Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Batgirl1]

Brocade: Created at a loom from 2+ units of thread, results in a piece of cloth with a raised design on it. A handy way to create more valuable cloth if you can't get a dying industry started. Using dyed thread would be even better! Just be careful that your midnight blue pigtail brocade doesn't end up being made into a papaya seeds sack.

Tassels: Added to clothes and other items at Craftsdwarf shop from one unit of thread/cloth or leather.  A decoration, basically.

Pockets: Added to clothes at clothier or leather worker from one unit of cloth/leather respectively. Slight increase to both item value *and* wearer's hauling capacity.

Well? What do you guys think?

[therahedwig]

Hm... I always wondered if yarn crafts shouldn't include tassels, braids, pompoms, lace, decorative knotwork(macramé), ribbons and other weird needlework projects(as well as having puppets for children). Not to mention other haberdashery like buttons made from special materials.

But yeah, brocades seem sensible. I sometimes wonder if arts in general shouldn't have patterns or something. (It is patterned with polka dots, it is patterned in stripes, it is patterned with goblin heads, etc), it seems like a missing element somehow.

Not sure if pockets are from before the cutoff though, I mean, it's such a sophisticated technology, we need to consider this carefully

Crochet and Lace making are both from past the cut-off as well, though there's no technological reason to. Lace making evolved from open work embroidery, and Crochet was likely invented by shepherds.

Knitting is something that has been done forever, but I am wondering what it would look like in a DF context... Like, would it be more convenient but less valuable because of it? Anyhow, here's someone knitting medieval bag designs in silk.

[Azerty]

Felt: fibers pressed into a piece of cloth.

[Batgirl1]

Felt: fibers pressed into a piece of cloth.

That would come in handy if the cuddly toy suggestion ever gets implemented.

\I sometimes wonder if arts in general shouldn't have patterns or something. (It is patterned with polka dots, it is patterned in stripes, it is patterned with goblin heads, etc), it seems like a missing element somehow.

Ooh!  That could totally work for the dyer shop: dying cloth could randomly result in either a solid color or a pattern, with option to specify which in the [D]etails menu; meanwhile, dying thread and weaving a dyed thread would always give you a solid color. 

Hmm, could tie-dye be a thing?

[SixOfSpades]

Some clothing-related stuff from the Innovations plan.

Livery: A social trend wherein certain groups (such as the members of a related clan, or a religious sect, or a certain guild, etc.) prefer to wear clothing of certain specific colors, and discourage the use of those colors by those outside the group. Less formal than an actual uniform, although they may indeed be uniforms in some cases. One well-known example is in Zeffirelli's film of Romeo and Juliet, wherein both families--and their servants, retainers, & friends--each had their own livery.

Stripes (a): By using threads of different colors for the warp threads, a weaver can produce cloth with longitudinal stripes.

Stripes (b): By using threads of different colors for the weft threads, a weaver can produce cloth with latitudinal stripes.

Plaid: If both variations of Stripes are known, a weaver can combine them to produce plaid fabric.

Tartan: If both Plaid and Livery are known, certain social groups may adopt specific patterns of plaid as their own.

Tie-Dye: Could definitely be a thing, although its abstract and unpredictable nature might make it more appealing to elves than to dwarves.

Pockets: Also very doable, and important--both as folds of cloth sewn into garments, and also as leather pouches attached to belts. Would not increase hauling capacity (except for small things, like seeds), would primarily store personal possessions.

Cushions: Increases the value (both monetary and comfort) of furniture like beds & chairs, armor such as helmets, and also allows the creation of "cloth armor" items, such as padded gambesons. Why the hell does my computer's spell check know "Zeffirelli" but not "gambeson"?

Printed cloth: Historically beyond the tech cutoff date, but still feasible IF Toady decides that certain dyes can be developed that can be used when they are nearly dry--if they're wet, the color will simply bleed everywhere immediately & the design will be lost.

Along with tassels, consider Fringe.

Plus all of the dozens (hundreds?) of new dyes that would come from all of the various animal, mineral, and (mostly) vegetable sources now in the game.

[SixOfSpades]

A few more.

Buttons are a long-overlooked part of many existing items of clothing. Made of wood, bone, metal, or stone, they would be produced in stacks, just like coins--and in fact, they could theoretically be used as coinage when they're not being worn. Certain garments (vests) would require buttons, others (socks) could not have them, and still others (caps) wouldn't need buttons but could still use them as a decoration. Buttons would break off as a sign of wear--sewing them back on would give players an easy way to avoid skill rust on their Clothiers. Meanwhile, collecting lost buttons would give children something useful to do (and possibly give Haulers a source of income, if the Economy comes back?).

Patches are another mechanic that forestalls skill rust, as well as using up cloth/leather scraps (if those ever become a thing), and of course makes clothes last longer. The development of Patches can also lead to Preemptive Patches, where brand-new garments have patches of leather or tougher cloth over high-stress areas (such as knees & elbows) already on them, as well as Quilting, another good use for cloth scraps.

Multiple Heddles allow Looms to have multiple sets of warp threads that can move independently of each other. This can be combined with different-colored threads to produce patterns that are purely decorative (such as houndstooth & herringbone), or used for fabrics that have more meaningful advantages: Twill fabric is more flexible (and therefore more comfortable) than a straight weave, while also being more durable--and satin, of course, is extremely smooth (most likely would only work with silk, though).

Piles: By including thin rods or wires in the weaving process, & then removing them afterwards, the weaver can produce cloth with thousands of warp-thread projections sticking out of it. This can be used to make terrycloth (renowned for its softness & absorbency), thick carpets, and even (provided the thread is stiff enough) doormats tough enough to scrape one's boots clean.

Metalsmiths, Butchers, Masons, Cooks, Furnace Operators, and the like all work with materials that can stain/damage their clothing and/or beards. Let's have some Aprons and perhaps Face Shields, for protection.

Lining: Garments made of tough, strong fabrics are durable--but uncomfortable. Give it an inner lining of a soft fabric and get the best of both worlds, plus it's warmer!

Ghillie: Civilizations that already know about Camouflage can develop ghillie garments (usually capes, hoods, and cloaks), which are covered with long fringe and leaf-shaped dangling bits of fabric, all in various earth tones. An extremely effective method of concealment, at least when Outdoors Above Ground.

[Batgirl1]

Loving all of these!

The doormats thing reminded me that someone suggested rugs and tapestries before; that would be a nice bit of decorative furniture for clothiers to make, and Rag Rugs would be a nice way to recycle old clothes.

A lot of these would be great to see as value-enhancing decorations, even if a more functional purpose (like storage or warmth) never gets fully implemented. 

Also: Belts. Made from leather, can be worn over pants or added to other objects as decoration (because it just isn't DF without shouting at your dwarfs for wasting materials on a sack).

[Ninjabread]

Ooh, I actually have potentially useful info to contribute! Knitting is actually an invention from around the 14th century. Still within the cutoff point, but it has not, as therahedwig said, been done forever, in fact knitting was so new by 1400 that the first knitting guild wouldn't exist until ~30 years later. Before knitting or crochet, as far back as the neolithic in certain places, the way to make thick warm clothing was nalbinding, which is likely what therahedwig mistook for knitting. A completely understandable mistake. It actually still survives as a practice to the modern day, it takes much longer than knitting, but it only requires one needle, and, more importantly, nalbinded clothing is much warmer, which is likely why the practice never died out in some nordic countries.