What Is Khadi? India's Hand-Spun, Hand-Woven Cloth
What is khadi? It is the word on a kurta label, a shop sign in every Indian town and a line in India's history books, and it means something precise: cloth that has been spun by hand and woven by hand. This guide explains what khadi is, where it came from, how it differs from handloom and linen, how it feels in the heat, how to spot the real thing, and how to wear it.
Quick answer
Khadi is cloth woven on a hand loom from yarn that has also been spun by hand, in India, from cotton, silk or wool. Both steps must be done by hand. It is breathable, slightly uneven in texture and tied to Gandhi's call for Indians to make their own cloth.
What legally counts as khadi
Khadi is one of the few fabrics with a definition written into law. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act defines it as "any cloth woven on handlooms in India from cotton, silk or woollen yarn handspun in India or from a mixture of any two or all of such yarns". Two conditions, both manual: the yarn is hand-spun and the cloth is hand-woven. A fabric woven by hand from factory yarn does not qualify, and nor does a mill cloth printed to look rustic.
Because the definition names only cotton, silk and wool, a polyester mix cannot be sold as khadi, however hand-made it is. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission, which oversees the fabric, is a statutory body formed in April 1957 under that 1956 Act. The sector it supports is large, and we have looked separately at the khadi economy and what its spinners and weavers earn; this page is about the cloth itself.
Where khadi comes from: Gandhi and swadeshi
Hand-spinning is old in India, but khadi as a movement is twentieth-century. The charkha, the spinning wheel, became a symbol of the Swadeshi movement in 1905, a push for self-reliance that meant boycotting British cloth. Gandhi made it central. The first piece of hand-woven cloth at his Sabarmati Ashram was produced in 1917 to 1918, and the name itself is usually traced to the cloth's coarseness.
For Gandhi, spinning was politics and economics at once. "My Swadeshi chiefly centers around the hand-spun Khadar," he wrote, and Nehru called khadi the livery of freedom. Wearing it signalled that you bought Indian, supported village spinners and rejected imported mill cloth. That history is why, in India, khadi still carries a meaning no other fabric does.
Khadi fibres: cotton, silk and wool
Most people picture cotton khadi, and it is the most common, but khadi can be cotton, silk or wool, all spun on a charkha. Cotton khadi ranges from a coarse, almost canvas-like weight for jackets to a fine muslin-like count for summer shirts. Silk khadi has a dry, matte lustre and a crisper hand than a mill silk. Wool khadi, often in shawls and waistcoats, is soft and warm without the smoothness of machine-spun wool. If you like the feel of our cotton pieces, cotton khadi is the natural next step.
Is khadi the same as linen or handloom?
No, though the three are often confused because they share an easy, textured look.
Khadi vs linen. Linen is made from the fibres of the flax plant. Khadi is defined by how it is made, not by the plant: hand-spun and hand-woven cotton, silk or wool. Cotton khadi and linen can look alike, both slubby and matte, but linen creases more sharply and has a cooler, slicker touch; cotton khadi feels softer and a little more absorbent.
Khadi vs handloom. Every khadi is a handloom fabric, but most handloom fabrics are not khadi. As the weavers' organisation Dastkar Andhra puts it, cloth woven from hand-spun yarn on handlooms is khadi, while mill-spun yarn woven on handlooms is handloom. The difference is the thread. Hand-spun yarn varies in thickness along its length, which gives khadi its irregular, living surface.
How khadi feels and wears in heat
Khadi has a reputation for being cool in summer and warm in winter, and in cotton it earns it. To the hand, the uneven yarn makes an open, airy cloth, and cotton absorbs sweat rather than trapping it. New khadi can feel stiff; hand-woven cloth also has a different texture from mill-woven fabric because of the low speed it is woven at and the equipment used. It softens with every wash, and a khadi shirt in its second year is usually better than on day one.
It creases, and that is part of its character. Choose relaxed cuts that expect movement: a kaftan or caftan, a wide trouser, an easy shirt. Tight tailoring fights the fabric.
How to tell genuine khadi: the Khadi Mark
Plenty of cloth is sold as "khadi-look" or "khadi cotton" that has never seen a charkha. The official safeguard is the Khadi Mark, which the President of India launched in September 2013, after the Khadi certification regulations of that year were notified; the government describes it as guaranteeing the genuineness of khadi. Certified producers attach Khadi Mark labels and tags to hand-spun, hand-woven cloth and garments. KVIC has also registered the word KHADI as a trademark for textiles, and runs khadiindia.gov.in, where only listed khadi institutions can sell.
Beyond the tag, use your eyes. Hold the cloth to the light: genuine khadi shows slight variations in yarn thickness and small slubs, while mill cloth looks uniform. Very low prices are the loudest warning.
How to style khadi
Khadi reads as considered and unfussy, which makes it easy to wear well once you respect its body.
“Khadi has body, so let it stand away from you: a loose shirt or a straight kurta over wide trousers, sleeves pushed up, and nothing shiny next to it. The slub is the point, so pair it with plain leather and silver rather than more texture.” — Ramola Bachchan, fashion designer and founder of First Resort.
For warm days, a white or ecru khadi shirt over loose trousers is hard to beat, and a matching shirt-and-trouser set works like our co-ords: one decision, done. Indigo and natural-dyed khadi look best with plain accessories, flat sandals and a woven bag. In the evening, a silk khadi kurta or jacket over a slim dress adds texture without shine. Travellers can treat cotton khadi the way they treat linen, packing it for heat and letting the creases be.
How to care for khadi
Treat khadi like any fine handloom cotton. The weavers at Dastkar Andhra publish wash-care advice for hand-woven cotton that suits cotton khadi well:
- Wash it separately in cold water with a soft soap, because dark and natural dyes can bleed in the first few washes.
- Wash fabric bought by the metre before stitching: it can shrink by 7 to 10 percent. Ready-made garments are usually pre-shrunk.
- Skip bleach, hard scrubbing and the tumble dryer, and dry it in the shade.
- Iron at medium heat, ideally while the cloth is still slightly damp.
Silk and wool khadi are safest hand-washed or dry-cleaned.
First Resort does not make khadi, but if you love breathable, hand-feel fabric, start with our cotton edit or a relaxed linen piece and wear it the same way.
Frequently asked questions
Are khadi products really natural?
Khadi cloth is natural by definition: Indian law limits it to hand-spun cotton, silk or wool, or a mix of those. Anything with polyester or another synthetic in the blend is not khadi, whatever the label says.
Why is khadi expensive?
Every thread in khadi is spun by hand and every metre is woven on a hand loom, which is far slower than mill spinning and power weaving. You are paying for hours of skilled hand work that a factory does in minutes.
Is khadi only made in India?
Yes, in the legal sense. The Indian definition requires the yarn to be hand-spun in India and the cloth to be woven on handlooms in India. Hand-spun, hand-woven cloth from elsewhere can be lovely, but it is not khadi.
Does khadi shrink after washing?
Khadi fabric bought by the metre can shrink noticeably in its first wash, so wash it before it is stitched. Ready-made garments from good makers are usually pre-shrunk, and cold water and shade drying keep further shrinkage minimal.
Can you wear khadi in winter?
Yes. Khadi is known for staying cool in summer and warm in winter, and wool and silk khadi are made for colder months. Heavier cotton khadi jackets and shawls layer well over knits.
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