When I first started sewing, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on patterns that I wasn’t sure I would know how to use, so I wondered: where can I find free (but stylish) women’s sewing patterns that I could print out in the comfort of my own home? I searched high and low for these free PDF sewing patterns but found very little (and what I did find consisted mostly of shapeless boxes). That was back in 2011, and the internet has come a long way since then - nowadays there are free sewing patterns for every part of a woman’s wardrobe, whether you’re looking for tops, dresses, skirts, pants, coats, jumpsuits or even swimwear and lingerie. Best of all, these free patterns still have all kinds of stylish details that set them apart from boring basics. Because who wants to spend time sewing basics that they can easily buy anywhere?
The following websites have collections of free sewing patterns for stylish, on-trend women’s clothing: Mood Fabrics, fabrics-store.com, Peppermint Mag, Fibre Mood, BurdaStyle (Russia), Bernina, Lekala Patterns, Grasser, Marfy and pattern-vault.com. All of these websites are from reputable fabric stores, pattern companies or sewing publications, so rest assured that the patterns are well-drafted.
Below is a summary of the types of free sewing patterns that you will find on each website. Plus, check out my recommendations for places to buy fabric and sewing equipment to use to make up these patterns here.
One quick sidebar before we jump in: Although I love free sewing patterns as much as the next gal, I still mainly sew with Vogue/McCall’s/Butterick patterns, which are not free but usually cost less than $6 on sale. The reason is I’ve sewn enough with Vogue/McCall’s/Butterick patterns to know how they need to be altered to fit me, and by now I can usually just sew a pattern straight from the envelope (without making a test garment) because I know that my standard set of adjustments will almost always work. By contrast, most pattern companies only offer a few free sewing patterns, so you don’t sew enough with one particular pattern company to learn how that companies’ patterns should be adapted to fit your body. Alternatively, if the free patterns are offered on a website or in a sewing magazine, then those patterns are often drafted by many different designers, using different slopers (a sloper is a basic form-fitting pattern that designers use to develop other patterns). That means that (1) the patterns can be based on a lot of different body types, so they all fit differently despite being published in the same magazine or website, and (2) there might not be much quality control, so you’re never sure that every pattern and set of instructions is high-quality. In addition to fitting and quality control issues, I also just think that PDF patterns can be a real hassle: I really, really, really hate printing out and taping together these PDF patterns, and I often think that free patterns are just as costly as paid-for patterns, once you factor in the cost of ink and paper, and the value of the time you spend taping the patterns together.
1. Mood Fabrics
The fabric store of Project Runway fame has really stepped up their online presence in recent years, and they now offer an extensive library of free sewing patterns covering a wide range of garment types (tops, pants, a ton of dresses, jackets and coats), including garment types that are not covered on most other websites (e.g. lingerie, swimwear, athletic wear). There are a ton of patterns that are super on-trend - for example, these paper-bag waist pants, this pussy bow blouse (similar to the one that Kamala Harris recently rocked), and this maxi shirt dress, just to name a few. They have a “basics collection” that I think is supposed to be geared towards beginners, although some of these projects are not appropriate for total beginners, in my opinion.
Their patterns do not come with instructions, but there are blog posts that explain how to sew the garment (with photos). You must register for their mailing list to download the free patterns.
One (minor) rant: I wish they had a view where you could look at the line drawings for all of the patterns in a particular category. It is possible to filter the posts by category (e.g. outerwear patterns, dress patterns, etc.) but that just narrows it down to the blog posts with photos of the finished garments - not the line drawings themselves. It can be hard sometimes to discern all of the construction details (or sometimes even the basic silhouette!) in the photos of the finished garments, and it would just be so much easier to sift through the enormous number of patterns if they made it easier to browse by line drawing.
Another (more substantive) rant: I’ve found Mood patterns to be really hit or miss. For example, I made this robe using Mood’s free pattern, and the result was a gargantuan robe that made my arms look like an orangutan’s. I also made this wrap dress using a Mood free pattern, and the finished garment did not fit me at all. I don’t think you have to avoid their patterns altogether; I just think you need to approach with caution. First, do some research on patternreview.com to see if anyone has reviewed the pattern. Second, don’t rely on their size chart; instead, measure the pattern and determine the measurements of the finished garment, then use those measurements to decide which size to cut. Third, always, always, always make a muslin to try out the pattern before cutting into your precious fashion fabric. I took that approach with the Primrose pant, and that one ended up being a winner (though it took a muslin and a few alterations to get there).
