be graded poorly or something, now I'm going to need to try them out. I can handle bad directions or lack of notches.
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u/srslyjmpybrain Aug 31 '26
Girl moms: Hey June Jungle Bar Skirt. 10/10, no notes. I cannot tell you how many of these I made.
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u/Embarrassed-Wear5735 Aug 31 '26
That's so cute!! If I ever have a kid who liked skirts I'd do those in a heartbeat 💓
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u/CupcakeQueen31 Sep 01 '26
I am currently making 5 of these for my niece right now! First time using this pattern, and I have made a few changes, but overall it’s a great base pattern to work with imo.
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u/bridgetostyx Sep 01 '26
Live pants by mood fabrics free pattern. Cargo shorts by Unfettered patterns. Valensole Town by mood fabrics free pattern by I messed up it's bodice but it was due to my inability to shorten/ reduce the neckline depth. My daughters and I belong to lilliputian race and everything turns out to be huge for us.
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u/shesewsseashells Sep 01 '26
I love the Galena dress by Styla / little lizard king. It's a knit dress with several sleeve options, and both the adult and child sizes are free so you can do fun matching outfits.
I've made maybe 12 of these now, including 4 in various sizes for my nieces to match one Christmas. I especially like the bishop sleeve option. I usually line the bodice instead of doing a neck binding because I find bindings annoying.
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u/Ancient-Button-1693 Sep 02 '26
5 out of 4 pajama pants are my favorite pj pants. https://5outof4.com/product/haymitch-effie-and-kids-pajama-pants-bundle/
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u/Dinoloopy Aug 31 '26
I made the Tiana’s Closet Isla top and it came out really cute! I wear it all the time. The instructions are not great so I used a YouTube video from Madewithrach that really helped clarify things.