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If you're a clothie, you've probably already figured out that you are going to need to take up tailoring at some point, if you're really serious about your gear. In fact, many players would argue that tailoring is mandatory for the serious cloth caster. There's no denying that the BoP tailored sets – Frozen Shadoweave, Primal Mooncloth and Spellfire – are some of the best items you can get ... And of course, since they are BoP, you must be a tailor who is specialized in that cloth type in order to use them.

Despite knowing all of this, I persisted in taking up herbalism and alchemy on my new shadowpriest recently, figuring I could always drop one or the other and powerlevel tailoring later ... Only it's later already, and I know I need to start the inevitable process
of slogging through my four-day cooldowns if I want to get my Frozen Shadoweave any time soon. (Actually, I'm trying to decide whether or not to rely on PvP gear for DPS and make the Primal Mooncloth set for my healing moments, or if I should go right for the Frozen Shadoweave – but that's a topic for a different column ... or the comments section!)

So if you, too, foresee a BoP tailored set in your future but aren't yet a skilled tailor, join me after the break for a tour through the top 1-300 guides and more tips for the final stretch from 300 to 375.

Before we begin, please remember: As with "recommended" powerleveling paths, your mileage may vary according to your server's economy, depending on the supply and demand for the materials you need for crafting and the products you create as you go. A non-traditional path to 375 may just be the ticket, depending on what's hot and what's not. (On some servers and in some situations, it's actually economically feasible to skill up on Soulcloth items.) Keep your eyes peeled at the Auction House and be open to changing your path to take advantage of a good deal.

Something else you'll want to consider is your comfort level with pushing your skill level forward. Do you prefer playing it safe with green or yellow patterns, which can be made with relatively less expensive materials but only provide a skill-up for every few items? Or do you want the security of working with orange patterns that guarantee a point per product? We explain the pros and cons (plus how to evaluate the risk vs. reward of yellows) in When good patterns go green.

Finally, what about your second profession? Enchanting is a natural fit for a powerleveling tailor. Here's why: From the very start, you can disenchant much of what you make to recoup your materials costs. At later levels, you'll be making bolt after bolt of Imbued Netherweave, each of which requires two Arcane Dust as a component. It just makes sense.

Now – it's time to set your sights on the brass ring. Tailoring is fortunate to offer some exceptionally attractive crafted items that only tailors can wear. What's your goal? Ready? Let's go.

Get ready, get spec
Tailoring is definitely not one of the more complex professions to powerlevel. The choices at the top end are fairly limited, and it's fairly simple to work methodically forward through the ranks. Let's get the ball rolling with a look at some of the more useful power leveling guides.

• Wowwiki All the basics.
• Ten Ton Hammer's tailoring guide Detailed, handy charts for all you visual types.
• Lootables Includes shopping lists of recipes and cloth you'll need on the way up the leveling ladder.
  

Your first order of business is getting to 350. For tailoring, that's not too painful at all, with the help of a leveling guide (see above). Obviously, it helps if you can collect cloth of all levels beforehand, so you don't have to buy it off the Auction House. Again, check the guides for an estimate of the amount of cloth you're likely to need to get from Point A to Point B.

Once you arrive at 350, it's time to start making specialty cloth. We won't go into the advantages and disadvantages of each specialization and all the gear here; suffice it to say that you can change your mind if you choose poorly, although it's not something to take lightly. When you get to 350, head to Shattrath City and go down to the Lower City where the traders are. You'll see the three trainers for the specialty cloth there. Talk to the one whose specialty you'd like to choose and run the simple quest you're given. You're a specialist!

Once you're a specialist, you'll be able to make two pieces of your specialty cloth but only one of the other two types every four days (a total of four pieces, all three types on separate timers). If you're headed for any of the three big BoP sets, you'll want to get started right away so you can build up the large amount of cloth needed. (Those of you who're aiming for Primal Mooncloth, check out New mooncloth on Monday for more details.)

Insider Trader tip: No matter what specialization you choose, visit the other two trainers and learn to make the other types of cloth, too. You'll be able to trade with tailors in other specializations to build up your stash more quickly. For example, if you're headed for the Primal Mooncloth set, every four days you can make two Primal Mooncloth, one Spellcloth and one Shadowcloth. Hit the trade channel and offer to swap your Spellcloth and Shadowcloth for another tailor's unwanted Primal Mooncloth. You end up with four Primal Mooncloth every four days, instead of two!

Power up
Let's review the basic steps from 300 and above.

300-325 Make Bolts of Netherweave. Not exciting, I know – but you'll appreciate having the cloth made and ready later, so make it now while you can still get points from it.

325-340 Switch to Bolts of Imbued Netherweave. To make these, you must be physically near a Mana Loom. All those looms you see in various towns and crafts around the world? Not working looms. Head to Shattrath City or Silvermoon City to find a working Mana Loom – hit this article for more details (scroll down for the mana loom information).

340-350 Make Netherweave Boots. Disenchant (or ask a friend who's an enchanter to disenchant) all of these so you can use the Arcane Dust later.

350-360 Make Netherweave Tunics. Disenchant (or ask a friend who's an enchanter to disenchant) all of these so you can use the Arcane Dust later.

From 360 up, you have several choices.

Plan A: The Imbued Netherweave Tunic /Imbued Netherweave Robe Route These patterns are sold by Arrond in Shadowmoon Valley, so only Scryers can buy them -- but they're BoE, so you can find them in the Auction House or have a Scryer buddy make the purchase. You'll want to disenchant the finished tunics or robes to get a Large Prismatic Shard to sell and recoup some costs. These patterns go yellow at 370, so it will take quite a few robes or tunics to nab those last points.

Plan B: The Arcanoweave Route If you run a lot of five-man instances and are lucky with pattern drops, you may want to level up on Arcanoweave. Look for the BoP patterns for Arcanoweave Bracers (actually craftable back at 350) from The Arcatraz, Arcanoweave Boots (craftable at 360) in The Mechanar and the Arcanoweave Robe (craftable at 370) from The Mechanar. While these items require a lot of Arcane Dust, they don't use Imbued Netherweave -- cheaper in the long run.

If you'll be making your set pieces as soon as you have the cloth and the skill for them, don't forget to factor them in when tallying up how many items you'll need to create per skill range. Making them at a key moment could save you the mats for another of those @#%& imbued robes and tunics!

Insider Trader's Lisa Poisso has made a lot of Imbued Netherweave Tunics in her time – and sees many more ahead in her future.

Tags: Arcane-Dust, Arcanoweave, frozen-shadoweave, imbued-netherweave, mana-loom, primal-mooncloth, respec, respecialize, shadowcloth, soulcloth, spellcloth, spellfire

Filed under: Tailoring, Guides, Insider Trader (Professions)