Dressmaker: How to Size the Mannequin (Gear Controls & Fit)
Properly sizing the dress form in Dressmaker guarantees that patterns are drafted to correct proportions, securing vital quality points on client orders.
Operating the Mannequin Adjustment Gears
Sizing the dress form in Dressmaker utilizes three mechanical gears corresponding to the bust, waist, and hips. To operate a gear, click on it and drag in circular motions around its spindle like turning a crank. Alternatively, hover over a gear and spin the mouse wheel, or hold the A and D keys for fine adjustments. Two full rotations transition a gear from its minimal to its maximal physical limit.
Reading Measurement Paper Feedback
The sizing reference sheet presents two columns: Body, reflecting numbers recorded from your client, and Mannequin, showing the active dimensions of the dress form. An exclamation mark signifies a dimension that has not yet been measured or drifts more than 2 centimeters from recorded figures. Bringing bust, waist, and hip values within 0.3 centimeters displays a 100% accuracy score and awards a golden star.
Keeping Tape on Ghost Lines During Sizing
A frequent player stumbling block is turning gears without seeing the paper readout change. In Dressmaker, the paper only registers dimension updates while the measuring tape is held directly over the matching ghost guideline on the mannequin. If you adjust gears while the tape rests elsewhere, the physical form shifts, but the paper retains outdated values until the tape is repositioned properly.
How Mannequin Fit Influences Garment Quality
Mannequin fit accounts for 20% of your total commission quality score. The scoring formula penalizes discrepancies sharply: 100 multiplied by (1 - 200 times the sum of squared differences). If fit drops to 0, overall commission quality cannot exceed 80 regardless of how cleanly you cut grain or sew seams. If tape slipped during initial measuring, manually setting gears to the client's true dimensions salvages full quality.
When manipulating gears with the mouse pointer, gripping near the outer perimeter makes delicate fine-tuning easier, whereas grabbing near the center creates broad, rapid shifts. The three gear mechanisms operate independently without restricting one another's range.
Dial the adjustment dials to match the client's true physical dimensions. Because fit scoring evaluates the dummy directly against her authentic proportions, an inaccurate measurement or hasty confirmation is easily remedied. On commissions, the Confirm button activates after recording all three dress-form values, drafting patterns to current gear positions even if paper notes remain unrefreshed.