A directional print follows each pattern piece's orientation. The documented example lays a vegetable-print cotton out piece by piece: front panel, front side panel, back side panel — and on the finished dress the print runs in visibly different directions where the panels meet. If you want the motif to flow one way, decide it while the pieces are still on the table.

Cutting table with a vegetable print cotton laid out with labelled front and back panels, and the finished dress beside it showing the print reversing direction between panels
Radishing Cotton Print laid out with the panels labelled, and the finished dress beside it: the author points out how the print reverses between panels. The layout on the left is where that outcome is chosen. View full screenshot.

Grain versus the look

Every piece also carries a grain arrow, and the quality chain wants it straight — the cutting guide covers that check. For looks, the same arrow decides which way a gradient or pile runs on the body. The documented trade-off: you can rotate a piece for the visual direction you want and accept the quality cost that comes with it. That is a deliberate choice to make per piece, not an accident to discover at the sewing machine.

Cutting table with flared skirt pieces on a green patterned velvet, arrows marking each piece's direction, and the finished gown beside them
Flared skirt pieces on Medusa Burnout Velvet with the direction arrows marked, and the resulting gown on the right. The arrows decide both the grain check and the way the pattern runs on the body. View full screenshot.

Camera: zoom, pan, tilt

The documented camera controls: Z zooms (repeated presses step through zoom levels), WASD pans, and holding the mouse wheel while dragging tilts the camera. Zooming in is also how you place small accessories accurately — the accessory grid opens beside the dress while you work.

Three views of a gown showing the zoom levels from pressing Z once and twice, with the accessory inventory grid open
Z once and Z twice: two documented zoom levels for close work, with the accessory grid open beside the dress. View full screenshot.
A gown viewed from a tilted camera angle with the author's note that holding the mouse wheel and dragging tilts the camera
The tilted view the author annotates: hold the mouse wheel and drag to tilt. The sidebar here also shows a documented Quality 100/80 draft — camera angle is free, the numbers stay put. View full screenshot.

Accessory placement

Two keys do the heavy lifting at the accessories stage: Q/E rotate the accessory you are placing, and Shift keeps placing the same item — or duplicates one already on the dress — which is how the achievements guide suggests filling large counts without re-opening the inventory each time. For rotation trouble, the pause menu has an Accessory Rotation Gizmo toggle (and a Sewing Assist toggle beside it) documented in the settings screen.

The pause menu showing resolution, frame limit, volume sliders, and the Sewing Assist and Accessory Rotation Gizmo checkboxes, over the workshop background
The pause menu: Sewing Assist and Accessory Rotation Gizmo are the two gameplay-relevant toggles documented here. Berty the pigeon keeps his perch in the background. View full screenshot.

What this workflow does not cover

The documented authors stop at these basics: no verified guide exists here for advanced per-axis accessory transforms, mirroring, or fixing feathers that clip through fabric. One author says outright he never mastered the advanced embellishment controls — this page reflects that honesty rather than inventing steps. For the photo side, the completion screen offers environment, light and viewfinder controls; a full photo-export walkthrough is beyond the documented material.

Further reading:Expanding On The Tutorial (Steam guide) · Controls, tips, advice & more (Steam guide)