Dressmaker achievements: what counts and the one you can miss

Do achievements only count on commissioned dresses?

No. The dress achievements only look at a dress when you press Complete Commission, Sell As Off-Rack or Gift Dress, never while you're still working on it. A dress sewn off the rack counts, and so does a commission dress you deliver even though it misses a line.

So you can chase the dress achievements on a practice dress. The off-the-rack guide shows how to start one. Every achievement and what it asks for is on the achievements page.

Which achievements can I miss?

Just one hangs on a single answer in a conversation: the leech, from Vivian. The others wait for a commission to end, a newspaper report or a dress you finish, so no answer can cost you those. The next section shows when the leech comes up.

When is the leech achievement?

In the brief of Exotic Moth, one of Vivian's pigeon commissions, she asks which animal she brings to mind. Answer "A leech." and the leech achievement unlocks.

A commission's brief plays when you take the commission on. Once you confirm the measurements, the commission is yours, and its brief won't play again in that save. The leech card on the achievements page has the same answer, folded away in case you'd like to find it yourself.

Is there a way to replay dialogue?

Not once the commission is yours. If you haven't confirmed the measurements yet, there's still a way back:

Want to answer differently? The commission isn't saved until you confirm the measurements. Press Save and Quit in the pause menu before that, then load your save: the commission is still on offer, and its brief plays again.

Just want to reread a conversation? Every client's lines are on the dialogue pages.

If a dress fails, does it lock me out of her achievement?

No. A story or pigeon achievement waits for its commissions to be over, and any result counts, even a dress that failed. Others wait for a newspaper report instead. The game checks them each time it saves.

Some story commissions even give you another go. Here's the one Edith's achievement waits for:

If the dress for World Stage fails, the debrief has only one answer for you: "But of course." That answer reopens the commission, so you can work on the dress again, as many times as it takes. The commission gives no gold, friendship or prestige until you deliver a dress that succeeds.

The money guide lists every commission that reopens like this.

Do trims count towards the accessories achievement?

Yes. For the accessory achievement, each accessory you place counts as one, and so does each trim line, however long it is. You need 300 or more on one dress.

How do I know how much trim is on my dress?

The game shows no total of all the trim on a dress, so keep count yourself. A commission that asks for one trim shows how much of that trim you used, and no other. For the trim achievement, the game adds up every trim line on the dress, and you need 50 m or more in all. Each line you finish takes its length out of your stock of that trim, so write down your metres before you start: the difference is what's on the dress.

While you draw, a label shows how long the line is and how many metres of that trim you own. If the next pin would need more than you have, the number turns red and the pin won't go down.

How do I get the cost achievement?

The cost achievement reads the same number as the Materials line of the sale summary, and it needs 5000 or more.

The game doesn't keep a running total of what a dress costs you. To peek, press Sell As Off-Rack on the photo screen: the sale summary shows the Materials line, and you can still cancel and keep the dress. That line counts the fabric in the pieces and the accessories, not the metres you bought.

Which skirt counts for the ruffle achievement?

The ruffle achievement wants the Ruffle Skirt itself. Other skirts with ruffles in their name don't count. The Ruffle Skirt page shows how to get the pattern.

How do I get the perfect quality achievement?

• For the top-quality achievement you need a quality of 99.5 or more, counted without a client.
• Without a client, quality is 40% grain and 60% stitching. The game uses this quality for the sell price, for gifts and for the top-quality achievement.

Fit doesn't come into it, so neat cutting and sewing are what matter. The quality guide shows how grain and stitching add up.

Why didn't Birds of a Feather unlock?

It wants every pigeon commission on its own list, and that isn't all of them. The achievements page names the ones it needs. Any result counts, so a failed pigeon dress is fine.

Each pigeon commission waits for one story commission. Once that story commission is over, whether the dress succeeds or fails, the pigeon can bring it. The pigeon guide lists them all, client by client.

Why didn't my achievement pop?

Achievements only reach Steam while Steam is running. A story achievement catches up the next time the game saves, but a dress achievement needs a new dress, finished with Steam on.

• A dress achievement? Check the dress again on the achievements page, then finish a new one.
• A story or pigeon achievement? Make sure every commission it names is over, then let the game save.