Dressmaker controls: every key

Tap Z on the mannequin to zoom in. At the sewing machine, Space sews, A and D turn the piece, and W and S change the speed. Here's every key and mouse move in Dressmaker, and where each one works. You can't change the keys in the game's settings. Just want to zoom in on the dress? The zoom and camera guide walks you through it, screen by screen.

On-screen hints

The game shows 20 control hints in the bottom left corner. Each screen has its own, and some only pop up at the moment you need them.

Two hints share the name Rotate. One of them and the Change Speed hint belong to the sewing machine. Here those two carry "(at the sewing machine)" so you can tell them apart.

At the sewing machine

SpaceSew
Shows the whole time you sew.
ADorRotate (at the sewing machine)
Shows the whole time you sew.
WSChange Speed (at the sewing machine)
Shows the whole time you sew.
RReset
Shows the whole time you sew.

In the cutting room

Send to inventory
Shows when the pointer is on a cut piece and you're not dragging it.
ADorPan Camera
Shows the whole time you're in the cutting room.

On the mannequin

CTRLZoom
Shows the whole time you're at the mannequin.
Rotate Mannequin
Shows unless you're holding the left Ctrl key.
WSADPan Camera
Shows while you're zoomed in.
CTRLWSADOrbit Camera
Shows while you're zoomed in.
QERotate
Shows on the accessories tab while you place one accessory.
Q and E turn the accessory you're placing.
Place
Shows on the accessories tab while you place one accessory.
Finish Placement
Shows on the accessories tab while you place one accessory.
SHIFTPlace Multiple
Shows on the accessories tab while you place one accessory.
Add Point
Shows on the accessories tab while you lay a line and the pointer is on the dress.
Finish
Shows on the accessories tab while you lay a line and the pointer is on the dress.
Remove Item
Shows on the accessories tab when you're not placing anything and the pointer is on a placed accessory.
Select
Shows on the accessories tab when you're not placing anything and the pointer is on a placed accessory.

In the sketchbook

APrevious Page
Shows when there's a page to turn back to.
DNext Page
Shows when there's a page to turn forward to.
Rotate Mannequin
Shows on the pages of the dresses you've made.

More keys

Here's every key and mouse move, with more detail than the hints give. Many of them have no hint on the screen at all.

At the sewing machine

SpaceorSew: hold Space or the right mouse button. The hint only shows Space.
Rolling the mouse wheel feeds the fabric through the machine too. It always goes at the same speed, and W and S don't change it.
Click a thread spool, and the thread and the stitch line take its colour. It's just for looks, so pick any colour you like: no requirement, score or price uses it.

On the mannequin

Roll the mouse wheel to turn the mannequin around. It works on the mannequin, in the sketchbook preview and in the photo, as long as the pointer isn't on a menu. At the mannequin, the wheel zooms instead while you hold the left Ctrl key.
Drag sideways with the left mouse button to turn the mannequin too. It works in the same three places, unless you grab a piece or an accessory.
ADA and D turn the mannequin too. At the mannequin, they do that only until you zoom in.
ZorPoint at the spot on the dress you want to see, then tap Z or the middle mouse button to zoom in there. Keep it a quick tap: a press longer than a quarter of a second doesn't zoom. Tap another spot on the dress to move the zoom there. Tap the same spot again, or anywhere off the mannequin, to zoom back out.
CtrlHold the left Ctrl key and roll the mouse wheel forward to zoom in where the pointer is. Keep rolling to get closer, or roll back to move away. Once you're all the way out, one more roll back ends the zoom.
ZorWhile you're zoomed in, hold Z or the middle mouse button and move the mouse to swing the view around the dress. Move the mouse up to look from below, or down to look from above. The view tilts up to 88 degrees up or down, and turns up to 60 degrees to either side.
CtrlWASDWhile you're zoomed in, hold the left Ctrl key with W, A, S or D to swing the view the same way, which is handy on a trackpad: that's the Orbit Camera hint. Without Ctrl, the same keys slide the view around: that's the Pan Camera hint.
While you're zoomed in, hold the right mouse button and drag to slide the view.
SpaceWhile you lay a line of trim, Space drops a point where the pointer is, just like a click. Dragging turns the mannequin and doesn't drop a point.
CtrlROn the accessories tab, the left Ctrl key plus R turns the Accessory Rotation Gizmo on or off.
ShiftEither Shift key. Hold it while you drag a ring of the Accessory Rotation Gizmo, and the accessory turns in neat steps.
CtrlHold the left Ctrl key as you grab a ring of the Accessory Rotation Gizmo, and the ring turns the accessory around its own axes instead of the mannequin's.
Click one of the four little arrows of the Accessory Rotation Gizmo to nudge the accessory a tiny step along the dress. Hold the arrow down to keep it sliding.

