Editing 40d:Textile industry

This article is a quick guide to running a self-sufficient '''textile industry''', which includes making [[thread]] and [[cloth]] of both [[plant fiber]] and [[silk]], [[dye]]ing that material, manufacturing [[clothing]], [[bag]]s, [[rope]]s and plant fiber or silk [[craft]]s, and [[decoration|decorating]] with thread.

''Requires: A [[farm]], a [[farmer]], and the appropriate [[seed]]s''<br />

and/or: ''A [[weaver]], a [[loom]], and spider webs''

There are six [[crop]]s that you can [[Farming|grow]] that are used in the clothing industry (2 for cloth, 4 for dyes), and three types of raw silk that can be harvested with varying degrees of difficulty.  Above-ground crops can be [[herbalist|gathered]] rather than farmed, if you don't mind having an unpredictable harvest.  If you are lucky enough to have spiders on your map, or unlucky enough to have [[giant cave spider]]s on your map, you can produce silk cloth in addition to plant fiber cloth.  If you would prefer not to worry about creating the raw materials, you can usually [[Trading|trade]] for thread and dyes.

*[[Pig tail]]s are used to make [[#Thread|thread]], and can be grown in Summer and Autumn.

*[[Dimple cup]]s are used to make [[#Dyeing|dye]], and can be grown all year round.

*[[Rope reed]] is used to make [[#Thread|thread]], and can be grown all year round.

*[[Hide root]], [[Sliver barb]] and [[Blade weed]] can be used to make [[#Dyeing|dye]], and can be grown all year round.

*Raw [[silk]] is harvested from spider webs created by [[phantom spider]]s, [[cave spider]]s, and [[giant cave spider]]s.

''Requires: A [[farmer's workshop]], a [[thresher]], and the appropriate [[#plants|plant]]''<br />

and/or: ''A [[weaver]], a [[loom]], and spider webs''

To create thread from harvested plants, you must {{k|q}}uery the [[farmer's workshop]] and order it to {{k|p}}rocess the pig tails and/or rope reed.  Creating thread from silk is somewhat easier: if there are spider [[web]]s available on your map, dwarves with the [[weaving]] labor enabled will gather the webs and automatically spin them into [[silk]] thread.  You may want to make sure that your dwarves are not trying to gather webs from a [[giant cave spider]] without a military escort -- check the {{k|u}}nits list to see if any non-[[vermin]] spiders are listed.

''Requires: A [[loom]], a [[weaver]], and spider [[web]]s or plant fiber [[#Thread|thread]]''

By default any thread produced will be automatically woven at the [[loom]].  Plant fibers will be queued for weaving into cloth as soon as they are processed at the [[farmer's workshop]].  Dwarves will automatically gather [[giant cave spider|spider]] silk if it's available, spin it into [[silk]] thread, and this thread will also be automatically woven into silk [[cloth]].  If you prefer to create dyed cloth by dyeing the thread beforehand, you may want to Set Workshop [[Orders]] so that dwarves only weave [[#Dyeing|dyed]] thread.  Cloth can still be dyed after weaving.

''Requires: A [[clothier's shop]], a [[clothier]], and some [[#Cloth|cloth]]''

Once the cloth is ready you can sew it into [[clothes]], either for [[trading]] or for your own [[dwarves]] to wear.  The clothier's shop is also where you can [[decorate]] cloth items with a sewn image.  Decorating an imported item (e.g. [[narrow]] goblin clothing) makes it local for purposes of trade offerings, and depending on the quality of the decoration can add significant value to an item. [[Rope]]s and [[bag]]s are all also produced at the clothier's shop.  Bags are critical to establishing a [[glass industry]].

Dyeing is very useful because it adds to the [[value]] of the finished clothes. You can dye either thread or cloth to increase its value. Cloth created from dyed thread cannot be dyed again.

''Requires: A [[millstone]] or [[quern]], a [[miller]], an empty [[bag]], and the appropriate [[plant]]''

''Requires: A [[dyer's shop]], a [[dyer]], and some dye''

*[[Grower]] / Field working

*[[Thresher]] / Plant processor

*[[Weaver]] / Weaving

*[[Clothier]] / Clothes making

*[[Miller]] / [[Milling]]

*[[Dyer]] / Dyeing

*[[Farm]]

*[[Farmer's workshop]]

*[[Loom]]

*[[Clothier's shop]]

*Either a [[Millstone]] or a [[Quern]]

**A Millstone requires a [[power]] [[machinery|connection]].  A quern requires nothing else.

*[[Dyer's shop]] which also requires

**[[Barrel]]

**[[Bucket]]

| [[Dimple cup]]

| [[Pig tail]]

| [[Pig tail]]

| [[Dimple cup]]

| [[Rope reed]]

| [[Sliver barb]]

| [[Blade weed]]

| [[Rope reed]]

This will give you one cloth crop and one dye crop each harvest.  This is not the only way to do it, and the above-ground and dimple cups lose any extra growth that comes by growing the same crop in the same plot over consecutive seasons, but it is an example of a growing plan that will keep a [[miller]], a [[thresher]], a [[dyer]], a [[weaver]], and some [[grower]]s employed evenly year-round and provide high-value materials for any tailors in your fort.  If you have access to [[silk]] on your map, you may prefer to substitute a food crop for one of the fiber crops, or brew the excess [[pig tail]] into [[dwarven ale]].

Large fields, [[fertilizer]], and skilled [[grower]]s will produce more raw materials; skilled craftsdwarves will use up the materials faster.  Choose the largest plot size you can sustainably plant and harvest, because eventually your craftsdwarves will be able to go through materials faster than you can grow them and you'll find yourself queueing up new orders each season.  To boost profits, set your workshop [[orders]] to use only dyed thread, leave out [[hide root]] from your growing plan because of its lower [[item value]], and keep the supply channels full of plant products so that you've always got materials to support standing (repeat) work orders.

*[[Clothing]]

*[[Leather industry]]

*[[Farming]]

*[[Industry]]