How handloom fabric reaches an export order
Handloom fabric is woven on looms where the weaver throws or flies the shuttle and beats each pick by hand or foot. Weavers often work at home or in small sheds, each producing a few metres a day. A master weaver or cooperative supplies the dyed yarn, collects the cloth, and the exporter washes, finishes, rolls and packs it, or cuts it into cushion covers, table linen and bedspreads.
Kannur, Karur, Madurai and Kekhra are Towns of Export Excellence for handlooms. IBEF reports India's handloom exports at US$153.8 million in FY2025-26, with bed, table, kitchen and toilet linen among the main lines.
Because one order is woven on many looms, the risks are about consistency: width that drifts between weavers, shade that changes between dye lots, and beat density that varies with each weaver's hand. A fabric that looks right in the sample metre can still fail when a cutting table needs 500 metres of matching cloth.
What we check on handloom fabric
| Check | How it is checked | What fails |
|---|---|---|
| Fault grading | Fabric passed over a lit table; each fault measured and given points by length, as in a four-point system | Points per 100 square metres or yards above the agreed limit |
| Width | Measured at the start, middle and end of each roll or than | Width below the cuttable minimum, or varying more than the tolerance |
| Length | Measured on the table or by a counter against the ticket | Short length against the ticket |
| Ends and picks | Counted with a pick glass at several points | Below the construction in the specification |
| Selvedge | Both edges checked for tension, loops and tight or slack ends | Wavy or tight selvedge that stops the cloth lying flat |
| Pattern | Check and stripe repeat measured; ikat alignment against the sample | Repeat out of size, checks not square, ikat blur beyond the reference |
| Shade | Swatches from each roll compared in one light booth or daylight position | Rolls that cannot be grouped for one cut |
| Shrinkage | Marked swatch washed by a lab or to an agreed method | Shrinkage above the limit |
Faults and how they are classed
| Fault | Typical cause | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Hole, cut or tear | Handling, shuttle damage | Major |
| Broken or missing end running the length | Warp end broke and was not mended | Major |
| Thick or thin bar across the width | Change of weaver or weft lot, uneven beat | Major or minor by contrast |
| Oil, rust or mud stain | Loom, storage or transport | Major unless it washes out |
| Shade change within a roll | Weft from two dye lots | Major |
| Slubs and small beat variation | Hand-spun or handloom character | Not a defect within the reference |
Ikat needs its own reference. The yarn is resist-dyed before weaving, so the pattern edges are meant to be soft; the question is whether the blur stays within the approved sample and whether motifs line up from repeat to repeat.
Fabric is graded rather than accepted or rejected piece by piece: each roll gets a point score, and rolls above the limit are set aside. Agree the scoring method and the limit in the order.
Handloom claims and market rules
- India Handloom Brand. Registration is granted product by product by the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), with sample testing and surveillance of registered users. If you sell the cloth as "India Handloom", ask for the registration covering that product.
- Handloom versus power-loom. Power-loom copies of handloom designs are cheaper and common. The inspection records which looms the cloth was made on and the evidence for it.
- Fibre labels. In the US, fabric sold to consumers from rolls is labelled on the bolt or roll under the Textile Act. In the EU, fibre names follow Regulation (EU) 1007/2011; see EU textile labelling.
- Dyes. Natural or "azo-free" claims need evidence from the dye house and a lab; see azo dyes and restricted substances.
Packing, transit and your purchase order
Handloom fabric is shipped rolled on tubes or folded in thans, wrapped in polythene and hessian or cartons. Each roll needs a ticket with roll number, length, width, shade group and fault count, so the cutting room can plan. The inspector checks tickets against the measured rolls, the wrap, and that rolls are dry.
- Construction: yarn counts, ends and picks, weight per square metre.
- Usable width and width tolerance.
- Fault scoring method and the acceptance limit per roll.
- Shade grouping and maximum shade lots per order.
- Shrinkage limit and finishing (washed, mercerised, softened).
- Roll length range and ticket details.
For cloth cut into made-ups, see table linen and cushion covers. For silk cloth, see silk fabrics.