Magazines With Free Sewing Patterns



Sewing is one of the most popular and oldest textile arts. In the past, sewing was done by hand.

After the invention of sewing machines, the usage of hand sewing declined significantly. But hand sewing is still popular among the textile artists and hobbyists, and it bears the sign of high-quality tailoring and creativity.

Sewing can be so creative and we have free sewing patterns and ideas for all ages including purse and bag patterns, home decor projects, kids sewing patterns and lots of fun novelty patterns too. Threads is the premier magazine for sewing enthusiasts - people who are passionate about sewing garments, home furnishings, gifts, and accessories.

Over the years, the increasing number of sewers created the demand for a platform that would provide sewing tips and techniques and promote new fashion trends and ideas.

Consequently, a great number of magazines were launched and tried to satisfy the growing needs of sewers. These magazines include sewing techniques, patterns, dressmaking techniques, and designs. Below, we have listed down the top 10 sewing magazines so that you can choose the perfect one for your sewing needs.

1. Threads

“Threads” is largely considered as one of the most inclusive and top-notch sewing magazines. You would be surprised to see how comprehensive their guidelines are. From sewing patterns to dressmaking techniques, every tutorial of theirs is given step-by-step, which is quite easy to follow.

You’ll find many designing formulas for mixing prints, fabrics, and customize clothes.

Another feature of this magazine is that it includes reviews of independently designed patterns. So, you’ll get in touch with the sewing community and learn the unique designs of them. Thread is a great place to learn sewing techniques, but most of its contents are for intermediate and advanced sewers.

2. Burdastyle

The first issue of Burdastyle appeared in 1950. That’s right people, Burdastyle is a 69 years old magazine. This German-based magazine has been satisfying the needs of sewers ever since. It is published in 17 languages and regarded as one of the most popular sewing magazines.

Sewing

This magazine is mostly famous for its beautiful sewing patterns. Apart from patterns, you will find sewing lessons, current fashion trends, and new styles that you can implement in your craft.

From learning about the variations of fabrics to sewing technologies, “Burdastyle” has always been the desired magazine for many sewers. Another perk of Burdastyle is that it includes plus size patterns. So, this popular and informative sewing magazine might be the perfect one for you.

3. Vogue Pattern

Vogue Pattern magazine claims to be “The Ultimate Sewing Magazine”. Well, we cannot deny that. Vogue Pattern is a premium sewing magazine for sewing enthusiasts. It specializes in creating luxurious sewing patterns and is really one of the best at it.

Their patterns are so splendid that it will catch your eyes. So, if you are looking for a magazine where you can find gorgeous sewing patterns, look nowhere else, and buy the latest issue of “Vogue Pattern”.

But their specialty doesn’t end in splendid patterns; they also include sewing tips and tricks, latest designer trends. So, grab a Vogue Pattern and excel in sewing.

4. The Pattern Page

You might be a complete beginner, holding the needle for the very first time, or you might be an expert sewer; whoever you may be “The Pattern Page” will meet all of your demands.

If you are a beginner and looking for the basic sewing techniques, “The Pattern Page” will provide you with just the right content. For expert sewers, there are always new tips and tricks on every issue. Also, they have a specialized Q/A section, where the experts answer the various questions that might come to a sewer’s mind.

Moreover, guidelines to buy threads and fabrics are always included there. Now you wouldn’t buy a sewing magazine if there aren’t sewing patterns included. Well, as the name suggests, there are many sewing patterns for you to try. Also, “The Pattern Page” is a digital magazine. So, don’t bother looking for it in local newsstands.

5. Love Sewing

“Love Sewing” could be the perfect magazine to quench your thirst for sewing. From beginners to advanced, their easy-to-follow guidelines can be comprehended by anybody. It includes a variety of patterns for both women and children’s clothes. Its fabric focused articles help you to have deeper insights about fabrics.

A great number of tips and tricks and a variety of projects to sharpen your sewing skills distinguishes this magazine from the others. Now you may still be unsatisfied because your home is empty of sewn homewares.