Photo credit: Mood Fabrics
Photo credit: Hot Patterns / Fabric.com
2. Fabrics-store.com
This online fabric store offers dozens of free patterns spanning a wide range of garment types (tops, pants, dresses, jumpsuits) and skill levels (you can filter the patterns by “quick & easy” or “fun & challenging”). The fabric store focuses on linens, so it is no surprise that they showcase their free pattern offerings made up in linen, but I still think these patterns could be used to make garments from other types of fabrics as well. Perhaps because of the narrow focus on linen, the aesthetic is a bit Eileen Fisher / Elizabeth Suzann / Alabama Chanin, which isn’t really my taste, but there’s no doubt these patterns made me want to immediately run out and buy a beach house/invest in high thread count linen sheets (which I’m sure is their intended purpose).
The patterns do not come with instructions but there are step-by-step tutorials on their blog. You must register for a free account on their website to download the free patterns.
Photo credit: Fabrics-store.com
3. Peppermint Mag
Peppermint, for those who don’t know, is an Australian print magazine about “style, sustainability and substance.” In short, not a magazine exclusively about sewing. Nevertheless, Peppermint does periodically partner with indie pattern designers to put out free sewing patterns, and some of these patterns have been much beloved in the sewing community. (See: the Peppermint / In the Folds jumpsuit, which for awhile was popping up everywhere in the sewing blogosphere.) Most of these patterns are for simple basics with clean lines, and they would be suitable for beginners.
The patterns come with detailed instructions. No registration required to download the patterns.
Photo credit: Peppermint Magazine
4. Fibre Mood
In contrast to Peppermint, Fibre Mood is a European sewing magazine with included sewing patterns. Fibre Mood makes a new pattern free each week - in essence, Fibre Mood runs weekly sewalongs on Instagram Live, and the pattern for each week’s sewalong is free - you just need to enter the discount code that is included in the sewalong’s description.
I love Fibre Mood’s on-trend offerings, and the fit of European sewing pattern magazines suits my boyish figure because they are typically drafted with minimal ease (a refreshing change from the Big 4 pattern companies). For example, for the week of December 18, 2020, Fibre Mood is running a sewalong for the Carole Dress, a lovely wrap dress with puffed sleeves that I instantly snapped up.
The patterns come with detailed, step-by-step instructions. You must register for a free account on their website to download the free pattern.
A quick side note: in the past, I’ve been deterred from using patterns from European sewing magazines because I absolutely hated tracing them out - they print all of the patterns on just a few sheets of paper (I guess to save money?) which means that all of the sizes are stacked on top of each other and it can be really difficult to follow which line corresponds to which size. I also hated that the patterns lacked seam allowances, which meant that I had to waste even more of my precious sewing time adding seam allowances to the patterns. Fibre Mood has solved both problems by making the PDF a dynamic one where you can choose to display only the size you want, with or without seam allowances. A total game-changer!
Another quick side note: the pics below are for past freebies - check the website for their current free pattern offering.
Photo credit: Fibre Mood
5. BurdaStyle (Russia)
BurdaStyle is one of the most well-established sewing pattern magazines out there, and I personally have sewn dozens of garments from its patterns. (See, for example, here and here.) The BurdaStyle English site used to have quite a few stylish free patterns, but those unfortunately seem to have disappeared. Luckily, the BurdaStyle Russia site still has quite a few free women’s sewing patterns, and it is fairly easy to find them if you use Google’s translate extension to automatically translate the website into English (or, just click on this link where I’ve done the filtering for you). Many of these designs are really basic and simple, but there are a few more unique offerings, including this cocoon cardigan, this unusually shaped cardigan thingie (see my version here), and this asymmetrical skirt.
There are a few downsides though. As always with BurdaStyle, you have to add the seam allowances yourself (which can be a real pain, especially if you’ve already spent an hour printing out and taping the pattern pieces together). You’ll also need to cobble together the instructions yourself, including by manually inserting snippets of the Russian instructions into Google translate. However, if you already have some experience sewing basic garments, it shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out how to construct these garments on your own (and frankly, BurdaStyle instructions typically don’t have much detail, even when written in English, so you’re not missing out on too much here).
You must register for a free account on their website to download the free pattern.
Photo credit: BurdaStyle
6. Bernina
Bernina and its sewing magazine offshoot “Inspiration” magazine offer one sewing pattern free each month, along with several other free patterns (on a seemingly random basis). Some of these styles are a bit twee, but there are a few stylish, modern basics plus a few really unique gems hidden in there (like this Great British Sewing Bee dress, which has really interesting seam lines).
The site navigation leaves a bit to be desired, so it’s not easy to find all of the free offerings on the website. In my experience, there are two main ways - you can run a search for “free sewing patterns” or go to the free downloads of Inspiration magazine and manually browse through to find the free sewing patterns (not all issues have free garment patterns, but this is one gem of a fluffy coat that I found this way). It’s a bit annoying, but who am I to complain when everything’s free?
The patterns come with full instructions. No registration required to download the patterns.
