Crafting new items in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of the game's core components. You can use materials to make your own items, save yourself Bells, and ultimately customize your island to your heart's content. While the game lays out many recipes for you as you go along, you might be interested in finding some of your own recipes.
If you fall into this crowd, you will likely want to learn some DIY (do it yourself) recipes available in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. These basically allow you to feel like you earned a recipe instead of simply being handed it. In this guide, we have listed eight ways to collect new DIY recipes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
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Nook Stop Terminal
When you start your journey in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the second form of currency (after Bells) is Nook Miles. You can collect these by completing various tasks around your island and use them to purchase things from the Nook Stop Terminal in the Resident Services building.
By selecting 'Redeem Nook Miles' at the Nook Stop, you can purchase items and upgrades. More importantly, you can also purchase DIY recipes for decorations, furniture, and fencing.
Balloon presents
Occasionally, you may be roaming your island and hear a gentle 'whooshing' sound. If you look up using your right analogue stick, you'll likely see a balloon with a present attached to it floating through the sky!
Equip your slingshot and shoot the present down. You can then pick the gift up and open it in your inventory to see what it contains. These presents can contain many items from clothing to furniture, but on occasion, they will contain a DIY recipe for you to learn too. These balloon presents spawn pretty regularly, too, so keep an eye (and ear) out for them.
Villager homes
Whenever you see that your villagers are home, go and check in on them! Most of the time, they'll just be hanging out and doing their own thing. However, more often than not, there will be at least one or two villagers a day who you can find crafting something at the workbench in their home.
By speaking with them, they'll talk about the item that they're crafting and offer to give you the DIY recipe for it too. Accept their offer, and you'll have a brand-new DIY recipe in your pockets. If you're lucky, you may even match furniture with one of your favourite villagers!
Celeste
Whenever a meteor shower is due to happen on your island, it's likely that Celeste will be visiting. This red owl is the beloved younger sister of Blathers, and she loves nothing more than stargazing and constellations.
If you find her, she will gift you a DIY recipe when you speak to her. These recipes will specifically require Star and Zodiac Fragments, but they are very impressive to have placed around your island once crafted! To learn more about Celeste, meteor showers and how to collect Star Fragments, check out our guide here.
Isabelle
When a new season begins or an event starts, Isabelle will occasionally be kind enough to gift you a DIY recipe during her announcements. For example, playing the game during November when mushrooms begin to grow around your island, she will send you a mushroom recipe straight to your phone.
This only happens when new materials pop up around the island during different months, but it's still a nice way to put those materials to use if you're struggling to find new recipes!
Amiibo visitors
If you're lucky enough to own some Amiibo cards or figures, you can use these to invite new villagers to your island. When they arrive, they'll stay at your campsite.
By going and speaking with them, the villagers will likely ask for a souvenir from you to commemorate their stay on your island. If you do not own the DIY recipe for their requested item, they'll gift it to you! Then it's your job to craft it and return it to them.
You can use Amiibo daily to collect new DIY recipes from villagers, but due to the random nature of the souvenirs, the item they request may be something you have already learnt. However, if you're in a bid to collect as many new DIY recipes as possible, there's certainly no harm in trying this!
Message bottles
Every day on your island, you'll be able to find a mysterious message bottle along the coast on one of your beaches. In previous games, these typically contained cryptic notes or were written by other players. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, message bottles will treat you to a new DIY recipe to craft!
Pick up the message bottle, and read its note by selecting the item in your inventory. You will then be able to pocket and learn the attached DIY recipe.
If you're lucky, you might even find a second message bottle washed up on your shores later in the day.
Mystery islands
If you have exhausted all methods of collecting new DIY recipes but aren't ready to give up, it's time to take a journey away from your island. Whenever you take a trip using Dodo Airlines and a Nook Miles Ticket to a mystery island, be sure to scour the area for all materials.
This includes shaking trees and checking the coast. With any luck, a DIY recipe may fall from a tree, or you may find another message bottle along the beach containing a recipe.
Those are all the various and random ways to acquire DIY recipes while playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
To be able to craft all these unique recipes, we recommend checking out our guide on gathering materials. Alternatively, if you want to work towards getting the perfect island using all the wonderful furnishings you can craft, check out our tips on how to get a five-star island.
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