Khes

What is Khes?

Khes is a thick cotton cloth from the northern Indian subcontinent, made on handlooms from coarse yarn. The same word covers a blanket and the simple wrap a man throws loosely over his upper body, and the cloth does both jobs. It is a damask weave, which means the pattern sits in the structure of the cloth rather than on top of it. Most khes is plain cotton; a few varieties bring in silk. In winter it is bedding, a cover, and something to pull around the shoulders. Women in Punjab villages have long woven it, and the cloth is tied closely to rural life there.

Where does Khes come from?

Khes belongs to the plains of Punjab, and weaving it has been a village craft there for a long time. The cloth also has a recorded place in Sindh, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, areas known for khes and for other coarse cotton textiles, particularly through the 19th and 20th centuries. Within India, production is linked to Malwa in southern Punjab, to Panipat in Haryana and to Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. In Pakistan, weaving carries on in Punjab districts such as Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Multan, Okara and Sargodha, in the villages of Cholistan, and in Sindh at Naserpur, Sehwan Sharif and Thatta. The sources give no founding legend for the cloth.

How is Khes made?

Khes is woven on a handloom from coarse cotton yarn, which is what gives the cloth its thickness. Weavers work in spans, and two spans are traditionally joined by stitching to make a full piece. Size varies by place: khes from Rampur was larger, running up to about 6 by 9 feet. A wider version called khesi is woven for use as a sheet. Pattern comes from dyed yarns worked into the weave, and in Rampur a gold thread was sometimes added. Khesbaf is the term the sources use for the weaving that produces diagonal patterns.

Colours, motifs and borders

Most khes is plain, and the rest is geometric. Checks are the commonest idea, so much so that the cloth is sometimes likened to tartan, a word usually kept for Scottish textiles. Charkhana is the checked style; dabba khes builds squares from dyed yarns. Colour pairs had their own names: patpatti for white and red checks, tukridaar for white and blue. Diamonds appear as well. Khes from Rampur State was known for better cotton, interwoven patterns, gold thread and borders in several coloured yarns.

How Khes is worn

There is nothing elaborate about wearing khes. As a garment it is a plain piece of cloth, thrown loosely over the upper body by men in Pakistan and in northwest India, most often in cold weather. The rest of the time it does other work: spread as bedding, folded as a comfort object, or pulled up as a cover. The sources describe the wear in outline only, without a set drape, knot or pleat.

When Khes is worn

Winter is the plain reason khes gets used, as a wrap and as bedding. Beyond that it has a place at weddings: in Punjab villages women have woven khes over the years as part of a wedding trousseau, so a piece may be made well before it is needed and kept for the marriage. Household use and celebration overlap here. The sources do not link khes to a particular festival, rite or religious community.

Styles of Khes

Khes differs from place to place in weave and origin, which is how the sources say the varieties were told apart. Cotton is standard, with a few cotton and silk versions. Patterns separate one type from another: plain, checked, diamond, dabba squares, diagonal khesbaf. Khesi is a wider weave for sheets. Rampur's output was the showpiece, larger in size and richer in thread. Production today is spread between Malwa and Panipat in India and the Punjab and Sindh districts of Pakistan. The sources do not compare handloom with powerloom khes.

What Khes means

Khes carries the memory of a rural economy. In the 19th and 20th centuries the Punjab, Sindh, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh region was known for this cloth and for other coarse cotton textiles, and weaving gave village women a craft of their own. A khes in a trousseau is cloth made in advance for a marriage. The sources record no Geographical Indication or other official protection for it, and no film or fashion history. Its standing rests on use: warmth, bedding and the work of the women who wove it.

Questions people ask about Khes

Good reading and sources

• Sangrur | How this entrepreneur is helping empower rural women through handicraftHindustan Times, Article
• Of lost weavesDeccan Herald, Article

• Khes on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data