15 Free Sewing Patterns for Tall Sewists, Checked October 2026

Most sewing patterns are drafted for a body around 5'5" or 5'6". If you're 5'8" or taller, that usually means short sleeves, a waist that sits too high and trousers that end at the ankle bone. You can lengthen almost anything (see the tips below), but it's easier to start from a pattern that is already closer.

So this list only includes free patterns with real evidence for tall sewists, quoted from the pattern's own page: drafted from your measurements, drafted or fitted on a taller body, or offered in a long length. We opened every page on October 27, 2026.

How each one is free:

• Made to measure: FreeSewing is free and open source; a free account stores your measurements.
• $0 checkout or pay what you can with a free option.
• Free account: sign in to a free account to download.
• Email: the link arrives after a signup.

FreeSewing drafts each pattern from your own measurements, including waist to floor and inseam, so length is never the problem.

1. Charlie chinos, FreeSewing. Trousers drafted from measurements including waist to floor, waist to knee and waist to seat. The measurement list is long, so take them with a helper. freesewing.eu
2. Simone button-down shirt, FreeSewing. A shirt drafted from your back length, shoulder to wrist and bust, so the torso and sleeves come out your length. freesewing.eu
3. Sandy circle skirt, FreeSewing. A circle skirt drafted from your waist to floor. An easy first FreeSewing project; long circles are limited by fabric width (see tip 4). freesewing.eu
4. Waralee wrap pants, FreeSewing. Wrap pants that are basically two large rectangles, drafted to your seat, inseam and crotch depth. freesewing.eu

5. Old Coast Raglan, Friday Pattern Company. Pay what you can. A unisex raglan in XS/0 to 7X/32, drafted for a 5'10" body (a male block, so it fits boxy). One of the few free patterns drafted this tall. fridaypatterncompany.com
6. Sorbetto, Seamwork. Free account. A woven tank or tunic in sizes 0 to 26, fitted on a 5'8" size 8 model and a 5'9" size 20 model, with a tunic-length option. seamwork.com
7. Lex Kangaroo Pocket Sweatshirt, Seamwork. Free with a free account this fall (a seasonal freebie). Sizes 00 to 26, fitted on 5'8" models. seamwork.com

8. Ninja Pants, 5 out of 4. $0 checkout. Yoga pants in XXS to 5XL with seven lengths, including a long length "for all the tall sisters", and four rise heights. The best free trouser for tall women we found. 5outof4.com
9. Sanibel Seamed Trouser Jeans, Mood Sewciety. Email. Brand new in October 2026, and the page tells tall sewists to add 3 to 5 inches (and petites to take off 2). blog.moodfabrics.com
10. Petaluma Pleated Trousers, Mood Sewciety. Email. Mood says its smaller sizes have a 32 inch inseam, which is long for most patterns and good news if you're tall. The yardage on the page is for a size small, so buy extra. blog.moodfabrics.com
11. Effie Woven Pajama Pants, 5 out of 4. $0 checkout. Pajama pants in XXS to 5XL with inseams from 2.5 inch shorts to full-length pants. Check the full-length inseam against your own. 5outof4.com
12. Libby A-Line Skirt, Tessuti. $0 checkout. An A-line skirt in short, mid and long lengths, in Australian sizes 6 to 16. tessuti-shop.com

Itch to Stitch drafts for 5'6" (168 cm), but each of these free patterns tells you how to lengthen if you're taller.

13. Uvita Top, Itch to Stitch. $0 checkout. A knit top in 00 to 20. itch-to-stitch.com
14. Lago Tank, Itch to Stitch. $0 checkout. A hip-length knit tank in 00 to 20; plan to add body length. itch-to-stitch.com
15. Lindy Petal Skirt, Itch to Stitch. $0 checkout. A petal skirt in XXS to XL. itch-to-stitch.com

Worth knowing if you'll pay: Named Clothing drafts for 172 cm (5'8") and Sew DIY for 5'10", though neither had a free pattern when we checked.

1. Lengthen in the right place, not just at the hem. Add bodice length on the lengthen and shorten line between bust and waist, pant length at the knee line, and sleeve length above and below the elbow. Then blend the side seams. A rough rule of thumb is about 1/2 inch of length per inch of height above the drafted height, split between torso and legs to match where your length actually is.
2. Measure yourself before you cut. Compare your back waist length (base of the neck to the waist), crotch depth, inseam and shoulder to wrist against the pattern's finished measurements, and change only what's different. Two people who are both 5'10" can have very different torsos.
3. Check the rise separately from the inseam. Tall sewists are often long in the rise too. If the pattern's crotch depth is shorter than yours, the waist will sit low even when the hem is right. Add rise between the waist and crotch on both the front and the back.
4. Buy more fabric. Every inch you add is added to every piece you cut, so lengthened trousers on 45 inch fabric can need 1/4 to 1/2 yard more. A long circle skirt can't have a radius bigger than half the fabric width without piecing, so choose 60 inch fabric or a half circle.

• Sinclair's Harper Cardigan, which has petite, regular and tall lengths but now costs $10.99.
• Free patterns with no height or length evidence on the page, including several from Helen's Closet, Hey June, Sew Over It and Tessuti.
• Love Notions' Laundry Day Tee, which is only free with a code from their Facebook group.

If you lengthen every pattern, the hard part is remembering how much you added last time. Sewist Studio is a free digital sewing room: keep your measurements in a profile, save these PDFs to your pattern library, and note each lengthening adjustment on the pattern so the next make starts in the right place. See also what size sewing pattern should I cut and how to track body measurements for sewing.