Khadi, the eco-friendly

Khadi is mainly woven in pure cotton, but it can also be woven in silk and wool or in a mix of fibres. The making of khadi is eco-friendly since it does not rely on electric units and the manufacturing processes do not generate any toxic waste products.

Production of Khadi
Cotton is first hand picked and the fibers are separate from the seeds by a sharp comb-like object. It is then ginned into slivers. These are spun into yarn on a spinning wheel. It was this hand-cranked spinning wheel called charka that became a symbol of a free India. The spun yarn is wound onto reels which then go to the weavers. Handlooms are used to weave the yarn into fabric.

Characteristics of Khadi
It is light and soft, making it comfortable to wear. Its weave creates air pockets which make it cool in summers and warm in winters. It has a handcrafted self-texture making each khadi cloth unique and expensive. Its inherent strength makes it highly durable. Certain fine khadi, such as mulmul has a translucent quality. Khadi silk which had upto 50% silk is priced for its richness and sheen. Different Indian states produce different varieties of khadi. In colder northern states woolen khadi is produced whereas in Madhya Pradesh special weaves such as Tussar Silk are made. The fabric is dyed in a variety of colors and decorated by block prints or it is tie-dyed. In Gujarat, Khadi is embellished with embroidery and mirror-work.

Maintaining Khadi
Khadi has to be dry cleaned or washed in cold water with mild soap. It has to be starched to prevent it from crumbling. Dark colors tend to run, so have to be washed separately.

Khadi - Muslin

Muslin is a type of finely-woven cotton fabric, introduced to Europe from the Middle East in the 17th Century. It became very popular at the end of the 18th century in Francy. Muslin is most typically a closely-woven unblreached or white cloth, produced from corded cotton yarn. Wide muslin is called "sheeting". It is often used to make dresses or curtains but may also be used to complement foam for bench padding. Muslin breathes well, and is a good choice of material for clothing meant for hot, dry climates.

Muslin clothes were traded by ancient Greeks from the East Indian port town Masulipatnam (present Machilipatnam of Krishna District in Andhra Pradesh), known as Maisolos and Masalia in ancient times and the name 'Muslin' originated from the name Maisolos. In 1298 CE, Marco Polo describes the cloth Muslin in his book 'The Travels'. He said that it is made in Mosul, (Iraq) and sold by marchants who were called "Musolini"

Whatever is the origin, Muslin is said to be a Khadi variety i.e. handspun and hand-woven and best known since ancient times.

Khadi, i.e. Khaddar

Khadi, variously called as Khaddar means cotton. Khadi is a fabric that is handspun and handwoven. Mahatma began promoting the spinning of khadi for rural self employment and self reliance in 1920s, thus making kahdi an integral part and icon of the Swadeshi movement. The freedom struggle revolved around the use of khadi fabrics and the dumping of foreign-made clothes. Thus, khadi symbolized the political ideas and independence itself. The flag of India is only allowed to be made from this material although in practice many flag manufacturers, especially those outside of India, ignore this rule.

Khadi is a versatile fabric, cool in the summer and warm in the winter. However, being a cruder form of material, it wrinkles much faster than other preparations of cotton. In order to improve the look, khadi is often starched to have a stiffer shape. It is so pure and soils very fast. Mr Venkataraman, former president of India said "Khadi soils so easily that it can not co-exist with any other stain".