A short guide to handloom cloth

Handloom cloth is woven on a loom worked by hand and foot rather than by motor. It is slower to make, and you can feel the difference: a slightly uneven texture, a softer hand and a drape that settles with wear.

How to tell

Look at the reverse. Hand-woven motifs often show small floats of thread and tiny irregularities in the pattern — signs of a person at work, not faults.

Living with it

Handloom cotton softens with every wash. Wash it cool, dry it in the shade and iron while it’s still a little damp — it will get better for years.

The small irregularities are the point. They’re how you know someone made it.

Words by the FORM. studio.