Open Source Sewing Patterns
The Patterns
(Licensing details have been moved to the bottom of this page.)
Teddy Bears and Other Jointed Animals
Don't be intimidated by the jointed construction - the sewing is actually much easier. You're usually matching up two mirrored pattern pieces, rather than trying to ease two odd-shaped pieces together as you sew. Try Flower Bear first - if he comes out wonky, then he just has an excuse for hiding in those flowers.
Flower Bear
A tiny teddy bear who lives in a flower bouquet - though the pattern works just as well enlarged.
Flower Bear Pattern and gallery.
Teddy Pig
I had way too much fun drawling "Ah'm goin' to th'State Fair, y'all. Mah pig took a ribbon thar." I may live in Kansas, but I'm pretty suburban, so people looked at me kinda funny.
Teddy Pig Pattern and gallery.
Teddy Wolf
Teddy Wolf, a Mexican Gray Wolf, was my entry in the teddy bear category that year - and took a blue ribbon. One of my earliest patterns, he's been remade by several artists - check them out in his gallery. He's also still very bear-like and blocky, and sometime I'll make a second, more wolfy version on the order of Teddy Fox.
Teddy Wolf Pattern and gallery.
Teddy Fox
A realistic red fox, teddy bear style. I haven't finished the original (he's still packed from the not-move), but I went ahead and released the pattern.
Skinny Bunny
Another UFO - I really should pull out my Skinny Bunny, who has tapestry fabric for ears and pawpads, and finish him. But to my surprise, someone else has made one sight unseen.
Skinny Bunny Pattern and gallery
Panda
Panda Pattern and gallery
Sun Conure
A small parrot, made because I saw too many stuffed parrots with funny-shaped heads. Or not-funny-enough-shaped-heads, depending on how you look at it. His head is properly parrot-shaped, and someday I'll get around to making one in something nicer than cheap craft felt.
Sun Conure Pattern and gallery
Plushies, softies, and other things
Golden Pig
A super-easy felt pig, in honor of the Year of the Pig, sewn entirely flat.
Basic Dog Plushie
Nominally a Bichon Frise, he's a standing dog with floppy ears and a curly tail.
Dog Plushie Pattern and gallery
Basic Standing Wolf
If you cross the Teddy Wolf with the Dog Plushie, you get a canine with pointed ears and a long tail.
Wolf Plushie Pattern and gallery
Wacky Chicken/Silly Goose/Wild Turkey
Goofy birds with seasonal variations. These are fairly easy to sew - I designed them when I was asked to make stuffed chickens for a game of Capture the Flag, and I was under deadline.
Wacky Chicken Pattern and gallery
Felt Ferret
A pattern after the style of _Sewing Tiny Toys_ by Carolyn Vosburg Hall - designed for hand-sewing from craft felt.
Felt Ferret Pattern and gallery
Hedgehog/Porcupine
Inspired by an unusual fur. It's a peculiar pattern, but other people have successfully made them so I feel better about it.
Tutorials
Balloon Dog
Because real balloon dogs don't last long enough. (On the other hand, if this one ever pops, he'll make a much larger mess.) This isn't much of a tutorial, but you shouldn't need much more than this.
Balloon Dog Pattern and gallery
Santa Purse
A detailed tutorial on making an easy little lined, boxed-corner tote bag in white fur and red corduroy - the gallery has variants, including non-Christmas versions.
Santa Purse Pattern and gallery
Santa Mittens
Children's mittens sewn from fleece, with a "secret" pocket, inspired by some my mother knitted when I was young (from a 1970 magazine.)
Pillowcase
A simple tutorial on making a pillowcase (the bed linen kind).
Pillowcase Pattern and gallery
Spheres
A utility reference for spheres made from three to ten parts.
Lined Vest
A how-to on assembling a lined vest (or doublet or jerkin) with only one turning opening - you'll need your own vest pattern for this. It also works on lined coats, though the bulkier the garment the less practical it becomes.
Patterns I Don't Have
Because the blog got a lot of search hits on these pages, I'll preserve these links here.Hospital gown pattern
Lazy Girl Designs. Adult and children's sizes. A very nice pattern. Licensing: "This pattern is free for your personal or charitable use. Making items from this pattern for sale for personal gain is prohibited."
Do rag pattern
Gail Bable (archive.org copy) A very rough pattern, but if you can decipher it, it works out nicely. Licensing: "You may use this pattern for your own personal use or for charity. Do not sell or use this pattern or the pictures on your site. You may however place a link to it, if you intend to use it for charity," and later on the page "This is just a pattern I made up after not being able to find a commerical [sic] pattern. Feel free to use it or link it to your site. Be sure and give credit for where you received this free pattern!" (Yes, those requirements are possibly contradictory. Should have used Creative Commons!)
Shopping bag pattern
Actually, I did have a shopping bag pattern, and copies are floating around here and there, but this one from Michelle Wootton (queenofdiy) takes it and makes it so much nicer. Licensing: none listed, but it's just a (very nice, detailed) tutorial on making your own pattern from an existing bag.
I have to admit, though, I'd recommend the tote bag pattern (a/k/a the Santa Purse), in modified dimensions, and perhaps with just a top hem instead of a full lining. I carry repurposed convention tote bags, with handles long enough to loop over my shoulder, and with loops (made from repurposed convention badge neck straps) on each end to hang on the grocery-store's plastic-bag rack.
Kunin felt patterns
Some nifty projects disappeared in Kunin's website reorganization, but they can still be found via the Wayback Machine's archive here.
Since the archives are a bit scattered, and since the site licensed redistribution, I've started collecting them here onsite. I've started with Skip the Rabbit, and will add an index as I collect more.
Other Open-Source Patterns
At minimum, the patterns I list here allow resale of the items (though not necessarily the patterns themselves).
FreeTeddyBearPatterns.net
Laura Lynn has set up a website of free patterns, including a general directions page that I should probably link to from my patterns. Licensing: "You MAY sell bears made from these patterns! You can work at home making these bears and sell them at craft shows, teddy bear shows, eBay and more! I only ask that you put on your tag: 'This pattern is from www.FreeTeddyBearPatterns.NET.' This bear is an adult collectible and NOT safe for children." (Hmm. If you sew places other than home, as I often do, I guess you're outta luck.)
Copyright/License
The patterns remain copyrighted, but are licensed under a Creative Commons license. Except where noted, you may use either the Attribution-ShareAlike license or the Attribution-NonCommercial (version 3.0, as I write this - if it's been updated and for some reason you want a newer version, nudge me to update the pages).
Within the requirements of the license (see the Creative Commons site for the legalese), you're free to do all sorts of things with the patterns - and the requirements are pretty simple.
Attribution
"Copyright YYYY Silver Seams, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License N.N"
That's the minimum attribution required to fulfill the first part of the license. You need to make sure your buyer can see that before purchase - attribute the pattern to me in your auction description, for instance. (YYYY should be the copyright year from the particular pattern, and N.N should be the license version.)
Share Alike
If you modify the pattern, it is still covered by the same license. And fair is fair - you got the pattern for free, so your changes must be made just as free. This doesn't mean you have to set up a web site to publish it, of course. If you send me a copy, I'd be happy to host it here. And it doesn't mean you can't sell your modified pattern, or anything you make from it.
NonCommercial
If you don't plan to resell things, you can use the Attribution-NonCommercial flavor instead of the Attribution-ShareAlike one. (Notice that the absence of the "NonCommercial" part in the Attribution-ShareAlike flavor does mean that you can freely sell items made under that license.)