---
authors: 1
caption: 'There will be fewer of these version announcement posts going forward.'
date: '2023-12-30'
intro: "We've just release FreeSewing v3.1 🎉"
title: 'FreeSewing v3.1 is out with two new designs, and a reminder that we now stream updates'
---

The day after Xmas, I finally found some time to bundle up the lastest and
greatest of FreeSewing and wrap it in a neat little package and stamp it with
**FreeSewing v3.1** 🎉

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It's our first release since the long wait for v3.0 and we jumped right ahead
to v3.1, no patch release, no nothing. Is that because we are perfect and
write code that is entirely bug-free? Alas, that is not the case.

Instead, the reason this is the first post-v3 release is because we've changed
how we do things in v3 which makes releases less of a big deal. Bear with me,
I'll explain what I mean by that. But before I do so, let's look at those two
new designs:

## Meet Otis and Lumira

There are 2 new designs in this release: [Otis](/designs/otis) is a baby
romper, and [Lumira](/designs/lumira) are leggings. Both are the work of
[Wouter Van Wageningen](/users/user?id=132), aka FreeSewing's [Number
One](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Riker).

I can see both of these becoming rather popular. Otis requires only a single
measurement (the waist) so they are perfect gift material. And leggings are
something everyone should have in their wardrobe. (I am one of those people who
is cold all the time, so I enjoy wearing them under my other trousers.)

We could use some example pictures, so go ahead and try them out now. When
you're done, don't forget to showcase them.

## Why you won't see many v3 path releases

Without wanting to get too much in the weeds, the way we build and deploy
FreeSewing.org has changed since version 3. In the v2 era, designs on
FreeSewing.org were loaded from the packages we release. As such all new
designs, as well as all changes or bugfixes required a new release to be
published.

These days, everything is built from source and there is -- at least for
FreeSewing.org to function -- no reason to publish new releases. That is why we
went from v3.0.0 to v3.1.0 an never saw a v3.0.1. It's not that no bug fixes
occur (check [the
changelog](https://github.com/freesewing/freesewing/blob/develop/CHANGELOG.md)
for details) it's just that there's no need for us to publish a new release for
each bug fix.

There are still reasons to publish updated versions of our software. For one
thing, changes to our standalone development environment still require a new
published version. And there are the people who use our software for their own
purposes, who benefit from these updates.

But all in all, you can expect to see fewer releases, in particular fewer patch
releases as there is little reason for us to put those out.
Instead, updates, bug fixes, improvements, and new features are now delivered
as a continious stream of small steps, rather than the occasional leap forward.
