Materials: Outer fabric: Handwoven Cotton 100%, Inner lining: Cotton 100%※ Delicate & requires special care ※ Wash separately, hand wash, sunbathe to dry. Fabric will soften completely after one wash. Public Domain (late 1940s – Mahatma Gandhi spinning yarn on a charkha)What is khadi?Mahatma Gandhi led the Swadeshi movement in 1918 as a relief project to redirect villagers to learn independence and empowerment from their political struggle. At this time, India was depending on the British to turn their raw materials into cloth. Gandhi used this project to engage in peaceful protest by boycotting British resources and gaining self-reliance instead of local resources. This is why khadi was also known as “the fabric of freedom”. Khadi means handwoven and hand-spun cotton. The raw material, usually cotton, is hand-spun into yarn using a spinning wheel called a charkha. From there, the yarn is handwoven using a loom. To invite others to join the Swadeshi movement, Gandhi spun yarn himself. Villages planted and harvested their own raw materials. Every villager learned to spin yarn and weave into cloth. With this new movement, many impoverished villagers had secure employment. No longer did they have to export cotton to England to re-import the cloths at a higher price. This social and economic movement bridged the gap between the classes and unified the masses.“The spinning wheel represents to me the hope of the masses. The masses lost their freedom, such as it was, with the loss of the Charkha. The Charkha supplemented the agriculture of the villagers and gave it dignity” – Gandhi. (via Aseema).Khadi continues to be a symbol of independence. According to the Indian Flag Code, it is said that it is punishable to make an Indian flag that is not made by khadi. It continues to hold its sacred place in society, designers continue to use khadi as a fashion statement to this day. Indian people celebrate National Khadi Day on September 19th to reflect upon the independence that was gained through this movement.
