Crossword Genius

Fabric many are reluctant to make (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cloth

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'fabric' is the definition.
(I know that fabric can be written as cloth)

'many are reluctant to make' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'many' could be 'lot' (a lot of something) and 'lot' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ch' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cloth that I've seen before include "Gingham, say" , "Textiles" , "Sails" , "ministers" , "rag" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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