Khes

State: Punjab
Material: Cotton · Handloom
Rarity: Rare

A woven blanket from a bride's trousseau

About

Thick handwoven cotton blankets and wraps of Punjab, patterned in checks, stripes and diamonds.

Khes is a thick, soft cotton cloth woven by hand on a handloom, used in northern India and Pakistan as a blanket, bedcover and winter wrap. It is woven from coarse cotton yarns in plain patterns or in checks, stripes, diamonds and other geometric designs. The weave is often a double weave, which means the two faces of the cloth can look different.

In Punjab khes is traditionally a rural craft. Women in villages used to weave khes, and it was part of a bride's wedding trousseau. In India, it is produced in the Malwa region of southern Punjab, and in Panipat in Haryana and Rampur in Uttar Pradesh; in Pakistan it is made in several districts of Punjab and Sindh.

Khes is used on beds and charpais, as a wrap in winter, and as a shawl. Today it is a rare handloom, with fewer weavers than in the past, but it is being picked up again as a handloom textile by designers and craft groups.

How it’s made

Khes is woven on a handloom from coarse cotton yarn. Coloured yarns, dyed in advance, are used for the warp and weft in different colours to build checks, stripes or diamond patterns. The width of a handloom limits the cloth, so khes pieces were traditionally woven in pairs of spans and then stitched together lengthwise to make a full-size cover.

The weaver sets up the warp on the loom and weaves with a shuttle, changing colours in a planned order to make the pattern. Many khes are double weaves, in which two layers of cloth are woven together, so the front and back have different patterns or colours, and the cloth is thick and warm. Bigger pieces, such as the khes of Rampur, could be up to about six by nine feet.

A wider variety of khes, called khesi, is used for making sheets. Winter khes are heavier and denser than the thin cotton khes used in summer.

Key features

Handwoven coarse cotton cloth, thick and soft
Checks, stripes, diamonds and other geometric patterns
Often double-woven, with different faces
Traditionally woven by village women as part of the wedding trousseau
Woven in pairs of spans and stitched together
Used as blanket, bedcover, wrap and shawl
Produced in Malwa (Punjab), Panipat and Rampur

History

Khes was an important cloth of the Punjab region, as well as Sindh, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, which were known for coarse cotton textiles, especially in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Khes weaving was a village art with cultural meaning: women wove khes for their households, and for their own wedding trousseaus.

Varieties were distinguished by their weave patterns and places of origin. Chequered khes (charkhana), diamond patterns, dabba khes with squares made from dyed yarns, patpatti khes with white and red checks and tukridaar khes with white and blue checks are among the named types. Khes from Rampur State was famous for its fine cotton and was sometimes woven with gold thread and coloured borders.

Hand-woven khes has become uncommon. Today it is woven by a small number of handloom weavers, and the craft is kept going by cooperatives, designers and handloom revivalists. Because there is little written documentation, more research on its local history is still being done.

Facts

Trousseau A part of a bride's dowry. Women in Punjab villages wove khes as part of their wedding trousseau for years.
Many names Named by pattern. Charkhana is a chequered khes, dabba khes has squares of dyed yarn, patpatti has white and red checks and tukridaar white and blue checks.
In pairs Woven in two spans. Because looms are narrow, spans of khes were woven in pairs and then stitched together.
Rampur A big khes. Khes from Rampur were larger, in sizes up to about six by nine feet, and famous for fine cotton.

Market

A rare handloom at craft fairs and revivalist shops

Hand-woven khes is hard to find in ordinary shops. It is sold at handloom fairs, through cooperatives and by a few designers, as blankets, throws, bedcovers, shawls and stoles. Machine-woven cotton blankets in similar checks are common and cost less; hand-woven khes has slight unevenness and is heavier and thicker.

Sustainability

Handloom cotton made to be used for decades

Khes is woven by hand on a loom without electricity and from natural cotton, and a good khes can last for decades and be passed on. Choosing handloom cotton over synthetic blankets reduces plastic fibre use and supports weaver families.

Products

Thin cotton khes: A lighter khes for warmer weather
Thick cotton and winter khes: Heavier, denser blankets and wraps
Bed cover and sleeping coverlet: Large cloths for the bed or charpai
Khes shawl: A smaller khes worn as a wrap
Double-layer (reversible) khes: Two faces with different patterns
Striped, checked and geometric khes: Named by their patterns
Dowry and household khes: Traditional pieces for a bride's trousseau and daily home use

Words to know

Khes: A thick handwoven cotton blanket cloth.
Charkhana: A chequered pattern.
Dabba khes: Khes with squares formed from dyed yarns.
Khesi: A wider khes used for sheets.
Malwa: The region in southern Punjab where khes is woven in India.
Double weave: Two layers woven together, so the two sides differ.

Try it yourself

Khes Paper Check Weave · Beginner · 30 - 60 mins
Khes Cardboard Loom Mat · Intermediate · 2.5 - 4 hours