Khadi Cotton by the Metre

Details

Khadi from Kachchh, Gujarat: cotton hand-spun on the charkha and then handwoven, at 150 GSM in yarn averaging 16s, 50 ends by 46 picks to the inch. It comes off the loom at 36 in usable width, which is a third narrower than mill cloth, so add a full half-metre to whatever a tailor quotes you for 44 in. A shirt takes 3 m here, not 2.5 m and certainly not 1.6 m. Khadi is a stricter word than handloom and the difference is worth knowing before you pay for it. Handloom means the cloth was woven by hand, and the yarn may still have come from a mill. Khadi means the yarn was hand-spun as well, and only cloth certified by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission may carry the Khadi Mark. Most of what is sold as khadi fails the first half of that test: mill yarn, powerloom, and a deliberately rough finish applied afterwards because rough is what shoppers believe khadi feels like. The second cheat is size, and it is at its worst here, because khadi is bought by hand-feel at the counter more than any other cloth and starch will sell you a body the fabric does not have.

• Khadi Mark, so the yarn was hand-spun and the cloth handwoven, both halves
• No mill yarn, no powerloom, no rough finish applied to imitate the real thing
• 100 percent cotton by microscopy, no polyester
• 150 GSM measured and 36 in usable width declared
• Residual size under 1 percent after desizing, no starch loading
• Unbleached loom-state, not mercerised, no optical brightener
• It shrinks about 5 percent, the most of any cotton on this shelf, so pre-wash the full length before cutting. And it creases. Khadi has always creased, and ironing it damp is part of owning it.