How to wash khaddar so it keeps its colour and shape

Machine washing khaddar

Plain and printed khaddar usually copes well with a washing machine, provided the label allows it. The fabric is thick and gets heavy when wet, so the risks are different from those of fine lawn: friction that raises pills, a fast spin that twists the seams, and a crowded drum that leaves creases and detergent behind.

• Cycle: gentle or delicates at 30°C, or cold for dark shades.
• Spin: low to moderate. A wet khaddar kameez is heavy, and a fast spin pulls it out of shape.
• Load: half full at most, with soft items only. Keep it away from jeans, zips and hooks, which rough up the surface.
• Detergent: a mild liquid, measured, not poured. Too much is hard to rinse out of thick cloth.
• Embroidered khaddar: inside out in a mesh bag on the hand-wash cycle, or by hand. Heavily embellished pieces are safer dry cleaned.

Hand washing, and when to choose it

Hand wash a new suit that is still releasing dye, embroidered pieces and any khaddar you are unsure about. Use a tub large enough for the fabric to move, cool water and a little detergent dissolved before the suit goes in. Press and swish for a few minutes instead of scrubbing, rinse until the water runs clear, and squeeze the water out in sections. Do not wring it: twisting heavy, wet khaddar is what pulls side seams round to the front and stretches necklines.

Why deep colours need their own early washes

Thick khaddar yarns take up a lot of dye, and some of it sits loose on the surface when the fabric is new. That surplus comes out in the first few washes, which is why maroon, navy, black, bottle green and mustard khaddar so often tint the water. It is normal, but it will stain a pale dupatta or white trousers washed alongside. If the water is still strongly tinted after several washes, keep washing that suit separately. Our colour-fastness test shows how to check new fabric before it is cut.

• Wash it alone for the first three or four washes, in cold water.
• Do not soak it. Dye moves most when fabric sits in still water, and printed khaddar can blur.
• Hang it up straight away. Wet khaddar left folded in a basin or drum prints its colour onto itself.

Drying khaddar so it does not stiffen or twist

Most khaddar complaints start on the washing line. Thick cotton dried hard in the sun comes off the line feeling like card, and a kameez hung carelessly dries with its seams spiralled and its hem uneven. Stiffness that lingers is usually detergent or hard-water minerals left in the cloth, so use less detergent and add an extra rinse. Our article on drying suits without fading or shrinking goes further.

• Shake it out firmly as soon as the wash ends, then pull each seam straight between your hands.
• Hang the kameez inside out from the shoulders on a wide hanger, and the trousers from the waistband. Lay heavily embroidered pieces flat.
• Choose shade and moving air over direct sun, which fades deep colours and bakes the fabric stiff.
• Skip the tumble dryer and the radiator. Heat is what shrinks cotton khaddar, mostly in length.
• Iron it slightly damp, on the reverse. This is the step that brings the softness back.

Before a khaddar suit is stitched

The first wash matters most, because that is when cotton khaddar shrinks. If you are sending fabric through unstitched suit stitching, tell us whether the plain pieces have been washed; our pre-washing guide explains the choice, and how shrinkage is allowed for is agreed before cutting. When you are ready, ask for a Stitching Only quote.