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40d:Silk
| This article is about an older version of DF. |
Silk cloth is made from silk thread, which can be gathered from the webs of cave spiders and giant cave spiders, which is then woven into cloth at a loom. Webs are automatically collected by any worker who has the weaving labor activated and access to a loom, which automatically produces the work task "collect webs" and turns collected webs directly into silk - no stockpile is necessary for this collection. (See web for more info.) Automatic collection of webs can be disabled from the options menu - this is useful if the accessible webs are located in a dangerous area or if you want to temporarily free up your weavers for other tasks.
If your fortress doesn't have cave spiders, then it is (usually) easy to buy silk thread and cloth from the dwarven caravan, and/or request some from a liaison.
Silk cloth has exactly the same value as plant fiber cloth (34☼).
Giant cave spider silk is very expensive (see Item value), because it comes from such a high-value creature. It's rare because it only occurs in biomes where a lair can exist (mountains/volcanos). Getting your hands on it requires you to be either very careful or have a little talk with the owner. Caging a spider and occasionally releasing it in the same room as weak/disarmed creatures allows for a renewable source of silk.
Phantom spider silk has the same value as normal silk, although it is rarer than normal silk. It usually occurs in terrifying heavily wooded areas of some kind, and in small patches.