While you size the mannequin

ororADTurn a gear by dragging it, by rolling the mouse wheel over it, or by pointing at it and holding A or D.

In the cutting room

ADEach press slides the view along the fabric.
Drag an empty part of the fabric to slide along it.
With the scissors in hand, roll the mouse wheel to slide along the fabric.
F5F6F5 shows the seam allowance on the pattern pieces, and F6 hides it again.
In the cutting room, roll the mouse wheel to turn the selected piece, 9 degrees at a time. It only works when the pointer isn't on the inventory or a menu.

In the inventory

Hold the pointer over a pattern piece in the inventory, and a picture shows where it goes on the mannequin.

Everywhere

EscOpens and closes the Pause Menu.
←↑↓→Anywhere this page says W, A, S or D, the arrow keys work too.

Helper settings

The settings sit on three tabs: Gameplay, Graphics and Audio.

Sewing Assist

Sewing Assist is a switch in the game's Pause Menu (press Esc to open it). It starts off, so turn it on when you want it.

With it on, the machine steers the piece for you as you sew, as long as you're not holding the left mouse button. A and D still turn the piece when you want them to.

Accessory Rotation Gizmo

Accessory Rotation Gizmo is a switch in the game's Pause Menu (press Esc to open it). It starts off, so turn it on when you want it.

With it on, the accessory you select on the mannequin gets three rings and four little arrows. Drag a ring to turn the accessory, and hold Shift while you drag to turn it in neat steps. Hold the left Ctrl key as you grab a ring, and it turns the accessory around its own axes instead of the mannequin's.

Click an arrow to nudge the accessory a tiny step along the dress, or hold it down to keep it sliding. Accessories you lay as a line don't get the rings or the arrows.

On the accessories tab, the left Ctrl key plus R flips the same switch.

Fast Trim Placement

Fast Trim Placement is a switch in the game's Pause Menu (press Esc to open it). It starts off, so turn it on when you want it.

With it on, pins drop by themselves as you lay a line of trim. Move the pointer back along the line, and the pins it dropped for you lift again.

Less Animation

Less Animation is a switch in the game's Pause Menu (press Esc to open it). It starts off, so turn it on when you want it.

With it on, the view at the sewing machine stays put while you sew, and the pattern line holds still. The unlock screen also skips its light streaks.

Outlines

Outlines is a switch in the game's Pause Menu (press Esc to open it). It starts on.

Switch it off, and the game stops drawing outlines around shapes.

Bloom

Bloom is a switch in the game's Pause Menu (press Esc to open it). It starts on.

Switch it off to lose the soft glow around bright spots.

Missing settings

The settings have no option for zoom or camera speed, and no mirror or symmetry option, so you place the accessories on each side by hand.

If screen motion bothers you, turn on Less Animation and switch off Bloom.

Players have reported fast movement or flashing light here: the measurement chart, the screen while you set measurements.

Steam Deck and controllers

Valve's Steam Deck rating: Playable (from the Steam store page, 22 September 2026).

Valve's test notes, paraphrased:

The game shows keyboard and mouse pictures, not the Steam Deck buttons.
Some text is hard to read on the Steam Deck screen.
The picture has small display problems that do not stop play.
The default controller setup works in the whole game.
The game runs well with the default settings.

What the developers say:

“The game runs fast on the Steam Deck, but we want to give it proper controller support.”
Developers, Steam announcement "Dressmaker - Out Now!", 21 September 2026

“I'm a dev, and would not currently recommend it on the Steam Deck. It runs smoothly, but the controls are finnicky.”
Developer, Elyaradine on r/Dressmaker, 22 September 2026

A tip from a player (untested):

“The controls are just fine on Steam Deck. I only had to custom map middle mouse click and Z to be able to zoom. Otherwise the default configuration is great. I didn’t even have any issues with the sewing; I used the d-pad to rotate the fabric and that works great.”
Player, r/Dressmaker, 22 September 2026

Known bugs with controllers and screens

AZERTY, QWERTZ and trackpads

The game zooms with Z, the middle mouse button, or the left Ctrl key and the mouse wheel. On a trackpad, point at the dress and tap Z, then use the left Ctrl key with W, A, S or D to turn the view once you're zoomed in.

Reports from players and moderators (untested):

“in different countrys keys are switched so use Y instead of Z”
Player, Steam discussions, "Keybinds", 21 September 2026

A moderator on the official Discord says the zoom key sits where Z is on an English keyboard: W on AZERTY and Y on QWERTZ (26 September 2026).

A moderator on the official Discord says the game is much easier to play with a mouse than with a trackpad (26 September 2026).