Khaddar vs khadi: are they the same fabric?

One root, two meanings

Both words belong to the languages of the subcontinent and describe the plain, sturdy cloth that villages made for themselves long before mills existed. In the early twentieth century hand-spun cloth became a symbol of self-reliance in the independence movement, and the word khadi, in particular, came to stand for cloth made entirely by hand.

Khaddar travelled a different road. As mills took over everyday weaving, the thick, matt, slightly uneven cloth people knew as khaddar was reproduced on power looms, and the name went with it. Neither usage is wrong. They simply answer different questions: khadi tells you how a cloth was made, and khaddar, in a shop today, tells you what it looks and feels like.

Khadi: spun and woven by hand

For khadi, the yarn is spun by hand on a spinning wheel and the cloth is woven on a handloom. Cotton is the commonest fibre, and khadi is also made in silk and wool. Hand spinning cannot produce perfectly even yarn, so the cloth has small thick and thin places and a soft, open, breathing texture that many people prize. It is not always heavy: fine khadi can be as light as muslin.

In India the name is tied to an official certification mark, so cloth sold there as khadi is expected to meet that definition. Elsewhere the word is used more freely.

Khaddar in winter collections

The khaddar in most Pakistani winter ranges is woven on power looms from machine-spun yarn, usually cotton and sometimes a blend. It is thick, soft, warm and printed in the designs of the season, and it is even from one end of the piece to the other. Slub khaddar imitates the irregular yarn of handweaving on purpose. Handloom khaddar has not disappeared: towns such as Kamalia in Punjab are known for it, but it is a small part of what is sold. Our khaddar guide covers how the fabric wears and how to care for it, and the winter fabrics guide sets it beside karandi and marina.

Is your khaddar handwoven? What to look for

A suit label states the fibre and the care instructions. It does not state how the cloth was woven, and “handwoven” in a product description is a claim, not a certificate. The cloth itself gives better evidence.

• Yarn: in handmade cloth the thickness of the thread wanders at random. In mill slub, the thick places repeat in a pattern.
• Weave: hold it to the light. Handweaving shows slightly denser and looser bands where the weaver beat harder or softer.
• Edges: a handloom selvedge is often a little wavy; a mill selvedge is ruler-straight.
• Consistency: two handwoven lengths are never identical. Perfect uniformity across a whole collection means a mill.
• The seller: ask directly who wove it and where. A seller of real handloom cloth usually knows.

Why it matters when the cloth is stitched

Mill-made khaddar is predictable, which makes it easy to cut. Handwoven cloth is looser, so it frays more at cut edges, can shrink more in the first wash and sometimes varies in width along its length. None of that is a fault, but it means pre-washing matters more and the amount of fabric should be checked generously. Our pre-washing guide explains how.

If you are sending khaddar or khadi through Stitching Only, tell us which you believe it is, whether it has been washed, and its width as well as its length. We confirm that it suits the design before you post it. To begin, open a Stitching Only quote.