Well, be no more unsatisfied, “Love Sewing” includes a variety of patterns for curtains, cushion cover, and many more. Now you can make your kid’s bedroom look like Disneyland.

6. Sew News

“Sew News” brings good news for beginner sewing enthusiasts. The sewing techniques, embroidery tricks, patterns in the magazine are very easy to follow.

Apart from modern patterns for women’s clothing, you’ll also find instructions to sew homewares to decorate your house beautifully. It shares trendy sewing patterns, dressmaking techniques, sewing tips & hacks.

Another fun thing about “Sew News” is their interesting articles on costumes of famous movies & TV shows. In one issue, they had included “Game of Thrones” costume details.

So, there is a chance that you might find detailed information about the costume of your favorite TV show and end up with an idea of a totally different costume of yours. They also include the latest fabric trends and sewing guidelines for beginners. Hence, if you are a complete beginner, grab a copy of “Sew News” right now!

7. Classic Sewing

If you are looking forward to making a gorgeous dress for your kid, but wondering about the styles and patterns, then “Classic Sewing” is the right sewing magazine for you.

Magazines With Free Sewing Patterns Sewing Patterns

“Classic Sewing” is a sewing magazine that specializes in children’s garments. You will get to know the latest children’s clothing trends and new tips and tricks to sharpen your sewing adeptness. It also shares projects to help you increase your sewing expertise.

From casual sewing to heirloom sewing, you can find so many different sewing techniques and patterns that will slowly take your journey of sewing to a whole new place.

8. Sew

“Sew” magazine is another fabulous looking magazine that can reinvigorate your sewn crafts. You will find a variety of patterns that will surely incite your sewing desire. In addition to the patterns for women and children’s clothes, it includes sewing patterns for home and kid’s accessories.

So, next time, your child starts crying for a unicorn, buy a “Sew” magazine, and follow their step-by-step instructions to stitch a beautiful unicorn for your child.

Choosing a sewing machine is another torment that every beginner goes through. “Sew” includes reviews of sewing machines and thus can make the selection process a lot easier. Both beginner and advanced sewers can hope to learn new skills and techniques from it.

9. Simply Sewing

If you have just started sewing, “Simply Sewing” might be a good choice for you. As the name suggests, it’s patterns and styles are relatively simple and easy. It includes patterns for clothes, gift items, homewares, and many more. Also, you’ll find many sewing techniques and easy projects to hone your skills.

Moreover, it contains easy guidelines for using sewing machines. Although its patterns and styles are for various ages, its primary focus is on younger people. Along with all of these, “Simply Sewing” offers sewing accessories gifts to the subscribers.

10. Sew It All

“Sew It All” is a magazine that encourages its reader to break the traditional rules to discover one’s own way of sewing. It captivates the sewing enthusiasts by its large collection of sewing projects, techniques, and patterns.

The simple and easy explanation of those techniques and patterns makes it different from other magazines.

If you are a complete beginner, you wouldn’t have to worry because “Sew It All” provides many easy, shortcut sewing techniques, and it also provides you insight about using the best tools to save your time and increase your sewing skills. And it doesn’t stop there; it also includes articles about sewing homewares, accessories.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you already have a favorite. Let me know in the comments which sewing magazine you’re gonna subscribe to.

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Our options for selecting patterns are growing day by day. There was a time when we merely went to my local sewing and craft shop and sat down with piles of pattern catalogs until we came up with the pattern that best suited my needs.

Before that, our mothers, aunts and grandmothers drafted patterns for themselves, their children and other family members. When it comes to deciding what to sew, or selecting a pattern in the 21st Century, we have many, many more options.

Of course, we can still draft my own patterns, and you will find several patterns on this site as well as ideas for making an entire wardrobe from one or two patterns that already exist in your inventory.

However, drawing a pattern from scratch takes a lot of time and requires an entirely different skill set… one that many home sewers – especially those new to sewing – simply do not have. The humongous pattern catalogs still exist as well.

