4 Free Baby Pants Sewing Patterns -Tested!

Baby clothes are SO much fun to sew and there are so many options, it can get overwhelming. I decided to try out four of the free PDF baby pants sewing patterns that are popular on my Pinterest boards – and share the results with you! Free patterns are great, but I’m still hesitant to invest time and fabric if something is going to be a dud. Good news is, I liked all four of these patterns (although I have a favorite) and have lots more details to share with you about each one.

I partnered with Mabel Madison for the post; they are one of my favorite fabric stores because they stock unique, Euro prints that are such high quality. Their selection of “boy-friendly” fabrics is awesome, with loads of knits. They ship super fast and are very responsive – I had a great experience shopping with them before I asked them to work with me on this experiment!

This is a sponsored collaboration with Mabel Madison – they provided the fabric and paid me to write this post!

If you can’t wait to read about each pattern, I’ll make sure you know how to find the fabrics first:

• Robot Euro nicky velour from Verhees
• Mighty Monster Euro nicky velour from Verhees
• Table Flowers Rainbows knit from Art Gallery Fabrics
• Black ikat Euro knit from Verhees

Pattern:Free harem leggings from Small + Friendly

Sizes: Size 6-12 months

Fabric: Mighty Monster Euro nicky velour from Verhees

I diy-ed my size labels; I ordered the twill tape* super cheap off Amazon and used Versacraft fabric ink* to stamp with small number stamps!

First up is the free harem pants pattern from Small + Friendly! She calls it 6-12 months; I marked it as 9  months because that is about how it fit, in my opinion. The pattern is very easy to sew, she has the cuffs put on the “lazy” way instead of in the round, which makes it easier for beginners to sew. My daughter wears cloth diapers and is in size 12m Carter’s/RTW pants (which is what they’re shown hanging next to) and these just barely fit in the rise and rear, so they’d probably be just perfect for a baby in disposables. I like that the front has a lower rise, and how quick these sew up! This is a great pattern for beginners, and would be perfect for upcycling.

Nicky velour was a new fabric to me, it is super lush and soft with a plain back. I found that it had about 30% 2-way stretch, which is perfect for baby clothes. It has a low pile but doesn’t shed, and pressed easily with an iron. I love the bright colors and she couldn’t stop petting her legs!

Pattern: Free footed pants from Sew Much Ado

Sizes: Size newborn, fitting babies 6-10 lbs

Fabric: Robot Euro nicky velour from Verhees

This is a really fun free footed baby pants pattern from Sew Much Ado. It only comes in the tiniest of sizes, so I can’t show you fit pictures on my mammoth baby, but I can tell you that I used it when she was a little thing! You can see a picture on Instagram; instead of folding down to make an elastic casing I added a waistband and threaded the elastic through and it all fit over her cloth diapers great. I think they probably fit her up to about 12 lbs, actually.

This pattern is a little bit of a challenge for a beginner- when you cut the pieces and see the two curves you’re matching up you might think (at least I did) there must be some mistake! But no, if you go slowly and stretch gently, they will fit. I highly recommend basting the foot pieces, even now that I’ve made a few pairs I still do. The directions are very clear and the final product is too cute! Footed pants are perfect so you don’t have to worry about socks wiggling off.

The fabric is another nicky velour print, this time with cheerful robots. I especially love the dark background because no stains will show up! I will be saving these for the next baby that pops up into my circle of friends.

Pattern: Baste + Gather’s Baby Got Back Pants

Sizes: 0-3m up to 2T

Fabric: Table Flowers Rainbows knit from Art Gallery Fabrics, designed by Sew Caroline

This pattern is from Lauren at Baste + Gather (her pattern line was previously called Selvage Designs), and it is designed specifically for cloth diapers – there is a bum gusset piece. My daughter wears cloth diapers and is in size 12m Carter’s/RTW pants (which is what they’re shown hanging next to) and these fit GREAT. I chose the 12-18 month size and there is definitely plenty of room for her to grow.

This pattern is my favorite! I love that the hems & waistband call for you to fold over the edge before sewing, it looks so much cleaner than a raw knit edge, as you can see in the other 3 patterns in the size tag shots. Obviously you can do this on any pattern, but if it isn’t designed that way you’ll have to add the extra length and that’s a pain.

This is an Art Gallery Knit and it is seriously heaven to sew with, it is buttery soft and presses super well. It’s just the right weight and stretch for leggings!

Pattern: Nap Time Creations’ Free Leggings

Sizes: 18m-12

Fabric: Black ikat Euro knit from Verhees

Lastly is a leggings pattern from Naptime Creations, it has a big size range for a freebie! (Go To Patterns has a free pattern for the smaller sizes that I’ve also used and liked). My daughter wears cloth diapers and is in size 12m Carter’s/RTW pants (which is what they’re shown hanging next to) and these fit really well. There isn’t much difference between the front & back rise, the waistline is very straight, which isn’t a big deal but notable.

This pattern is very easy to follow, and sews up quite quickly. I didn’t run into any problems with it!

This is a Euro knit, I’ve used it in a different colorway for myself so I know it washes really well in addition to being vibrant and fun! I completely understand that the pricetag is offputting for some sewists, but Euro quality is worth it. Instead of pilling, fading, and getting sucked down into the feed dogs, it holds up beautifully and sews really nicely.

On all of my leggings/pants, I sew vertically on the side seams, as close to the “in the ditch” as I can get.  This helps keep the elastic from flipping or bunching on soft baby bellies!

Have you sewn up any of these patterns? What is on your shopping list at Mabel Madison? I’d love to hear about it, in the comments!