04 ICH REG. KPK KHD-052
Charsadda Handloom Khaddar
Generational Warp & Weft
Unbleached coarse cotton hand-spun on wooden charkhas and hand-loomed into breathable, textured fabric that softens with every wash.
Recorded in the National Register of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Pakistan under regional traditional textile and hand-spinning disciplines.
- Province
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Origin
- Charsadda & Peshawar Basin
- Register
- KPK KHD-052
- Atelier
- Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(01) Provenance
Woven along the Kabul and Swat River plains since Gandharan antiquity, Charsadda Khaddar is celebrated for its natural breathing weave and thermal adaptability. Hand-spun yarn retains micro-irregularities (slubs) that insulate in the winter cold and breathe through the arid northern summer.
(02) The process
The hand,in stages
- 01
Kapaas Carding & Charkha Spinning
Raw unrefined cotton is combed by hand and spun into organic irregular yarns on traditional wooden charkhas by female artisan cooperatives.
Materials Indigenous long-staple cotton fibers
- 02
Taana SizingNatural Rice Starch Treatment
Warp lengths are stretched across outdoor courtyard pegs and treated with boiled rice water starch to give the yarn tensile resilience on the loom.
Materials Organic rice starch, river water
- 03
Khadde Hand-Looming
Weavers alternate foot-treadles on wooden frame looms, passing wooden shuttles by hand to create the signature structured texture and tactile grain of authentic Khaddar.
Materials Traditional Charsadda timber loom, flying shuttle
(03) Master atelier voices
Translated into fashionEdit 02 — Mitti “Khaddar is honest cloth. It has no chemical gloss, no synthetic lies. When it touches your skin, you feel the earth and the hand that spun it.”
Ustad Abdul Wahid & Village Weaving GuildCharsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(04) Craft translations
All works Worn inthe house
Edit 02 — Mitti