Photo credit: Bernina
7. Lekala Patterns
This pattern company produces patterns that are customized to your measurements, thereby (at least in theory) eliminating fit issues. Lekala offers several free patterns so you can see if their patterns really do live up to the promise. There is not much variety in terms of garment types (mostly skirts and dresses, with a few blouses thrown in) but some of them are really cute (like this tulip-sleeved dress). Best of all, they offer a wide variety of sleeves - pleated, cuffed, flounce, bishop) that you can use to customize other patterns.
The patterns come with full instructions. You can choose to download without seam allowances or with seam allowances (for 50 cents more).
Photo credit: Lekala Patterns
8. Grasser
This Russian pattern company has websites in both English and Russian, and both websites offer free patterns, although there are more free patterns available on the Russian website. The English website offers several cute dress patterns (among other things), including this sleeveless dress with button detail and this v-neck dress with a flouncy skirt. The Russian website has a few more gems, including this dress with square shoulders and pleats at the waist.
The patterns come in Russian sizes 38 to 56. Seam allowances are included. Many of the patterns have video tutorials or detailed written instructions that walk you through the construction. No registration is required to download the patterns.
Photo credit: Grasser
9. Marfy
The renowned high-end pattern company Marfy has some free patterns available for download on its website, and boy are these patterns a real treat - there’s a gorgeous Chanel-style jacket, halter top and A-line skirt, all of which can be worn together for a very chic outfit.
Photo credit: Marfy
Marfy patterns are beloved by sewists for a reason — impeccably drafted, figure-flattering, and fashion-forward. However, Marfy patterns are appropriate only for advanced sewists, as they do not come with instructions and you need to know what you’re doing to work with them. You’ll also need to draft your own facing and lining pieces, which can be a pain sometimes. Overall, Marfy patterns require a big investment of time but the resulting garment is well worth it.
The patterns come in European sizes 42 to 58. No seam allowances are included. No registration is required to download the patterns.
10. Vikisews
Russian pattern company Vikisews offers several free patterns on their website, including a cute off-the-shoulder ruffled summer dress and a prairie-style dress that would be great for creating a dress in the style of The Vampire’s Wife or Batsheva.
Photo credit: VikiSews
The feedback from the sewing blogosphere is that the patterns are well-drafted and run true to the size indicated in the size chart (with much less ease than Vogue/McCall’s/Butterick/Simplicity patterns). Unfortunately, some of the pattern instructions are only available in Russian (for example, the off-the-shoulder dress shown above comes in English, but the prairie-style dress is only available in Russian), so you’ll have to spend some time decoding them with the help of Google Translate. FWIW, I spent some time trying to use Google Translate to decipher the instructions, and it was honestly very, very difficult. I’m not sure if Google Translate works very well for Russian —> English. And if you can’t decipher the written instructions, you can still fall back on the illustrations and/or photographs, as they those for virtually every step. Also, some of their patterns have step-by-step tutorials on YouTube, so it’s worth running a search there to see if there is one for the pattern you are using.
The patterns come in European sizes 34-52. Seam allowances are included. To get the pattern, you have to add to your cart, enter your email and go through the checkout process, but you are not required to make a payment.
11. Modafacil.com
Mexican pattern company Modafacil.com offers a huge selection of free patterns, including dresses, skirts, tops, jackets, and even athleticwear, sleepwear and maternity wear. Most of these patterns are basic designs with classic silhouettes, but a few stood out to me: this high-necked military-inspired coat, this puff-sleeved dress (which could be used to make a romantic nap dress), and this wrap dress with pleated skirt.
Photo credit: Modafacil.com
Sewing bloggers who have made up Modafacil’s patterns report that they are well-drafted and fit well, but the instructions, which are in Spanish, are minimal (even if you are able to decipher them using Google Translate). Still, this website is a good resource for more experienced sewists looking for basic base patterns that they can customize on their own. Even better, their website says that they offer these free patterns to empower women in Mexico to have sewing skills and own their own businesses — so you can feel good about supporting a worthwhile cause!
The patterns come in sizes 8-34. Seam allowances are included. You must register for a free account to download the patterns.
12. Pattern-vault.com
Last but certainly not least, this independent, non-profit website run by a fashion historian offers several free patterns from high-end designers. This is the stuff of a couturier’s dreams: an intricate Alexander McQueen kimono jacket, a daunting-looking Iris van Herpen dress, and this mind-boggling John Galliano jacket (seriously, how does he come up with this stuff?!). I find it’s worth working with a designer pattern every now and again just to remind myself how worlds away these masters are from the basic silhouettes we always see in regular pattern companies.
The patterns only come in one size. Some include seam allowances and instructions, others do not (just to make things even more difficult). No registration required to download the patterns.
Photo credit: Iris van Herpen; Vogue Runway
Did I miss any other great collections of free sewing patterns? Let me know in the comments.
