Another idea I posted in the TLD wishlist thread just now: some sewing tweaks.
1: Start all clothes at 120% condition. Sewing skill only lets you repair to 80% at level 1, then 85, 90, 95, 100%. This reflects the idea that you are ultimately an amateur at sewing, even with skillbooks and practice. You'll never do as well as a machine-made item.
Handmade items start similarly - 80%-100% condition depending on skill level. This gives you more reason to level sewing.
2: Decay rates are already well-known to be silly so I won't touch on that too much, but I think spawned artificial clothing should scale to fully decay after three years if well stored, where "well stored" is "inside and not being worn", while handmade clothing should only last a year. Have a base value, and apply a multiplier to all items, as well as additional decay multipliers for items specifically described as "long lasting" like the cougar wrap and wolf pants. And of course multipliers for blizzard, wind, outside vs inside slot, etc.
3: I'd like to see the quality of the cured hide come into play for sewing, too. Makes no sense that you can turn a 1% quality rabbit pelt into a 100% quality gloves. Without adding any additional items, that would seem a pretty straightforward change, and intuitive.
If they were willing to add a mechanic change, or new items: have hides cure in two different ways, tanned and untanned. Tanning leather can involve applying (say) 0.1L of cooking oil and 0.1kg of salt for a hide, which creates eg a "tanned bear hide" (curing 1%) and always gives you a 100% hide for crafting.
4: Some way of preserving clothing might be nice. Akin to the curing box, a cedar chest with a consumable could work. A fragrant herb to keep away bugs, like birch bark, might serve as a consumable, or just the cedar chest itself.
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