Editing Cloth

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'''Cloth''' is a versatile crafting and [[health care|medical]] good, vital to the long-term health of almost any fort.

==Uses==
Cloth can be used to produce [[clothing]], [[bag]]s, and [[rope]]s at a [[clothier's workshop]]. While a fort's need for bags varies based on the particular industries it pursues, and [[chain]]s can accomplish anything a rope can, ''every'' fort will find itself in need of new clothes for its inhabitants if they wish to avoid the negative [[thought]]s associated with nudity. The other material that fits this need is [[leather]], which is arguably a less automated, more complex industry to get running.

Additionally, cloth is the ''only'' material which can be used in [[hospital]]s as [[wound dresser|wound dressings]]. Dwarfs will store a small supply of cloth in an active hospital zone for this purpose if any is available. Each cloth item brought in adds 10,000 'cloth units' to the hospital's inventory.

At a [[craftsdwarf's workshop]], cloth can be used to make [[trade goods]]. Empty bags, [[quiver]]s, cloth crafts, and clothing can be decorated with cloth as well.

You can [[dye]] cloth before working with it in order to increase its [[value]]. Producing masterwork items from masterfully woven and dyed cloth can lead to remarkably high value items, especially when using rarer, more valuable dyes.

==Production==
Cloth is produced by [[weaver]]s, who will take plant fiber, yarn, or silk [[thread]] (but not [[hair]] thread) to a [[loom]] and weave it into usable cloth. This means that a fort can produce its own cloth in a number of ways. For a detailed breakdown of the process, see the [[textile industry]] and [[clothing industry]] pages.

===Silk===
[[Silk]] cloth is produced from [[web]]s, whether they're from a [[vermin]] [[cave spider]] or a rampaging [[forgotten beast]]. If you have an idle loom, it will automatically generate Gather Web jobs for your weavers to carry out. They will seek out webs, convert them into thread upon picking them up, and then haul the thread to a loom to weave into silk cloth.

===Plants===
Beside the ubiquitous [[pig tail]]s that nearly all forts have access to, there are seven above-ground crops which can be [[farm]]ed and used to produce cloth. All of these are processed at a [[farmer's workshop]] before being brought to the loom for weaving.

===Yarn===
[[Sheep]], [[llama]]s, and [[alpaca]]s can be sheared for their wool at a [[farmer's workshop]], which can then be processed at a loom into cloth. Alternatively, [[butcher]]ing these creatures will produce wool as one of its products. Although [[troll]]s are also woolly, dwarfs can neither shear nor butcher them.

==Trade==
Cloth is a common trade good brought by all [[civilization]]s. [[Elf|Elves]] tend to bring [[rope reed]] cloth, [[human]]s bring [[wool]], and [[dwarf|dwarves]] bring [[pig tail]]. It is entirely possible to run your clothing industry off of the cloth imports brought by these [[caravan]]s, but it can be rather expensive.

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Additionally, you may also make cloth by weaving [[adamantine]] thread. However, this is generally seen as a wasteful practice; adamantine clothing wears out just as quickly as mundane clothing, while adamantine wound dressings offer no additional health benefits.

Note that while other metals can be made into cloth in the same fashion as adamantine, the cloth cannot be further worked without adding new reactions.

{{Category|Materials}}
[[ru:Cloth]]