DIY

DIY, or Cooking, is a feature in that allows the player to create items using various materials or ingredients. The player, upon receiving their NookPhone, will be able to find the DIY Recipes app on the home screen. This allows the player to catalog the DIY recipes they receive, as well as the materials in their pockets. This app works with any DIY workbench and allows the player to bookmark recipes, track which recipes they have crafted, and which crafted items are already in their pocket. The player can upgrade the app via the to enable Cooking and catalog cooking recipes.

Initially, Tom Nook allows the player to use his DIY workbench, which is located at Resident Services. Upon interacting with it for the first time, Tom Nook teaches the player the basic mechanics of crafting. The player will also receive a letter from Nintendo early in the game which will have the recipe for a simple DIY workbench attached. The player has the option to craft at the workbench at Resident Services, or their own workbench; each workbench allows access to the player's full catalog of DIY Recipes.

Although there are several varieties of workbenches that can be used or obtained, all of them function identically and can be used to craft any item, with the only differences in workbenches being size and appearance.



Materials
Materials are resources that can be found around islands. The player can obtain raw materials from hitting rocks, shaking trees, and fishing around the player's island as well as Mystery Islands. Additionally, the player can obtain Star Fragments after wishing on a shooting star during a Meteor Shower. These resources can be crafted into items from DIY Recipes or sold to Timmy or Tommy. There are also seasonal materials that are only available at certain times of the year or during specific events.

Crafted items generally sell for more Bells than the raw materials' total value, however there are some exceptions for consumables such as medicine, and there are Mile Stamps associated with selling certain materials.

Recipes
DIY recipes allow the player to craft items. The player starts with a handful of recipes from Tom Nook after taking the DIY workshop. As the player progresses, they will encounter more methods of obtaining recipes. Recipes mostly use the natural resources listed above, but some use other items which must be obtained or crafted first. It is possible to learn recipes, such as the Ironwood Kitchenette, which require other crafted items that the player may not yet have found the recipes for.