Count : Thread Count

A common question I always face at most of my exhibition about 'COUNT'. And I believe especially it elevated in our mind when we shop any khadi fabric. At the same time we question about the dissimilarity between khadi and cotton.

Textiles are woven from threads. In practical terms the thinner the threads, the more pliable, soft and hence the better quality is the final cloth.

Thread Count: Technically, thread count means the number of threads woven together in a single square inch.

They are counted length& width (warp & weft) wise threads. So, 50 warp-wise threads woven with 50 weft-wise threads contain a thread count of 100. This count differs for silk, which is in deniers. (I may explain about deniers sometimes later)

But other side the terms are different for Khadi/Muslin. It is called "cotton count". The method was weigh a known length 1000 meters of threads = in grams. This had been done from pre-industrial days when lacchis of threads would be weighed against a 'ratti' and compared against following standard.....

100 count of 1000 meters khadithreads : 10gms
150 count of 1000 meters khadi threads: 8gms
200 countof 1000 meters khadithreads : 5 gms
300 count of 1000 meters khadi threads: 3-4 gms
500 count of 1000 meters khadi threads: 2 gms
It was reported that 1,200 count was reached during the 18th century. And I really want to know about the weight of the same

KHADI
The cotton is known as kapas or uncleaned cotton on post-harvest. It would become 'tula' or 'ruyi' once the seeds and other foreign material separated out from kapas. The process called ginning.Than after the cotton fibre goes for spinning or twisting to give a form of thread or yarn. Fibre was spun by hand using simple tools like spindle or wheel is call 'khadi'

Khadi is a versetile fabric. Cool in summer and warm in winter. Khadi or khaddar usually woven from cotton and may also include silk or wool.

Normally may, jun,july, august is our production time and I wanted to share some knowledge on count and khadi which I have gained throughout my practical work experience.

And what would the good day to saying about khadi other than National Handloom Day and month of Independence.