freesewing/markdown/org/docs/about/site/en.md

---
title: Using the FreeSewing.org website
---

On these pages, we'll paint a high-level picture of how to get the most out of the FreeSewing.org website.
Most people will be most interested in [How to generate bespoke sewing patterns](/docs/about/site/draft/).


<Comment by="joost">

##### Where can I download the patterns?

It can be frustrating for visitors who come here expecting a website where they can download sewing patterns that they can't seem to find the sewing patterns to download. Almost like hiding the *download button* is some elaborate scheme to waste their time.

I don't really know how to fix this because I cannot control people's expectations.
FreeSewing.org is _very_ different from a website with some links to PDF sewing patterns.
So if that's what you're expecting, we almost have to de-train you before we can talk about what this site offers.

So I'm not going to do that. I'm going to assume you are reading with an open mind.

</Comment>

## Finding your way

On every page of FreeSewing.org is the same header with links to the most important sections of the site:

- [Designs](/designs/) shows our collection of parametric designs you can generate bespoke sewing patterns from
- [Documentation](/documentation/) holds all the documentation, for the website, for our designs, everything
- [Blog](/blog/) holds blog posts with updates and news about FreeSewing
- [Showcase](/showcase/) show examples from the FreeSewing community, things they have made with FreeSewing patterns
- [Account](/account/) is where you can manage your FreeSewing account
- [Support](/support/) lists your options for where to get help
- [Search](/search/) can help you find something if you're not certain where to start looking

In addition, the header also has buttons to change the **Theme** (or color scheme) and **Language** of the website.

On mobile, the header is at the bottom of the page and because of space constraints not all of these links are shown.
However, click the *hamburger icon* to open the menu that contains all of these links. 

## Signing up or Signing in

You can sign up for a FreeSewing account at [/signin](/signin/). We support
signing in with your Google or GitHub account if that is easier for you.

If you already have an account, you can sign in to your account at at [/signin](/signin/).

Some functionality requires a FreeSewing account. So I will assume you have an account for the remainder of these instructions.

## Important account settings

When your signed in, you can navigate to [/account](/account/) to manage the data stored in your account, which includes various settings. 

I'd like to highlight a couple of them that are worth your attention:

### User Experience

The [User Experience setting](/account/control/) allows you to gradually reveal more complexity.
If you are a little overwhelmed with everything FreeSewing.org has to offer, setting this to a lower value will gradually hide more features for the sake of simplicity. But setting a higher value here will show more features and functionality.

Dial this setting down if you want a simpler experience. Turn it up if you want more power, or some things that you know exists are not shown on your screen.

### Two-Factor Authentication

Please enable [Two-Factor Authentication](/account/mfa/) to secure your FreeSewing account. 

## Make it your own

Now that you have a FreeSewing account, there's more you can do on FreeSewing.org. 
Click through to learn more about the following features:

- [Account](/docs/about/site/account)
- [Measurements Sets](/docs/about/site/sets)
- [Patterns](/docs/about/site/patterns)
- [Curated measurements sets](/docs/about/site/csets)
- [Bookmarks](/docs/about/site/bookmarks)
- [API Keys](/docs/about/site/apikeys)


## Generating sewing patterns

With that out of the way, let's move on to [How to generate bespoke sewing patterns](/docs/about/site/draft/).