How to wash and care for khadi
Cold water, mild soap and a little starch keep khadi soft and crisp for years.
Khadi, handloom and powerloom: how to tell them apart
Three cloths that can look alike on a shelf, and what to check before you pay.
Many shops sell “khadi” that is neither hand-spun nor handwoven. The difference matters, both for the price and for the people who made the cloth.
Khadi is spun by hand on a charkha and woven by hand on a loom. The yarn is slightly uneven, so the cloth has small slubs and variations in thickness. Hold it against the light and you will see the irregular texture. It breathes very well and softens with washing.
Handloom is woven by hand, but usually from mill-spun yarn. It is more even than khadi, and the edges often show small irregularities in the weave where the weaver threw the shuttle.
Powerloom cloth is woven by machine. It is perfectly even, the selvedge is straight and tight, and it is much cheaper. Powerloom fabric printed to look like khadi is common.
The simplest test is to ask where the yarn was spun and who wove it. A shop that sells real khadi will know the village and can tell you.
