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Goth Holiday Party Outfits: Free Patterns and Tutorials

Image of a woman with black hair staring at the camera, standing in front of a vine-covered wall. She wears a black velvet smock with bishop sleeves, ruffled hem, and black boots.
Vampire’s Wife Inspired Dress, Front

The holidays are a stressful time for many. Whether you are attending or hosting parties, there are many decisions, big and small, that go with whatever role you are playing. While some challenges can destroy the spirit of the season, others can be handled with a little bit of sewing and a lot of inspiration.

Image of a woman standing in front of a wall covered in vines. She has long hair and wears a black goddess-like dress with a V-neck neckline, an upside-down V bodice, and long skirt.
Vera Top

Dressing for the holidays can definitely be a challenge. So many things to consider: extra room for large meals; indoors spaces that can throw off your carefully considered outfit (too much heat/AC); snarky family comments when your style is not considered “normal.” You want to look good, feel comfortable, and shine your alt/goth/non-conforming light even when that family member makes the joke “Oh! Who died?” for the thousandth time.

Image of a woman standing in front of a white garage door. She wear a black button-up shirt with a collar, a black tiered skirt, and boots.
Tiered Skirt

The suggestions below combine a relatively low level of difficulty, immediate access to the patterns, and no cost to get the pattern. Yes, friends, they are all FREE patterns that you can download on the spot, print at home, and start sewing right now. They might not look alt/goth right off the bat, but with a little planning and a lot of black fabric, you can turn every holiday party into a goth celebration (or punk, or grunge, or metal, or [insert your style here]).

Separates

Vera Top, Forget-Me-Not Patterns, and Tiered Skirt, SewGoth Tutorial

Image of a woman standing in front of a pink wall. She has black hair and wears red lipstick. She wears a black top with a V-neck and bishop sleeves made of skull and bones net.
Vera Top

The Vera Top is a V-neck top with bishop sleeves. I sewed it with some fun skull mesh for the sleeves for that extra goth vibe. The instructions are great, so if you are a beginner and feel threatened by the V-neck, this pattern has your back. You can make it very casual with some jersey or bamboo knit, or you can bring the party quotient up with some stretch lace or velvet.

Image of a black skirt with three tiers. The first one, the yoke, is not gathered. The next two are gathered.
Goth Tiered Skirt

The tiered skirt is a tutorial that can be adapted to be shorter or longer depending on the length of the panels. I kept it simple with black cotton satin, but you can use any light- to mid-weight woven fabric. You can add trim or lace to the hem or use this Seamwork tutorial to add ladder lace between each tier.

Cadia Shirt, Mood Fabrics, and Anything But Basic Leggings, DIBY

Image of three dressforms wearing the same top in three different fabrics. The top has a boat neckline and ruffles as sleeves. The first top is made of gray fabric. The second is sewn ins a green and dark blue tartan. The third one is made with brown fabric.
Cadia Shirt, Image: Mood Fabrics

The Cadia shirt has been on my to-sew list since I came across it last year. I love the drama of the sleeves! This is a zero-waste pattern, which should make you feel even better about sewing it. You could even lengthen the bodice and make a dress.

The Anything But Basic Leggings is a great pattern for straight-forward leggings. The instructions are great—the booklet is an in-depth lesson in sewing leggings. I plan on sewing a version in stretch pleather I have in my stash (that’s been the idea since I found this pattern a year ago…).

Onella Blouse and Aster Pants, Mood Fabrics

With the world going bananas for Netflix’s Wednesday and dark academia making librarians accidental fashion icons, the Onella blouse is the perfect garment for the time. Pair up some glasses with that pussy bow, and you will be answering Reference questions all night long.

Image of a dressform wearing a pair of wide-legged pants in crepe de chine with a modernistic printed silk that features a large black check on a stone background
Aster Pants, Image: Mood Fabrics

The voluminous Aster Pants are the perfect match for the cool stuffiness on the Onella. The pattern has exaggerated legs flow with each step. When the pants are sewn in very drapey fabric, they can even pass for a skirt.

Dresses

Hana, Mood Fabrics

Image of two dress forms, each wearing a slip dress. One is sewn in a dark blue fabric with oversized flowers lined in red; the other is a forest scene against a dark blue background.

Slip dresses were a staple of the 90s. One of my most vivid memories of 90s fashion is Courtney Love and her many interpretations of the slip dress. The Hana is the perfect slip if you are feeling nostalgic. This is a bias-cut dress that you can sew in a variety of fabrics. You can glam it up with stilettos, or you can punk it up with fishnets and Docs. This is an easy pattern when you choose a light cotton or linen, but I’d caution you that things will get slippery if you choose charmeuse, silk, or similar fabrics.

Portia (Knit Version), Rebecca Page

Image of a woman standing in front of a wall covered in vines. She has long hair and wears a black goddess-like dress with a V-neck neckline, an upside-down V bodice, and long skirt.
Portia Dress

The Portia has a very special place in my heart. It is ridiculously comfortable while making me look feel a goth goddess. This would be my number one choice for any party that involves a large meal. I sewed mine in black spandex knit fabric, and it looks equally great with flip flops, Docs, and knee-high boots. For a more holiday look, you can use light-weight stretch velvet in red or dark green. An absolute winner.

Vampire’s Wife-Inspired Dress

Image of a woman with black hair staring at the camera, standing in front of a vine-covered wall. She wears a black velvet smock with bishop sleeves, ruffled hem, and black boots.
Vampire’s Wife Inspired Dress, Back

During the pandemic, I had too much time and nowhere to go. When Xmas came around and we were still in lockdown, I decided to sew a smock inspired by the then wildly popular—and quickly sold out—Vampire’s Wife velvet dress. This project was not difficult, but it involved many techniques and took some time to complete. This dress is a stunner. If you have a fancy party to go to, you will be the goth of the ball with this one.

Yarrow, Mood Fabrics

Image of a dressform wearing a dress with high neck, ruffled collar, long sleeves, ruffled sleeve hem, and ruffled hem.
Yarrow Dress, Photo: Mood Fabrics

I just met the Yarron, and I already cannot stop thinking about it. This is the perfect dress to turn into a goth stunner. You have the high collar, lots and lots of ruffles, and a two-tiered skirt that can easily be lengthened with longer panels or more tiers. The sample sewn with the black and white Star-Filled Silk Chiffon with Metallic Silver Stripes is perfection.

The Holiday Goth Outfit of Your Dreams

Holiday parties can awkward and uncomfortable. You can at least face them wearing an amazing dress or a super swishy pair of pants. You still have time to sew your goth holiday party outfit. Grab a glass of champagne or sparkling water and let everyone know that this goth has arrived!

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2 Comments

  1. Kathy
    May 22, 2023 / 12:00 pm

    Great ideas. What tutorial did you use to create the tiered skirt?

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