Patterns

This requires my taking a trip to the local sewing and craft shop. In this age of the internet and instant gratification, we can also shop for patterns online. Traditional, tried and true pattern companies offer their entire catalogs on the internet, as do many not so familiar pattern suppliers.

Sewing Pattern Magazine

In the last few years, I have noticed an increasing number of sources that offer free sewing patterns. All that is required for one to gain access to and possession of a free pattern is a computer and a printer.

Free patterns are available for practically anything, including clothing and accessories for every member of the family, household décor items, including curtains, comforters, duvet covers, pillows and accents, attire for pets and novelty items.

The patterns that are offered as free downloads often require tweaking and adjustment, but they are for the most part usable and fairly accurate.

Of the many sites that offer free sewing patterns, we have come across a few that seem to be quite reliable.
The criteria for my reaching this conclusion are based on three major components:

  • Design – even though the patterns are free, no one is interested in acquiring a pattern that is not a good design or one that is not appealing to the consumer
  • Accurate proportions – regardless of the design, a pattern that is not proportionately accurate is no good. Patterns with inaccurate proportions require lots of adjustment and re-drawing. Flaws such as this defeat the purpose of having a pattern.
  • Clearly written instructions – every pattern comes with instructions. If the instructions are poorly written, the pattern is difficult to follow and the end result may not turn out to be what the user wants.

The companies that offer free sewing patterns which I feel are most dependable and user friendly are:

Burda patterns on burdastyle.comPrima magazine free sewing patterns

Sewing Magazines With Free Patterns Uk

Burda – Those of us who remember the early Burda pattern books will be pleased to know that the European pattern company not only sells pre-printed patterns like the traditional US sewing pattern distributors, they also offer many free sewing patterns on their website – burdastyle.

This site contains a wealth of free sewing patterns, most of them for women and children. Unlike many free pattern sites which tend to offer lots of patterns for beginners, many of Burda’s free patterns are designed with the intermediate to advanced home sewer in mind.

I started using Burda patterns in the 1980s when they were sold as inserts in Burda fashion magazines. Back then, it was necessary to trace the desired pattern from a sheet that resembled a bowl of lo mien. With the downloadable patterns, you get only one pattern that must be adjusted to fit your particular size.

The designs for the free patterns offered by Burda are for the most part simple, easy to understand and easy to follow. The proportions are good and the instructions clear, concise and easy to follow.

Pattern offered by freeneedle.com

– Freeneedle.com – This website has been around since 2007 and offers free patterns for just about anything you can imagine, including men’s and women’s clothing and accessories; home accessories including lamp shades, pillows, curtains and accents for the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, dining room and living room; children’s clothes; and pet supplies such as pet beds, coats and toys.

Love sewing magazine free patterns

The patterns offered by freeneedle are generally represented online as photographs of finished projects, eliminating the problem of guessing what a garment might look like when considering a line drawing.

Every pattern is accompanied by instructions which can be viewed and reviewed before downloading. The site also offers step by step and video instructions for some patterns, and devotes an entire section to “learning to sew” which provides step by step instructions for the beginning home sewer.

Simple and uncomplicated patterns on freesewingpatterns.com

– Freesewingpatterns.com – This site is great for the beginner. The patterns are simple and uncomplicated. Most of the downloadable sewing projects offered on this site are for accessories and accent pieces and require just a few steps to execute.

freesewingpatterns offers tutorials for beginners as well as instructional videos and step by step instructions for each of the patterns. This is an excellent resource for the sewing instructor who wants to give their students something different to work on. The patterns are not challenging and appear to be designed to encourage a deeper interest in the art of sewing.

New ideas for interesting sewing projects on thinkliz.com

– Thinkliz.com – This site is a good resource, not only for free sewing patterns, but for sewing tips, techniques and instructions as well. For example, one link, Adventures in Dressmaking, describes how to dismantle a men’s dress shirt and use the pieces to make a pencil skirt.

