Key Takeaway
Sims can get bits and pieces by searching for materials in the dumpsters or by recycling items and using the fabricator or the recycler.
Each new expansion pack in The Sims 4 brings new activities and skills into the game. The Eco Lifestyle introduced the fabrication skill. But, to develop it, it’s first important to get the pieces and bits for it.
Table Of Contents
What the Fabrication Skill Entails
Despite its name, the fabrication skill doesn’t focus only on fabrics. Instead, the Sims can learn this skill by making all sorts of things. This includes furniture, drinks, decorations, and candles. As such, the fabrication skill is much more varied than it might originally look.
How to Get the Bits and Pieces for the Fabrication Skill
Unlike other skills and hobbies, fabrication skill doesn’t mean you’ll have to buy a lot of things. The Sim can get useful bits and pieces by searching through dumpsters. In other words, they’ll have to dumpster dive.
More specifically, you have to click the dumpster and choose the Rummage/Dive for Bits & Pieces option. Other alternatives are the Sort out Recyclables or Sort out Compostables options.
The only difference between those two options is that in the first case, the bits and pieces are ready to use. In the second case, the Sim will have to use the recycling station to turn the recyclable material into bits and pieces. Afterward, they can use the fabricator to create whatever they choose from the bits and pieces.
However, there’s a third, lesser-known alternative. This is for Sims who work in the two careers brought by the Eco Lifestyle expansion work (either Civil Design or Freelance Crafting career).
These Sims can use the Rummage/Dive for Assemblage/Ingredients. This way, they not only get bits and pieces, but also other things, such as crafting ingredients or parts for upgrading.
A Less Messy Way to Get the Bits and Pieces
If your Sim doesn’t like the idea of diving into a dumpster, there’s a less messy method to getting the bits and pieces. Simply buy the recycler for your Sim’s home.
Once you do, you can use it to turn spoiled food, dirty plates, and other things in your Sim’s inventory into bits and pieces. The general rule of thumb is that almost everything in your Sim’s inventory is fair game for recycling and turning into bits and pieces.
Another cleaner way to stock up on bits and pieces is to upgrade home appliances with the right option. Focus on eco-friendly upgrades, such as the Composting Container Eco-Upgrade for the toilet.
Why Use the Fabrication Skill
The most obvious reason to use the skill is to make more money. The Sims 4 allows your Sim to join a freelance career. Once they choose it, they can sell their homemade things and earn money this way.
Even if the Sim isn’t primarily focused on earning more Simoleons, the fabrication skill still comes in handy. Since it uses recycled material, it improves the eco-footprint and the overall environmental health of the world.
Final Tips
The good news is that even if the Sim doesn’t want to buy the fabricator, they can still learn the fabrication skill. It’s possible to use the community fabricator by voting to use the neighborhood community space for maker space. Once the community space transforms into a maker space, the fabricator will appear there and your Sim can use it.
Even if your Sim doesn’t want to dumpster dive or recycle inventory items, there’s another way to get materials that they can recycle. When a festival or another event is in town, check out the stalls there after the event ends or near the end. It’s possible you will see trash lying there that you can go through and use to make bits and pieces.
Finally, it’s possible to get bits and pieces by using cheats. First, enable cheats in the game. Press and hold Shift, click the fabrication machine or the recycler and choose the option to buy bits and pieces. Other objects also allow this option but the fabrication machine and the recycler are a safe bet.
