# Stitch Authority resource comparison

Generated: 2026-08-01T21:31:34.042Z
Comparison: <https://stitchauthority.com/directory/compare?ids=eu-textile-label%2Cgrading-guide%2Cyarnsub%2Cfreesewing>

This file preserves the published decision metadata for the selected routes. It is not a recommendation, provider approval, compliance decision, or record of project-specific due diligence.

## 1. EU Textile Label Requirements

Permanent record: <https://stitchauthority.com/directory/eu-textile-label>
Source page: <https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/product-rules-compliance/textiles-and-footwear/textile-label/index_en.htm>

- Primary job: Check standards
- Area: Standards
- For: Apparel brands
- Location or jurisdiction: European Union
- Access: Open access
- Format: Reference
- Source type: Government guidance
- Linked page reviewed: 2026-07-28
- Next review due: 2026-10-26

### Best for

Starting an EU textile-label compliance check

### What the source establishes

The current Your Europe page says textile products marketed to EU consumers generally require a firmly attached label showing fibre composition and any non-textile parts of animal origin. It identifies an 80-percent-by-weight textile threshold for covered examples, decreasing-percentage composition order, permitted fibre names, clear separation from care information, and translation into the official languages of each EU country where the product is offered.

### Know before using

This is a business-guidance overview, not the controlling legal text, legal advice, a product classification, an approved label, or a complete market-access checklist. Product composition, exemptions, business-to-business documents, fibre names, language, placement, durability, national enforcement, safety, chemicals, environmental claims, care, customs, and other rules require product- and market-specific review. Confirm Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 and current EU and national requirements before sale.

## 2. Pattern Grading & Size-Run Validation Record

Permanent record: <https://stitchauthority.com/directory/grading-guide>
Source page: <https://stitchauthority.com/guides/pattern-grading-explained>

- Primary job: Find patterns & fit
- Area: Patterns & fit
- For: Apparel brands
- Location or jurisdiction: Global
- Access: Open access
- Format: Stitch Authority
- Source type: Stitch Authority
- Linked page reviewed: 2026-07-27
- Next review due: 2027-07-27

### Best for

Auditing inherited grade rules or controlling a new multi-size pattern release from approved targets through sample evidence

### What the source establishes

The guide cites current ISO body-table, size-designation, and garment-measurement boundaries plus two peer-reviewed studies that tested the relationship between conventional grade rules, anthropometric evidence, and garment fit; it requires product-specific target deltas and validation instead of publishing universal increments.

### Know before using

The record does not create a production grade, supply universal increments or breakpoints, validate a CAD file or fit population, reproduce licensed standards, or replace qualified anthropometric, pattern, technical-design, fit, quality, accessibility, safety, statistical, and user-research review.

## 3. YarnSub

Permanent record: <https://stitchauthority.com/directory/yarnsub>
Source page: <https://yarnsub.com/>

- Primary job: Choose materials
- Area: Yarn
- For: Makers
- Location or jurisdiction: Global
- Access: Open access
- Format: Reference
- Source type: First-party platform
- Linked page reviewed: 2026-07-28
- Next review due: 2027-01-24

### Best for

Building a substitution shortlist for a discontinued or unavailable yarn before checking quantity, availability, and a representative swatch

### What the source establishes

YarnSub's official FAQ says its matching software compares gauge, texture, yarn weight and density, fibre content, and fibre qualities such as drape and softness. Discontinued yarns remain searchable as starting points but are excluded from suggestions. Result filters can exclude animal, animal-derived, synthetic, or plant fibre groups and use a subjective $ to $$$$$ price indicator. The site does not accept user-entered yarn details, individual shade cards, or expose an API. Each yarn page provides a data-issue route.

### Know before using

A suggested match is a data-based shortlist, not proof that the yarn suits the pattern or maker. Records can be incomplete or wrong, price bands are approximate, availability varies by country and seller, and shade-level matching is unavailable. YarnSub says affiliate status does not change suggestions, but equally rated matches are ordered by brand popularity. Confirm required gauge, total length, fibre behavior, construction, care, colour, dye lot, accessibility, price, availability, and seller terms, then make and assess a representative swatch before committing.

### Account, payment, and exit

- Access scope: Maker comparing a replacement for a named yarn before buying.
- Before an account: Search a named yarn, inspect suggested substitutes, and filter by fibre and approximate price band without creating an account.
- Free-account boundary: The checked core substitution route does not require an account, and the FAQ does not offer user-entered yarn records.
- Payment boundary: No subscription is presented for the core route. Affiliate retailer links and optional donations help fund the site; equal-rated matches are ordered by brand popularity.
- Cancellation or exit: There is no account or recurring plan to cancel for the core route. The newsletter has a separate unsubscribe link.
- Saved work and data: YarnSub does not expose an API and does not accept user-entered yarn details. Use the data-issue link on a yarn page for corrections.

## 4. FreeSewing

Permanent record: <https://stitchauthority.com/directory/freesewing>
Source page: <https://freesewing.eu/>

- Primary job: Find patterns & fit
- Area: Patterns & fit
- For: Makers
- Location or jurisdiction: Global
- Access: Open access
- Format: Software
- Source type: Open-source project
- Linked page reviewed: 2026-07-21
- Next review due: 2027-01-17

### Best for

Custom-fit home sewing patterns

### What the source establishes

FreeSewing's official documentation says the browser editor drafts a selected design in real time from a measurement set rather than scaling or grading a standard-size pattern. Users can adjust design options and export the generated result, including as PDF; saving the pattern to an account is optional and is used to revisit it later.

### Know before using

A generated pattern is not independent fit evidence or a production-ready graded block. The result still depends on accurate measurements, the selected design and options, ease assumptions, fabric behavior, construction, and representative test garments. An account stores saved patterns and measurement sets, so review the platform's privacy terms before retaining personal measurements.

## Next checks

1. Remove any route whose audience, jurisdiction, access, or scope does not match the job.
2. Open the permanent record and source page for every remaining route.
3. Recheck facts that can change after the listed review date.
4. Verify project-specific capability, terms, test evidence, and legal requirements with the responsible source or provider.
5. Record the reason for the final choice outside Stitch Authority.
