One of the skills that’s easy to ignore when playing is tailoring. But this trait is super important to being able to survive zombie attacks without injury. The tailoring skill allows players to fix and add padding to their clothes, and as tailoring is leveled up, the clothes fixed are more durable.

1) Pick the sewer trait

The only trait available when making your character that will improve a character’s tailoring upon starting the game is the sewer trait. This trait gives players one level in tailoring automatically and costs four points. This trait is a good place to start, especially if you plan on having a long-term character. A key to survival is having good protective clothing, and tailoring is the only skill that lets players add more defense to their characters.

2) Read tailoring books

The best way to level up any skill in Project Zomboid is by finding and reading the skill book series. Tailoring has five books that will help level up the skill. Book one is for levels one and two. Book two will help with levels three and four. The third book will level up during levels five and six. Book four is for levels seven and eight. And finally, book five is for levels nine and ten. Each book has a different XP multiplier. So, it’s a good idea to read a tailoring book and then go add patches to your character’s clothes. 

3) Watch the VHS tapes

Tailoring only has two available VHS tapes that can be watched on a TV to gain XP. Both VHS tapes are home tapes and can’t be found in VHS stores. They can only be found in places like houses.

The first VHS tape or tailoring is “Granny Nani” and gives players +6 tailoring. The second available tape is “Tailoring 101” and also gives players +6.

4) Patch clothes

There are two ways to utilize your tailoring skills. The first way is by patching clothes. In order to patch clothes, you will need a needle, thread, and fabric. Ripped sheets, or even better, ripped denim and leather, will work.

To patch the clothing, you can right-click on the clothes and then check the condition. From this menu, you can right-click again and add padding to an area of the clothes or fix holes.

5) Remove patches

A good way to grind tailoring XP is by removing padding and adding it again. This can be done repeatedly. Just make sure you have plenty of thread and spare needles while you do this. If your character is able to remove the fabric without breaking it, you will gain 1 XP. Adding patches will give you between 0.25 and 0.5 XP.

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