Prototype walkthrough

Your First Dressmaker Commission: Rose

Rose's workwear request teaches the core loop: listen to a customer, plan a dress, make it, and compare the result with the brief. This walkthrough uses screenshots captured from the browser-hosted prototype.

Start the browser game Read the general beginner guide

1. Read Rose's request before designing

Rose says she is beginning a librarian job and wants something suitable for the workplace. The screenshot shows a budget of 300. The decision to make first is the purpose of the dress: workwear. Keep that purpose in mind as you experiment with the sketchbook.

Rose describing a workplace dress commission and a budget of 300 in the Dressmaker prototype — Game screenshot: Rose's customer request in the browser prototype.

Accept the tutorial if this is your first time. It introduces the sequence of actions in the build you are playing. If you skip it, the same guiding question still helps: what visible requirements will the finished dress need to satisfy?

2. Use the sketchbook as a checklist

The sketchbook screen shows the customer's note beside a requirements panel. In the example image, the visible targets are Quality 60 and Workwear 40. Treat these numbers as goals for this particular commission, not universal thresholds for every customer.

Dressmaker sketchbook with fabric swatches, dress design and Rose's quality and workwear requirements — Game screenshot: design choices on the left, customer requirements on the right.

Choose a starting silhouette that suits the workplace request.
Compare fabrics in the sketchbook rather than judging a swatch alone.
Check the visible style tags and requirements as you adjust the bodice, sleeves and skirt.
Before advancing, look at the full design and confirm it still serves Rose's brief.

3. Cut, sew and check the finished dress

After planning, follow the prototype's prompts through pattern placement, cutting and sewing. Work slowly enough to see what each action changes. When the dress appears on the mannequin, compare its displayed quality and workwear values with the targets you recorded.

Completed plaid workwear dress on a mannequin with quality and workwear results — Game screenshot: one finished workwear dress with its result panel. This is an example outcome, not a required design.

If a value misses the target, change one design or making choice on your next attempt. That makes the result easier to learn from than changing fabric, silhouette and finishing all at once. You can also record the visible brief in our private commission checklist.

What to try next

For the official downloadable prototype, see the creators' itch.io page. The Steam listing describes the complete game.