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. Sims can build the Sewing Talent Badge by sewing many projects. Having high Creativity will make Sims earn this badge faster. 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 sew potholders. A potholder costs §40 to make, and takes about one game hour to sew. There is a high chance of failure. 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.

Bronze Badge
Sims with a Bronze talent badge can sew teddy bears and curtains. These objects take at least three game hours to sew, and there is a medium chance of failure. Sims can sew curtains that are one or two tiles wide, for §180 and §225, 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. Sewing a teddy bear appears to allow the player to choose patterns that are not available in buy mode, but sewn bears are otherwise identical to those bought in buy mode.

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 a few hidden adult outfits that cannot be bought, but can be sewn. Quilts cost §450 to make, and can be sold for §900. These objects take around three game hours to sew. There is a low chance of failure, and outfits cannot fail.

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.

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. 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" and "Sell". Choosing "Add To Wardrobe" immediately adds the outfit to the household's wardrobe, as if it had been bought off a rack. Choosing "Sell" immediately sells the outfit; a newly-made outfit will sell for §400, regardless of type.

Gold Badge
Having a Gold talent badge enables Sims to sew a nifty special outfit with a texture that can be customized. Very low chance of failure.