Khadi Silk

WHAT?

 Khadi silk

Khadi is a hand woven, plain-weave, fabric.  The raw materials maybe cotton, silk, or wool, which are spun into threads on a spinning wheel called a charkha. It is generally woven with hand-spun threads in weft.”

It is a versatile fabric, cool in summer and warm in winter. However, being a cruder form of material, it wrinkles much faster than other preparations of cotton. In order to improve the look, khadi/khaddar is often starched to give it a stiffer shape. It is widely used in garments.

WHERE?

Khadi spreads across the country. However, this specific documentation is based on the

Khadi weavers of Rajasthan

HOW?

I. Get-together of cotton/ silk in raw state.

II. Hand spinning the silk.

III. Laying the cotton warp.

IV. Weaving it on the handloom (Plain Weave) 

Here, everything is done by hand: from cleaning and de-seeding the short-staple hill cotton with the jawbone of the valuga fish to spinning the yarn. The khadi has a distinct weave and a full-bodied texture that is only accentuated by use and repeated washes.

Making yarn from silk fibers involves various techniques. 

There are three processes to cater for the three types of fiber obtained from different parts of the single cocoon. The rough outer layer of fiber is pulled off the cocoon and accumulated to create a bundle that can be hung overhead and pulled down to be twisted by a drop spindle. The inner filament is reeled off the cocoon by hand and spun on the thigh, before it is twisted onto a reel. 

Between 6 and 12 cocoon filaments are plied together creating a fine thread suitable for weaving. The remaining fiber comes from the peduncle, which attaches the cocoon to the tree. This tough material is soaked in water and then pounded before spinning by drop spindle. The resulting yarn is coarser and darker than the others. The silk cost to the weavers is Rs 1400 to Rs 1600 per kg, and is made available to them mostly by the Khadi Societies with which these weavers are usually associated.

Khadi weaving contains an entire range of fabric so the yarn used ranges 

from 2/20s to 2/40s in the warp.  Twisted yarn is used in the warp to resist the stress during weaving.

CONCLUSION:

Inseparable some people say, from the Independence movement, and unrelated now, outside of social or government importance of expression? But the khadi story is not so ordinary. It has become a chic, green philosophy and culture fabric. That is also the reason why it has becomes a high-priced, luxury consumption item.