What is mori (mohri)? Sleeve and trouser openings explained

Khuli mohri and tang mohri

Two descriptions come up again and again. Khuli mohri means an open, wide bottom: the trouser leg falls straight or flares slightly, and the sleeve end hangs loose around the wrist. Tang mohri means a narrow, close bottom: a slim trouser that hugs the ankle, or a sleeve that sits close to the wrist bone.

Neither is a fixed number. A khuli mohri on a straight trouser can look narrow next to a palazzo, and a tang mohri on a cigarette pant is narrower again. The words describe a direction; your numbers decide the result.

Flat or all round: the source of most mix-ups

Tailors in Pakistan often note the mohri as the width across the opening when the garment is laid flat, which is half the full circumference. Many Western size charts and pattern books give the full measurement all the way round instead. Both are correct; they just measure different things.

So a mohri written as 7 might mean 7 inches (about 18 cm) across a flat leg, which is 14 inches (about 36 cm) all round. Read as a circumference, the same 7 would give an opening no bigger than a wrist. When you send a mohri figure, say which way it was taken.

• Flat: lay the trouser or sleeve smooth on a table and measure straight across the opening, edge to edge.
• All round: wrap the tape around the opening, or double the flat figure.
• Body check: for trousers, the opening must pass over your foot at its widest point, heel to instep; for a closed sleeve end, it must pass your hand with the thumb tucked in.

Mohri, paincha and “bottom” on a size chart

Paincha is the closely related word for the bottom of a shalwar or trouser leg, and it often refers to the finish as well as the width: a plain turned hem, a cuff band, lace or a border. You will find both words, with their meanings side by side, in our stitching glossary. In practice many tailors use mohri for the width and paincha for the part of the leg it sits on.

On Western size charts the same figure appears as “bottom”, “leg opening”, “hem width” or, for sleeves, “cuff opening”. If a chart uses one of those words, check whether it is flat or all round before you copy it across. The trouser size guide shows where the hem width sits among the other trouser measurements.

What to put in your order

A mohri is a design choice as much as a measurement, so give it together with the style. Choose the trouser style and sleeve length on the quote form, then add the opening widths in the notes, stating whether each is flat or all round, in centimetres or inches.

If you are unsure, send a garment you like as a guide or measure one you already own; the guide to measuring for each trouser style explains where the other numbers come from. A very narrow mohri may need a short zip or slit so you can get it on, and we confirm that, with every other measurement, in the written quote before cutting. Our custom stitching page explains how the whole order works.