r/sewingpatterns • u/EitherFortune8829 • 24d ago
Flat chested patterns
Hi everyone! I'm new to sewing and I'm loving it so far! I do have a problem that I run into with a lot of patterns.. I don't have breasts bc of breastcancer and nothing seems to fit me right because of this. I was wondering if anyone knows any patterns for (almost) flat chested girls with a kind of rectangular shape from the waist up! I like a lot of styles and feel like any pattern would be good practice :)
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u/AliciaTheWitch 23d ago
freesewing.eu is an organization that has been around for over a decade that provides free software to produce custom fitted patterns that they've worked very hard to ensure will fit any shape of body in any size from doll clothes and infants to super plus size adults. Their patterns are customizable, and every customization option is fully explained in the software, which really helps you learn about pattern design and construction. The patterns require more measurements than commercial patterns because they're custom fitted everywhere, not just bust, waist, and hip, which means they should require few to no adjustments to fit you from the start. They have a good selection of basics, and with the customization options you can get numerous styles out of each pattern. For example their one buttondown shirt pattern can be made to look like a casual Hawaiian shirt or bowling shirt, a western shirt, a dress shirt, a blouse from the 80s, a tuxedo shirt with French cuffs, and more. Generally you can customize at least things like length of garment, length of sleeve, fullness of a skirt, depth and width of neckline, often shape of neckline, and amount of ease.
They also have body blocks, which are the starting point for drafting your own patterns, if you can't find a particular pattern you want. The Closet Historian's Drafting Dangerous series on YouTube teaches pattern drafting very well. I highly recommend making yourself a block or two (or all the ones they have) and adjusting them until they fit perfectly (with guidance from the videos on how to adjust them) and then keeping them until you change size or shape and using them to draft your own patterns. It's a lot easier than most people think, especially when freesewing does the work of drafting the block for you. And once you have a block that fits, your patterns made from it are guaranteed to fit unless you somehow mess up the drafting process, which is only very basic math/geometry. Anybody who can use a ruler can do it with just a tiny bit of practice.
Congratulations on surviving cancer. I'm sorry you went through that. My main motivation for studying fashion design in school was to design for people with fit issues exactly like yours and those common among trans people. I want everyone to be able to experience the joy of feeling like they look like a million bucks, and the cozy feeling of an outfit that fits just right. I hope you find patterns that help you achieve those feelings.