Shweshwe for a kameez: width, starch and shrinkage

Width: why you need more metres

Traditional shweshwe is often about 90 cm wide, against the 110 to 115 cm of most kameez fabrics, so measure the width of yours before you plan anything. Our guide to fabric widths explains the effect: on narrow cloth, the front and back of a kameez cannot sit side by side, so each panel needs its own full length.

As a working rule, allow roughly a metre more than you would for a wider cotton, then a little extra for shrinkage. On wider cloth a straight knee-length kameez takes about two and a half metres, as our article on how much fabric a suit needs shows. Trousers in a plain cotton are often easier than a second length of shweshwe, and they let the print stand out.

Starch and shrinkage

New shweshwe feels almost papery, because it is finished with starch. The first wash removes it, and the cloth becomes a soft, medium-weight cotton that behaves quite differently, and it shrinks in the process. A kameez cut from unwashed shweshwe can come out smaller after its first wash, so pre-washing usually makes sense; our article on pre-washing fabric before stitching explains the general approach.

• Ask before washing: tell us your design first, so we can confirm whether to pre-wash and how much fabric that leaves.
• Wash it on its own: indigo can bleed at first, so do the colour-fastness test and keep pale clothes away from it.
• Measure again after washing: send us the washed length and width, not the shop figure.

Choosing a simpler cut

Once washed, shweshwe holds a clean line but does not flow like lawn or chiffon. It suits shapes that rely on structure rather than drape: a straight kameez, a gently A-line kurta, a band collar or a neat placket. Heavily flared or gathered styles need a lot of cloth and many joins on a narrow width, which breaks up the print. Small repeating patterns are easy to match across seams, which helps.

A plain dupatta in a light cotton or chiffon usually sits better with a shweshwe kameez than a stiff shweshwe one.

Sending shweshwe for stitching

With Stitching Only from South Africa you send your fabric to us in Pakistan and we cut, stitch and finish it to your measurements. We confirm that the fabric suits your design and is enough before you post it, so send photos and measurements of the piece first. Making takes 5 to 7 working days once the fabric has arrived and the quote is paid in full, with shipping back to you on top. The South Africa page covers currency and delivery, and you can start a Stitching Only quote when you are ready.