Other links are equally creative and filled with lots of great sewing ideas that you may not have considered. It is a good idea to bookmark this website if you have the time and are looking for some new ideas for interesting sewing projects.

Not only will you find free downloadable patterns, you will also be able to get instructions for patternless garments, accessories and home décor accents.

– AllCrafts.net – This site offers more free sewing patterns for accessories, home accents and gift items than clothing for men, women and children. One thing we found very interesting was a link to a pattern for a reusable Swiffer mop cover.

The cover is attached to the Swiffer mop with buttons and can be machine washed after each use. If you live in a home with lots of tile or hardwood floors, this little gem could save you hundreds of dollars each year. Other free sewing patterns available at allCrafts include stuffed animals, purses and holiday novelties.

AllCrafts also offers instructions for the new home sewer, book reviews, serger ideas, embroidery machine tips and a variety of sewing tips and pointers, including information on how to clean and care for a sewing machine.

Amy Butler Designs

Amy Butler Designs – This site appears to specialize in free sewing patterns for quilted projects… wall hangings, clothing accents, duvet covers, and various quilts.

If machine quilting is your thing and you want to have access to free quilting patterns, we strongly recommend that you visit amybutlerdesign.com and take time to explore this website. No doubt, you will find something there that will suit your fancy.

– Freepatterns.com – Whether you are looking for sewing patterns to make clothing, accessories, novelties, gift items or home decor accents, you can find patterns for your sewing projects at freepatterns. This site offers many free patterns, as well as a link to a paid pattern site – e-patterns central.

Sewing patterns on Freepatterns.com

The choices on both sites are broad. Needless to say, there choices available on e-patterns central are wider and more eye appealing than those on freepatterns. However, with a little bit of time and sewing know –how the free patterns can be altered to give you a finished product that closely resembles the patterns on the paid site.

Traditional pattern companies – In order to maintain a solid presence in the marketplace companies like Simplicity and Butterick offer free sewing patterns as well. A visit to the Simplicity, McCall’s or Butterick websites will reveal that the free patterns offered there are mere teasers when compared with the paid for patterns.

One may wonder why they bother to offer free patterns at all. The answer is simple. These companies have loyal followers who will use only a specific pattern brand.

By offering free patterns for accessories and gift items, they are able to keep this loyal base of customers. No doubt, some of them may not even be aware of the many other free pattern providers that are at their disposal.

Conclusion

When it comes to shopping for patterns in the 21st Century, the free pattern is definitely a viable option. My observation however, has been that free patterns are available primarily for simple, easy to construct items that require little more than basic sewing skills.

Even the free patterns offered by Burda, which are generally more complicated than the designs offered by many other free pattern sites do not include patterns that require lots of tailoring or intricately detailed workmanship.

Magazines with free sewing patterns for beginners

It is a good idea to perform a test before attempting to make a garment using a free pattern for the first time. When you download a free pattern, measure each and every piece, making sure they are proportionate and that the finished garment will fit you.

We suggest making the garment with muslin or some inexpensive fabric first and making any adjustments to guarantee a good fit before you cut your good fabric.

Few things are more devastating than to spend a lot of money and time making something out of a piece of fine fabric just to toss it in the trash because a free pattern was out of proportion, the seam allowances were not included, or the instructions were written poorly.

When it comes to saving time and money, free sewing patterns are more than just a viable option. All one needs to do is look at the growing number of sources for free sewing patterns to realize that they are definitely a great resource for the busy home sewer.

We encourage you to explore all of your available pattern options before making a final choice, including the many free sewing pattern sites.

The advantage of purchased sewing patterns is that in most cases, you can be assured that the proportions are exact throughout and that seam allowances are clearly indicated on each pattern piece.

When working with a free pattern, especially one that you download, you must adjust the pattern and in most cases, re-draw it to your proper proportions and add seam allowances yourself.

When you use any sewing pattern that you acquire free of charge, we strongly urge you to be sure to make all of the adjustments you need in order for your finished garment to fit the way it should. There is no time when the old adage of all home sewers holds true… measure twice and cut once.