This tunic sewing pattern is so simple that a child can sew it in no time! Fun and easy to fit to your particular build. Free pattern and tutorial.

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My girls love to sew. This tunic top requires only four seams, and it’s incredibly comfy! We’ve made several variations, and my girls wear these tops all the time. I have a couple that I wear, too, although I finish the edges on mine. It’s cooler to be edgy when you’re young!

Note: This pattern will only work with knit (stretchy) fabric! Use a zig zag stitch for all seams (or serge them).

Find more sewing tutorials here.

The Magical Four Seam Tunic Sewing Pattern

I created a basic tutorial that you can adapt to make different tops. I consider the measurement recommendations in this tutorial to be bare minimums; you can play with the pattern in so many ways! For the dresses below, we used an all-ways stretch knit and placed the bottom hem along the selvage line. We tend to add 4-6 inches along the shoulder line to create a bit more of a sleeve. the girls turned the fabric scraps into little headbands. If your knit is only a little stretchy, you’ll need it to be at least the width of your shoulders all the way down.

Did you notice Emma standing in the doorway? She’s out of focus in this photo, but she made the top she is wearing using the same approach. Note also that Anna stole her big sister’s shoes for the photoshoot…

For the photo below, Lily and Anna are worn similarly drafted tops made out of a ribbed knit that sat waiting for this type of project for years. The dolls are wearing this top, which fits their 18 inch dolls better than the baby dolls.

These blue tops look pretty sloppy, honestly. I was singing in a concert and realized I didn’t own a pastel top (oh, the hazards of tidying up). Fortunately, I hadn’t tidied this blue fabric, and (apart from requiring pastel tops) the concert was quite casual. I threw a t-shirt of mine on the fabric and cut out a pattern similar to this doll top around it. I’ve attached the photo so you can see how you can zig-zag necklines, if you want.

Lily and Anna desperately wanted to use the fabric scraps, so I very quickly cut out their tops. Thankfully the cut is forgiving and children look adorable no matter what.

Word of warning: always pay attention to the fabric’s stretch direction. As a teenager I cut out loads of knit pajamas for my siblings – all stretching the wrong direction. I’m still grateful my mother forgave that mistake! The top above fits, but the arms are snugger than I would like because I wasn’t thinking about the fact that this ribbed knit has no vertical stretch (assuming you cut so that the warp is the vertical direction).

I would love to see photos if you use this tunic sewing tutorial! Please share on my Facebook page or tag me on Instagram.

MaryAnne Kochenderfer

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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.