Sewing

Sewing is an activity in FreeTime that builds Arts and Crafts enthusiasm, as well as a new talent badge. It is the only crafting activity in The Sims 2 that Sims do while seated. Sims can sew many craftables, including teddy bears, quilts, and customized clothing. When telling a Sim to sew an item, the player can give it a name and description, or can accept the default.

Sewing is done on the Mechanical Stitching Machine by Antique Artifacts, which costs §1250. It is an old-fashioned foot-treadle machine, which appears to resemble a classic Singer foot-treadle sewing machine.

Sims can build the Sewing Talent Badge by sewing many projects. Having high Creativity will make Sims earn this badge faster. Sims may roll a want to sew a project, especially if they have made progress in Sewing. Fulfilling this want may trigger a want to buy a sewing machine, even if the project was sewn at home. All sewn objects appear in the sewer's inventory when completed, even if the Sim was only making a single object. This means that Sims will take items sewn on the Arts and Crafts hobby lot home with them, even though a Sim's inventory cannot be accessed on hobby lots.

Sewing anything other than a potholder is time-consuming and can be hard on motives, but can be profitable. While all sewn objects except outfits and customized outfits can fail, sewing is the only craft in which failed objects are not sold at a loss, though they will sell for less than successfully made objects.

Higher badge levels reduce the chance of failure, and may reduce the time needed to make some objects. If The Sims 2: Seasons is installed, sewing in Fall appears to reduce the time needed to make objects.

No Badge
Sims with no talent can only sew potholders, and have a high chance of failure. A potholder costs §40 to make, and takes about one game hour to sew. A potholder can be placed on a wall as a decorative object. A successfully made potholder can be sold in buy mode for §50, and a failed potholder can be sold for §44.

"A beginner's sewing project done to perfection! A bit thin to actually hold pots, but certainly beautiful enough to sit on the wall."
 * Basic Potholder

Bronze Badge
Sims with a Bronze talent badge have a medium chance of failure when sewing. The Bronze talent badge allows Sims to sew teddy bears and curtains. These objects take at least three game hours to sew. Sims can sew curtains that are one or two tiles wide. One-tile curtains cost §180 to make and sell for §300 if successful; two-tile curtains cost §225 and sell for §375. Failed curtains sell for §225 and §280, respectively. Sewn curtains resemble the Floor-length Tieback Curtains and Doublewide Tieback Curtains from the base game, but are separate objects with their own color options that are not available in buy mode. Teddy bears cost §56 to make, and sell for §80 if successful; §66 if failed. Sewing a teddy bear allows the player to choose patterns that are not available in buy mode, but sewn bears are otherwise identical to those bought in buy mode.

"An example of a solid pattern and good execution, these shiny and durable curtains will frame your windows for years."
 * Shiny Sewn Curtains (both sizes)

"What a cute little bear! Your sewing has improved and it shows with this well put-together and cuddly toy."
 * Little Bear Boo

Silver Badge
Sims with a Silver talent badge can sew quilts as well as 'an outfit', i.e. any one-piece outfit that can be bought in a category other than Outerwear, including custom content. There are also four hidden Everyday/Formal outfits for young adult and adult females that cannot be bought, but can be sewn. Quilts cost §450 to make, and can be sold for §900 if successful, and §600 if failed. Quilts can be hung on a wall as decorative objects. These objects take around three game hours to sew. Sims with a Silver talent badge have a low chance of failure when sewing, and outfits cannot fail.

"Your long hours of sewing and dedication to the art of the quilt have paid off. This quilt is well-made and good-looking. Take a bow; your stoic stitching has brought you here."
 * Quality Quilt

"Here lies your own customized clothing, born of a creative mind and fast fingers, fresh fabric and nimble needles. Wear it proud."
 * Customized Clothing

Sewing outfits
Selecting "Outfit..." allows the player to select any of the 6 clothing types that are available in the base game. All clothing types cost §120 to sew, regardless of how much it would cost to buy them from a clothing rack. Selecting a clothing type opens up a version of the "Buy..." dialog for that type. As with buying clothes off a rack, the player will be able to select the gender and life stage the clothes are for; the "mannequin" figure will be a generic Sim of that age and gender. However, if the "Everyday" category is selected, only one-piece outfits can be chosen; separate tops or bottoms cannot be sewn. As with buying clothes off a rack, outfits which are already in the household's wardrobe will be tagged with the "dresser" icon.

