Part 1
Where to Buy PDF Sewing Patterns
In early 2026 Simplicity McCalls announced a global restructure that will close their Sydney warehouse and stop shipping to Australia – read the Guardian Article here. If you have been sewing for years, the move to getting your patterns online might be new and totally unfamiliar.
In our first article of Screen to seam: PDF sewing patterns we’ll discuss where to buy your sewing patterns.
If you’re in Melbourne and like learning in person, check out the booking page for How to buy & print sewing patterns online. If it’s not currently scheduled, join our waitlist.
Once we would head into a fabric store and sit down to browse through the huge catalogues of sewing patterns from Simplicity, McCalls, Butterick, Vogue and Burda. Finding one you liked, you then went to the filing cabinets to find your desired pattern…
However, in the last 15 years, independent pattern designers have changed the game. Most have gone to digital-only models, providing PDF files of their instructions that allow for more details, more photos, links to video tutorials and longer more informative instructions.
The new kids on the pattern block have left the old guys in the dust and the impact on their business has been significant. In February 2026, Simplicity McCalls announced that they wouldn’t be shipping physical patterns to Australia anymore. This move will mean the large majority of patterns will soon be available via online shopping and digital file formats only.
Online stores with multiple sewing pattern designers:
When Indie Stitches opened in 2016, it was one of the first Australian online stores to focus on patterns by independent sewing pattern designers. Now with over 70 designers available.
The Fold Line was created in 2015 to make it easier to find sewing patterns and now provide a platform for over 100 independent designers to get discovered.
An independent online shop, with over 40 different independent pattern brands available.
This is the home of the biggest names in the industry, including Simplicity, Vogue Patterns, Butterick, McCall’s, New Look, Know Me and Burda*. From mid 2026 they have started adding indie brands too.
*Right now, the big commercial brands are really just scanning their A3 instructions and popping them online. You’re getting the same paper-envelope experience, just as a PDF. They haven’t caught up to indie brands when it comes to genuinely accessible instructions, but hopefully that’s something we’ll see improve over time.
Some of Danielle’s favourite indie sewing pattern designers:
- Atelier Jupe – Belgium
- By Hand London – UK
- Closet Core – Canada
- Elbe Textiles – Aussie
- Friday Pattern Co – USA
- Grainline Studio – USA
- In The Folds – Aussie
- Kylie and the Machine – Aussie
- Megan Nielsen – Aussie
- Merchant and Mills – UK
- Named Clothing – Finland
- Pauline Alice – Spain
- Paper Theory – NZ
- Papercut Patterns – NZ
- Sew Over It – UK
- Style Arc – Aussie (instructions are not for beginners)
- Swim Style Patterns – Aussie
- Tessuti – Aussie
- Thread Theory – Canada
- Tilly and the Buttons – UK
- True Bias – USA
- Victory Patterns – Canada
- Wardrobe by Me – Denmark
This is not an exhaustive list, rather these are brands I have sewn patterns from – with a focus on Australian and New Zealand small businesses.
Danielle – Thread Den
In Part 2 we’ll look at what to expect in a PDF Sewing Pattern and how to identify AI Slop.