Cloth | Hollow Knight Wiki

Cloth is an NPC in Hollow Knight. Cloth is a burly cicada warrior. He can be found traveling throughout Hallownest in search of proving his courage by seeking out mighty creatures to battle against. He is friendly, though he has doubts about his combat prowess due to his true cowardly nature and false bravado.

Cloth Information

Cloth is a large, brawny, friendly cicada warrior. He set out to Hallownest in order to prove his courage by defeating mighty creatures. However, he is rather cowardly, and despite displaying a lot of bravado he often hides underground to escape foes or to sleep, snoring loudly (making a cicada chirp) while doing so. He is motivated by the prospect of dying in an epic battle and joining his unknown late friend and companion named “Nola” in the afterlife. Cloth fights by brandishing a large club cut from the tooth of an ancient beast.

Cloth meets the Knight in various locations throughout Hallownest, making a cicada chirp while sleeping underground, or hiding. If he is saved  in the Ancient Basin, he admits to the Knight that he was hiding and that all his bravado is false. Feeling ashamed that he is acting cowardly he begins to doubt himself, but he presses on to Queen’s Gardens and challenges the tribe of traitor mantises who reside there. 

If you do not save Cloth in the Ancient Basin, he will appear in Dirtmouth, sleeping outside near Sly’s shop. He will decide to leave Hallownest, having found no challenge he could not overcome or die trying. 
However, if he is met in every location, he will join the Knight in the battle with Traitor Lord, in Queen’s Gardens. He will deal the finishing blow to Traitor Lord with his club, but will perish in the battle, impaled by the mantis’ claw. Cloth’s spirit will then appear and speak excitedly to the Knight before he fades and moves on to the afterlife to join his friend Nola. 

• Location: Cloth can be found at the Fungal Wastes.
• Progression: Cloth moves to the Ancient Basin, Deepnest, and then Queen’s Gardens.
• Combat: Players may not kill Cloth.

Associated Quests

• Cloth assists the Knight in the battle with Traitor Lord if he is saved in the Ancient Basin. 

Dialogue

• “Ah ha! The tiny steps of a tiny creature. You got the look of an adventurer, so we've much in common.
  Searching for dangerous places aye? Well you're on the right track.
  A long necked critter, warned me of a tribe deeper down. Warrior sorts, so she says and I'm itching for some serious combat.“
• “Curse me and my foolish bravado! If I could shed my pride, I'd be asking this tiny warrior for help.“

• “My friend, you dealt with all of those beasts?
  I'm ashamed to say... I was hiding. Those ghastly things chased me and I ran. If you hadn't come along, who knows if I'd ever have survived.
  Others take me for a fearsome warrior, what with my impressive size, but this kingdom's beasts, I wonder if I'm just no match for them?... Enough! I cannot wallow in my weakness. I must take strength from your example!
  You act so confident in battle. You show no fear before your foes. I'll try my best to do the same.“

Notes & Tips

• Cloth is a backer NPC developed by Noah Sturtridge.
• On the official Hollow Knight Kickstarter page, Cloth’s species and gender are confirmed (despite conflicting information provided by unreliable sources). Cloth is a male cicada (originally named “Burlap”) and was developed as such by his backer and Team Cherry themselves.  
• The fact that Cloth emits a cicada chirp while snoring also confirms his gender to be male, as only male cicadas can chirp.