Once an outfit has been selected, the player will be able to give it a name and description, or can accept the generic name and description that is given. This name and description will be used when the finished outfit appears in the Sim's inventory. Note that the description will not be visible unless the package is being viewed in a Sim's inventory, and the name will not be visible unless the package is being viewed in a Sim's inventory or being gripped with the Hand Tool.

An outfit will take around three Sim hours to complete. Once finished, it will appear as a "bundle of clothes" like those Sims carry when taking clothing to or from a clothing rack. Removing a bundle from the Sim's inventory and clicking on it gives the options "Add To Wardrobe" (if it is not already in the household's wardrobe) and "Sell". Choosing "Add To Wardrobe" immediately adds the outfit to the household's wardrobe. As with buying clothes off a rack, an outfit that is in more than one category only needs to be placed in the wardrobe once, so a sewn outfit that is cross-categorized as Outerwear will be available as Outerwear, even though the Outerwear category cannot be chosen. Choosing "Sell" immediately sells the outfit; a newly-made outfit will sell for §400, regardless of type. If Open for Business is installed, the bundles can be sold in a Sim-owned business. When bundles are marked for sale, the "wholesale price" is considered to be §360 (§400 minus the 10% wholesale discount), not §120, so a bundle that was made at home can be sold for less than wholesale and still be profitable. Players should note that a Sim buying a bundle is buying blind; the bundle can be shown to a Sim, but the outfit itself cannot. Likewise, a playable Sim who is sent to a business that sells sewn outfits can buy them, but cannot preview them or try them on, even if they are for the Sim's age and gender.

If University is installed, the player cannot choose to have a Sim sew young adult clothing outside of a college sub-neighborhood. However, a sewn adult outfit that is also flagged as being available to young adults can successfully be added to a college household's wardrobe.

Gold Badge
Having a Gold talent badge enables Sims to sew a nifty special outfit with a texture that can be customized. This outfit costs §75, is available for all life stages from toddler through elder, and cannot fail.

Sims with this badge have a very low chance of failure when sewing items that can fail.

Sewing custom outfits
After selecting "Custom Outfit...", the player will be able to choose which gender and life stage to make it for. Instead of a "mannequin" figure, the dialog will display an outline of the outfit with three color-coded areas. Each area will have a set of six textures that can be chosen for it; while this may not seem like much, it allows 216 (6x6x6) possible combinations for each outfit. However, the player's choices will not appear on the outline, so the player cannot preview the outfit. The custom outfits for toddlers and children use the same style and texture choices for boys and girls.

Once the texture choices have been made, the player will be able to give the outfit a name and description, or can accept the generic name and description that is given. The outfit will take about three game hours to sew. Once it is finished, it will appear in the Sim's inventory as a "bundle of clothes" like those Sims carry when taking clothing to or from a clothing rack. Clicking on the bundle will give the options "Add To Wardrobe" and "Sell". If the outfit is added to the wardrobe, it will be available as Everyday and PJs if it is for toddlers or children, otherwise it will only be available as Everyday. A household's wardrobe can contain several versions of a custom outfit. A newly-made custom outfit will sell for §750. making it one of the most profitable crafted items. If Open for Business is installed, the bundles can be sold in a Sim-owned business. When a custom-outfit bundle is marked for sale, the "wholesale price" is considered to be §675 (§750 minus the 10% wholesale discount), not §75, so it can be sold for less than wholesale and still be profitable.

Players should note that the custom adult outfits are only available to adults, even if University is installed. If University is installed, the option to sew a custom young adult outfit will appear if the Sim is in a college sub-neighborhood, but this option will not appear outside of a college sub-neighborhood. The young adult outfit will have the same style and options as the adult outfit, but will only be available to young adults.