There are so many wonderful indie sewing pattern companies that offer fantastic free sewing patterns and I wanted to share some with you that are also size inclusive.
Recently I shared a video about the sloppy, cheap AI generated patterns you can find on Etsy but there is a BIG difference between those and a free pattern from a trusted designer.
The AI patterns are created in about 5 minutes by a computer, are stolen from various other peoples work, have heaps on inaccuracies, and terrible instructions that would sadly put a beginner off sewing for life!
A free pattern on the other hand, by a trusted designer will have been developed properly over a much longer period of time. Yes the free patterns tend to be a much simpler designs but they are created as a gift to the sewing community but also, lets be honest, as a marketing tool to encourage you to the website, you often need to sign up to the newsletter in order to receive it and then that way they can send you emails telling you about their other wonderful patterns which will be their best marketing tool – especially as it is becoming so much harder to get visibility on social media!
Some of the companies offer a pay-what-you like option so you can absolutely get it free but if you’re able to you can give a little thank you contribution.
So… that’s why businesses create free patterns, now let’s take a look at some of them!
Helen’s Closet Luna Tank
Helen’s Closet actually has a few free patterns – if you click on the search and type Free they will all come up, but I am absolutely loving the look of the Luna tank, especially in the summer heat!
It comes in a size 0-34, is made for stretch fabric and has a really lovely swingy shape to it, almost like a quarter-circle skirt at the hem! So it is fitted at the bust and then flows beautifully over the hips. The straps are bra friendly as well which is a big plus point for me.
I need this one in my life desperately right now, I think this could be an absolute summer staple! I like tank tops in the summer, I can’t stand having fabric on my arms when it’s super hot but… they are often clingy around the middle as well which I’m not such a fan of so this – in really any lightweight jersey fabric would be a win!
Core Fabrics Brise Dress
Core Fabrics is part of the Closet Core group – and the Brise dress is a free pattern released by the Core Fabrics part (beautiful fabrics by the way, really gorgeous!
The Brise is another knit garment, this time a dress and it has a really lovely tie detail at the waist which creates some nice ruching across the middle! It comes in a size XXS-6X and I think the most important area you need to get the fit right is across the shoulders and then making sure the tie hits where you want it to – for me I would want to make sure the tie hits at my natural waist, you might prefer it to be higher or lower depending on the look you want to go for.
The other think I would do is cut the shoulders according to my high bust measurement – I’m a lot smaller here than anywhere else so I don’t want too much fabric around the neckline – I would then grade out from the under arms or maybe do a full bust adjustment.
Les Perlines Soliday Dress
This is a relatively new to me pattern company, I’ve seen some of her patterns before and they look lovely but, I’m yet to sew one! The Soliday dress though, looks like a really lovely option to start with.
The sizing is done alphabetically rather than numerically and comes in size AA which is 35″ hip to an O which is a 60″ hip.
It features a princess seam bodice with a gathered skirt and shirred panel at the back which will make it very comfortable and nicely fitted too. The adjustable straps however are on the thin side so not great for bra straps but I reckon you could fairly easily make them a bit wider – you’d only have to make an adjustment to the front bodice piece as the strap is just attached to the back bodice.
This is designed for woven fabrics so would be lovely in a lightweight cotton or linen – it’s definitely giving holiday vibes and… if you are so inclined thanks to the shirring and the adjustable straps you could go braless, but it would also look pretty cute with a bikini top underneath – you know let peek out and own it!
You could also very easily hack the gathered skirt to add tiers or swap it to a circle skirt. The bodice is lined so you’re going to get a lovely clean neckline and it would be easy to add a simple lining to the skirt so if you wanted to use something like a broderie anglaise for the main you’d be sorted!
Marilla Walker Belemnite Dress
A slightly different situation with Marilla Walker who closed her pattern business in 2024 but decided to offer her 4 most inclusive sewing patterns free as a thank you to the sewing community. She does mention that because she has closed her business, although the patterns are freely available she doesn’t offer any pattern support so… you’re kind of on your own but I wouldn’t be surprised to find a few YouTube videos that look at this pattern in a little more depth!
So… of the 4 she offers free my favourite is the Belemnite Dress which has a bit of a 70s feel to it with a front panel, a couple of different big voluminous sleeve options and an A line lantern shaped skirt which… tbh I would probably remove that bottom panel and extend the skirt further. There are self fabric ties which you can do up at the front or back and the choice of a zip at the back or buttons at the front… or both if you want!!
There are two size ranges – the first is size 1-10 and the second is 6-14 which goes up to a 60″ hip.
You could have a lot of fun with fabric and maybe use up a few large scraps for the different bits of the dress and it would look equally gorgeous in a linen as a lovely light double gauze – you could really ramp up the 70s style with your fabric choice and colours as well. I really love the look of this dress I think this is a fantastic option.
The Little Pomegranate Sabina Skirt
Another slightly different situation in that Rumana who runs the Little Pomegranate isn’t a pattern designer, she is a crafty content creator – she shares lots of really amazing craft projects on her blog and on social media and she was a contestant on the GBSB in 2016.
She created the Sabina skirt in 2021 as a free pattern for her newsletter subscribers so you get lots of lovely inspiration when you sign up as well as a fantastic free skirt pattern.
The Sabina has a fitted elasticated waistband with gentle shaping from the waist to the hips so you don’t end up with too much fabric bunching around your waist and then it has slanted pockets and a cute little ruffle hem! It comes in a size 6-34 which is a 61″ hip.
I would definitely say you need a fabric with a lot of drape for this one like a viscose or a crepe and I think it would work just as well in the spring and summer as it would in the autumn – I would even shorten it for the autumn to wear with the old tights and boots combo. Perfection!
So there you have 5 amazing free sewing patterns that are super size inclusive!
Watch the full YouTube video.
