---
title: Coordinate system
order: 30
---

In FreeSewing -- and in SVG -- coordinates are like text in a book. 
You start at the top on the left side, and going to the right 
and downwards means going ahead.

<Example part="docs_coords" caption="The SVG coordinate system" /> 

Which means that on the X-axis, `20` is further to the right than `10`.  
Likewise, on the Y-axis, `50` is lower than `20`.

<Note>

The Y-axis is inverted in many drawing programs, with the origin
`(0,0)` being the lower left corner, rather than the upper left corner.

This is a common point of confusion so keep in mind that the Y-axis may
not behave as you would have intuitively expected.

</Note>