Released 21 Sep 2026 · Simulation
Dressmaker
A cozy sewing sim where you cut, stitch and decorate real dress patterns for a town of customers.
Get Dressmaker on Steam →Last checked 5 Oct 2026 05:24 UTC from Steam.
What is Dressmaker?
Dressmaker is a cozy simulation game about running a small dress shop. You choose real fabrics such as cotton, linen, wool, silk and velvet, arrange and cut pattern pieces by hand, feed the fabric through a sewing machine, and finish each garment with buttons, bows, appliqué and trim. Every part of the process is under your control, down to whether a pattern piece is cut on the grain or on the bias — a detail that actually changes how the finished dress drapes.
It's developed by Cozy Lives, a new label from South African studio Free Lives, and was released on Steam on September 21, 2026 after a free demo on itch.io drew around 100,000 downloads in 2025. Customers visit your shop with a budget and an occasion — a ball, a wedding, a funeral — and you can please them with a faithful design or have some fun sabotaging their request. The game became a surprise Steam top seller within days of launch and has stayed near the top of Steam's most-played chart since.
- Genre
- Simulation, Casual, Crafting
- Platform
- PC (Steam, Windows & macOS)
- Price
- $14.99
- Developer
- Cozy Lives
- Released
- 21 Sep 2026
- Official link
- Steam page
Why it's blowing up
- Went viral from its own demo before release, building an audience of nearly 100,000 players well ahead of the Steam launch.
- A genuinely novel crafting loop — real pattern-cutting and sewing mechanics — that reviewers and players say offers far more depth than a typical cozy sim.
- Overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews (around 98% positive at time of writing) kept word of mouth going after launch.
- Rising fast on Steam's most-played chart in the days after release, climbing from around rank #71 to #59 with a daily peak near 43,298 concurrent players.
How to play Dressmaker
Buy and install from Steam
Dressmaker is $14.99 on Steam for Windows and macOS. It's a light install (around 2GB) that runs on modest hardware, including an Apple M1 Mac.
Take your first customer order
A customer will describe an occasion, a style and a budget. Listen to what they ask for — the closer your dress matches their request, the more reputation and coin you earn.
Sketch and choose fabric
Use your sketchbook to plan the dress's shape and color, then buy the fabric you need — cotton and linen are easier to work with than silk or velvet when you're starting out.
Cut your pattern pieces carefully
Lay out the pattern on your fabric and decide how each piece is cut — aligned to the grain for a stable fit, or on the bias for more drape and stretch. This choice visibly changes the final garment.
Sew and decorate
Feed the cut pieces through the sewing machine to join them, then add buttons, bows, appliqué or lace trim wherever you like for a personal touch.
Deliver the dress and sell extras
Turn the finished dress in to the customer for reputation and coin, and put any pre-made or leftover designs in your shop window to sell off the rack.
Beginner tips
- Start with cotton or linen for your first few orders — slippery or stretchy fabrics like silk and velvet are harder to cut and sew cleanly.
- Read the customer's budget as well as their style request; a technically perfect dress that blows the budget still hurts your result.
- Decide on grain vs. bias cutting before you cut, not after — it changes how the dress hangs and can't be fixed by decoration alone.
- Keep some finished or pre-made dresses stocked in your shop window; selling off the rack is a reliable way to earn coin between custom orders.
- Don't feel obligated to make exactly what a customer describes — the game explicitly lets you 'sabotage' an order for fun, so experiment once you understand the basics.
Timeline
Dressmaker FAQ
Is Dressmaker on PlayStation, Xbox or Switch?
Not currently. It's a PC game available on Steam for Windows and macOS; there's no console release.
How much does Dressmaker cost?
$14.99 on Steam.
Is there multiplayer?
No, Dressmaker is single-player.
What are the system requirements?
On Windows: an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen CPU, 8GB RAM and Intel UHD 630-level graphics are enough. On Mac, an Apple M1 chip and 8GB RAM are listed as the minimum.
Who made Dressmaker?
Cozy Lives, a new label from South African indie studio Free Lives, which also publishes the game.
When did Dressmaker release?
September 21, 2026, on Steam.
Is Dressmaker good?
Steam reviews are 'Overwhelmingly Positive,' with roughly 9,650 positive ratings against about 175 negative ones at time of writing.
Official & community links
If you like it, players also mention: Unpacking, House Flipper, Dreamlight Valley, Garden Paws.
Page updated 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Tell us via the about page.