Learn sewing, pattern making and fashion design with free tutorials

Step by step sewing guide: 18 steps to sew your own clothes!

Welcome to The Creative Curator, an essential online resource for anyone wanting to learn how to design, pattern, drape and make their own clothes and accessories!

I am a fashion designer and creative pattern cutter – you can learn more about me here – and I teach others how to do the same with my free content, online courses and 1-2-1 sessions.

Whether you’re a complete beginner excited to start making clothes of your own, a more experienced seamstress ready to embark on your patternmaking journey or a fashion lover ready to drape or design your own collections, you’ll find all the information you need here at The Creative Curator!

Take a look at the most popular content below, that my readers love and find helpful.

Learning To Sew – Sewing Tutorials For Sewing Beginners

Patching or mending clothes is just one reason for learning how to sew

The tutorials here are the very beginner ones that I recommend to anyone new to sewing clothes. You can find a full guide to my sewing tutorials here, but those listed below are great starting points!

Towards the bottom of the page I have listed out the free sewing patterns (and paid ones too) that I have either created or tried myself! These are great for further developing your sewing skills!

Beginner Sewing Tutorials For Seams and Hems

Loving how nicely the elasticated hem looks once the hem is turned under and stitched into position.

Here are some more specific tutorials on sewing different seam and hem types. It’s important to consider the type of fabric you’ll be sewing, so be sure to consider this too when choosing a seam or hem for your sewing project!

Intermediate Sewing Tutorials

How to sew a puff sleeve - prepare your cuff!

For those not quite as new to sewing your own clothes, these tutorials are more intermediate in skill level!

Sewing Different Pocket Types

The finished accordion pocket with hand inserted

Adding pockets when sewing your own clothes is a great way to make a commercial sewing pattern more unique. Here are my latest tutorials on sewing different pocket types!

Inset Pocket Tutorials

Patched Pocket Tutorials

Inseam Pocket Tutorials

Basic side seam pocket

Guides For Sewing Tools & Sewing Machines

Selection of dress forms I own - on the left is a half size min dress form from Kennett & Lindsell, in the centre a fashion size 12 Kennett & Lindsell dress form and a Celine 'fuller figure' dress form on the right.

It goes without saying that once you’ve fallen in love with sewing, you’ll want to expand the tools and sewing machines that you have. These guides will help you make the right choice for your needs!

Different Sewing Tools

Sewing Machine Guides

The following guides will help you to feel more confident in buying and using a sewing machine:

Easy Sewing Projects

Eve Tokens, a smiling white woman with blond hair, holds up a DIY recntagle skirt with the elasticated waistband stretched out. Inset is a photo of her wearing the skirt with a black sequinned blazer.

Whilst I have many beginner friendly sewing tutorials on the blog, the number of sewing projects is less prolific. Here are some that I have enjoyed creating and sharing the process of! I do try to create as sustainably as possible, so you’ll notice that they may be upcycle projects or zero waste where possible.

Pattern Making Tutorials

Peter Pan collar pattern - choosing the right starting pattern for your Peter Pan collar!

Of course I need to let you know about some of the best pattern making tutorials that I have for you here as well – these tutorials will walk you step by step through the pattern making process, helping you to become better at pattern making with each one!

Understanding Different Fabric Types

The key to successful projects when designing and sewing clothing is understanding the different types of fabrics that you can use. My large collection of fabric guides will help you understand the different properties of fabrics so that you can choose the right one for your next project or collection!

Clothing & Fashion Styles

A summery yellow daisy playsuit worn by a young white woman is a clothing type

For those interested in learning more about styles with fashion and clothing, these guides are very informative and a great resource for anyone wanting to better understand garment types and fashion in general.

Best Books For Sewing, Pattern Making & Fashion Design

When it comes to your sewing, pattern making and fashion design journey, there are many books that can also help you develop your skills. Here are the guides I have which feature books that I myself own, or have previously used along the way to developing my own skills.

Sewing Patterns To Get Started With

Decide the line you need on the free circle skirt pattern template!

Of course this page would not be complete without mentioning sewing patterns! I have a great selection of sewing pattern round-ups and reviews for you to have a look through, and try hard to mention the sewing level too, so that you can be properly informed before embarking on sewing one of your own!

The first place to start if you’re completely new to sewing patterns is to review the process of printing PDF patterns and how to stick pdf patterns together. It’s so important to get both parts right so that the pattern you cut and sew is accurately sized!

Sewing Patterns That I have Created For My Readers

I’m not a prolific sewing pattern creator as I don’t really believe the world needs more of the same, so the number of sewing patterns I have created for my readers is smaller, and based more on requests of my readers. I’ll update this list as I add more, but here is the current selection:

Sewing Patterns That I have Reviewed For My Readers

I’m often asked for sewing patterns suggestions by my readers who don’t want to learn pattern drafting. These are the articles covering different sewing patterns from other designers that my readers have enjoyed learning more about:

Check out my web stories for a succinct look at some of my readers’ favourite articles!