Gaming How-To

Dressmaker: How to Complete Dorothy’s Pigeon Adoption Commission

The exact requirements, measurements, pattern pieces, and accessories that clear Dorothy's warm, eclectic bird-feeding dress.

The exact requirements, measurements, pattern pieces, and accessories that clear Dorothy’s warm, eclectic bird-feeding dress.

Dorothy walks into the shop as the tenth story commission in Dressmaker, right after Vivian’s Nocturnal Glamour, and she wants a warm, eclectic dress for feeding birds at the park. Her first request, Pigeon Adoption, doubles as an audition for her pigeon Berty, and it carries two accessory lines that trip up a lot of players.

Quick answer: Hit Quality 75+, Warm 50+, and Eclectic 50+ with a warm velvet, then place at least one jewel and one brooch on the dress before you submit it at the front desk.

Image credit: Free Lives via YouTube/@Kind Panda

Pigeon Adoption requirements and budget

Every line below is a hard pass or fail. Miss one and the commission fails, though a failed story dress reopens so you get another attempt. You have a budget of 400 to work with.

RequirementThreshold
Quality75 or higher
Warm50 or higher
Eclectic50 or higher
JewelAt least 1
BroochAt least 1

Dorothy’s measurements

After you accept the commission, take Dorothy’s measurements and dial the mannequin to match them exactly. Fit accounts for 20 percent of a dress’s quality and drops to zero fast, so even perfect grain and stitching stall at 80 without a correct fit.

  • Bust: 98.4
  • Waist: 83.3
  • Hips: 110.8

Holding the tape slightly higher or lower changes the reading a little, so trust the mannequin dials over the exact decimals. Aim for 100 percent mannequin accuracy before you start cutting.

Image credit: Free Lives via YouTube/@Kind Panda

Pattern pieces and fabric for Warm and Eclectic

The design stage sets most of your style scores. A coat-style silhouette pushes both Warm and Eclectic without extra accessories, which keeps you well inside the 400 budget.

Open the sketchbook and build the dress from these four parts: Coat Dress Bodice, Mandarin Collar, Long Cuffed Sleeve, and Coat Dress Skirt. Watch the Warm and Eclectic numbers climb as you browse each part.
Pick a warm, eclectic velvet at the International Emporium. Starry Night Velvet, Lime Technicolor Velvet, and Green Floral Burnout Velvet all score well on both lines, with Green Floral Burnout Velvet being the most reliable single choice.
Lay the pattern pieces on the fabric along the grain lines, rotate each one until the grain reads high, then cut them out. Pin the pieces to the mannequin and sew slowly along the seam tracks, since rushed, uneven stitching lowers the dress’s quality.
Image credit: Free Lives via YouTube/@Kind Panda

Adding the required jewel and brooch

This is where the commission most often fails. Dorothy’s pigeons like a bit of sparkle, so the card demands one jewel and one brooch actually placed on the dress, not just purchased.

Open the accessories shop once the sewing is done, filter the Type to Jewel and to Brooch, and place at least one of each onto the garment. A button does not satisfy the Brooch line, and buying a jewel does nothing until you position it on the dress. Beaded trims can also feed the Jewel count, once per bead, so read the live counts on the commission card rather than trusting how an item looks.

Image credit: Free Lives via YouTube/@Kind Panda

How to confirm the commission is complete

Before you submit, check the card and confirm all five lines read green: Quality 75, Warm 50, Eclectic 50, Jewel 1, and Brooch 1. Then take the dress into the photo booth and choose Complete Commission to deliver it to Dorothy.

A delivery that meets every line gives a full star of friendship and prestige, and Berty the pigeon agrees to adopt you, which unlocks the messenger pigeon mail system and the You’ve Got Mail achievement. Dorothy’s first friendship star also unlocks the Bell Sleeve, Katarina Bodice, and Godet Skirt patterns. Clearing all five of her story commissions, starting here, is what earns the Snitches Get Stitches achievement.