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Raise your hand if you have limited sewing time! And now raise your hand if you’d love a list of sewing patterns you can make in one day.
When you have limited time, it can be really tempting to give up on your hobbies and things that you love. I don’t want that for you.
I’ve found that the BEST way to stay motivated is to make sure you have plenty of easy wins and not just challenging projects all the time.
And if you’re a beginner, this is especially important. You need that feeling of accomplishment to keep going.
I’m going to share 10 Seamwork projects with you—including 2 free patterns. They’re projects I’ve made myself in one day, and absolutely love and wear all the time.
Be sure to watch the video to see the garments in action, and keep reading for photos.
I went through the over 200 patterns in our catalog and pulled these out for you. I’ll show off the fabrics I used and give you some tips for making them.
The Joss Pants
Elastic pants are one of my favorite one-day projects because you end up with a new pair of pants, but you don’t have to stress about sewing a zip fly.
The Joss pants are really fun to sew. I love the silhouette and the patch pockets. Here’s a link to the sewalong if you’re a member.
They’re so comfortable, and they look great with a T-shirt or a blouse tucked in.
I made these in a printed rayon, which is a great way to make some statement pants. You know… party pants.
They would also be great in linen, or go really fancy and make them in silk. I plan to do that this fall, I think.
Just imagine flowing silk pants with a luxurious fuzzy sweater. Speaking of sweaters…
The Callen Sweater
I love it when you can make a quick project that is also totally timeless. The Callan top looks like a sweater but feels like a sweatshirt
If you use stripes, like I did, it makes the perfect nautical top. Here’s a link to my Callen project. These Breton stripes will never go out of style.
This sweater is finished with a facing at the hem and neckline, which gives it a polished finish and you don’t need to mess with neckbands.
I used a double knit for this, which is great if you’re new to sewing with knits, and it’s really easy to sew without a serger.
You can also use sweater knits or french terry. You can sew the buttons on the shoulders or leave them off, which makes it an even quicker sew.
The Ash Slip Dress
I recently made this dress, and I loved it so much I actually cut out a few more right away.
Ash is a slipdress that has such a timeless silhouette
You can practice sewing a French dart, which is really fun. It has a subtle V-neckline and adjustable straps. The skirt has slits so you can move easily
I know it looks like a summer pattern, but I’m planning to layer mine year-round, either wearing it with sweaters, or with a long sleeve knit top underneath, which is something I do a lot these days.
I made mine in rayon challis. Silk would also be gorgeous, and so would linen. Anything light and flowing.
The Fifer Top
I love the ruffled neckline on the Fifer top, and it’s such a quick sew that I’ve already made one tank top, and I lengthened it into a dress.
The ruffle is pretty quick to make, but you can eliminate it if you want a really quick sew and a more simple silhouette. Here’s a link to the sewalong.
While you can use silky, slippery fabrics for this top, and it will look beautiful, this pattern also works so well in easy fabrics like gingham and shirting.
The Lenny Dress (Or Top)
This pattern has been really popular over the years, and once I made it, I knew why.
Lenny is a classic turtleneck dress, but I made it into a top, and this pattern has a silhouette that looks so good on everyone who’s made it.
=The turtleneck makes the neckline really easy to finish, so it’s a super fast sew.
I sewed it in this really fun rib knit, which was pretty easy to work with. I made a video with a bunch of tips here.
The Goldie Tee
The Goldie tee is such a quick sew. It only took me two hours to make mine!
Goldie might be quick to make, but it has a few details that make it look like it took you a lot of time. Here’s a link to the sewalong.
It has a wide sweetheart neckline cinched with elastic at the center front. The sleeves are slightly gathered at the top, which gives it a fun shape.
The Madhu Top
The Madhu top is beginner-friendly and a really satisfying project you can make in a day.
It features raglan sleeves and elastic casings at the neckline and sleeve hems. The elastic casings are what take the longest, but they’re actually really no fuss to sew. Here’s a link to the sewalong.
I made Madhu and hacked it into a dress. I also had the time to add some beautiful ladder lace, which might take you more time to add, but it’s a lovely, easy hack.
The Orlando Tee
Orlando is one of our most popular T-shirt patterns. So, if you're still on a quest for the perfect fitted T-shirt, it might be this one.
It hugs your body in all the right places, and the neckline is great for styling with jewelry or silk scarves.
I modified my neckline to be even wider, but I’m planning to make more with the standard neckline. I even made a tutorial for adding a shell tuck hem here.
You could probably make this in a few hours if you use your serger! We have a sewalong that’s packed with tips for sewing knits, even if you don’t have a serger.
Now I want to share a couple patterns you can currently get for free!
The Hansie Tee
Hansie is a free pattern that we offer. The sewalong is also free, so if you’re looking for something quick and affordable, you can’t go wrong with Hansie.
It’s a woven T-shirt with a faced neckline and a patch pocket at the chest. It’s great for beginners, but it’s one those patterns that’s so easy to make AND it hardly uses any yardage, so it’s the perfect way to use fabric from your stash.
Woven T-shirts are such a great project if you need a boost or you don’t have much time to sew.
They look great with jeans or you can pick a fancier fabric if you want to make a dressier top. I actually tried on the sample we originally sewed for Maya, and it looked so cute with my shorts it inspired me to sew my own.
The Benning Dress
And finally, we have the Benning dress! I love this pattern, and it’s currently free as well for summer 2024.
If you’re reading this later, I want you to know that we rotate and send a new free pattern every single season to our mailing list, so be sure to get on it if you want to get new free patterns.
You can sign up for the Snippets Newsletter here.
The Benning dress is such a perfect one-day sew. It has a V-neckline and a fun, floaty silhouette with a two-tiered skirt.
Most of the pieces are large rectangles so it’s quick to cut out. There are no closures like zippers or buttons, which cuts down on the time to sew. Here’s a link to the sewalong.
You can sew this dress in wovens that are easy to handle, like chambray or linen. I made mine in this pretty cornflower blue cotton seersucker.
I hope you enjoyed these patterns, and that some of them move into your sewing queue for when you need a quick win.
Have you made any of these patterns yet?
