Trying to add parent / child products for store with multiple variations

I’m working on a site for a fabric company that has multiple colours and variations. I want to have a parent product with child products so that I can showcase all products on the catalogue. So its easy to update stock levels and I dont have to update multiple products / variations

Are there any free plugins or easy ways to do this? Can I utilise the SKU system? Or will it require a paid plugin or coding?