khādī

thumb|A blue khadi kurta. Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi as swadeshi (of homeland) for the freedom struggle of India and the term is used throughout the Indian subcontinent. The first piece of the hand-woven cloth was made in the Sabarmati Ashram of Gandhi during 1917–18. The coarseness of the cloth led Gandhi to call it khadi. The cloth is made from cotton, but it may also include silk or wool, which are all spun into yarn on a charkha. It is a versatile fabric that remains cool in summer and warm in winter. To improve its appearance, khadi is sometimes starched to give it a stiffer feel.

== Origin == Greco-Roman merchants imported finer cotton in large quantities to the Roman Empire. In medieval times, cotton textiles were imported to Rome through the maritime Silk Road. Arabian-Surat merchants traded cotton textiles to Basra and Baghdad from three areas of Gujarat, the Coromandel Coast and the East Coast of India. To the east, trade reached China via Java. 14th-century Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta mentioned Delhi sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq sending five varieties of cloth to the Yuan emperor in China. Some of the textiles are stored in repositories of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.