Close view of a yarn dyed blue and white Madras gingham check on the mazo Bluebell Breeze Tie-Top, with its shoulder tie and smocked bodice

Madras checks vs printed checks: how to tell the difference

A Madras check is woven: the cotton threads are dyed first and then woven into the pattern, so the check runs right through the cloth and looks the same on both sides. A printed check is a plain fabric with the pattern printed on top, so the back is paler or plain. Here is how to tell them apart, in a shop or at home.

What yarn dyed Madras check is

Madras is a light, plain weave cotton from South India, named after Madras, the old name for Chennai. The yarn is dyed before it goes on the loom. The weaver then sets up coloured threads one way and coloured threads the other way, and the check or stripe appears as the cloth is woven. Every line in the pattern is a real thread. Where a coloured thread running one way crosses a coloured thread running the other way, you get a third, mixed shade. That is why a Madras check has so much depth for such a light cloth.

The best Madras is still woven on handlooms. Hand weaving leaves small irregularities in the lines, a slightly uneven stripe here, a thicker thread there. Read more in our guide to what Madras check is, including where it came from and how it differs from gingham.

What a printed check is

A printed check starts as a plain fabric, often white or a single colour. The check is then printed onto one face, with dye or pigment. It costs less to make, because nobody has to plan the pattern thread by thread. The pattern sits on the surface rather than in the weave.

Five ways to tell them apart

1. Turn it over. This is the quickest test. A woven Madras check is the same on the back as on the front. A printed check is clearly lighter on the back, or shows the plain base colour with only a faint shadow of the pattern.

2. Look at a cut edge or the inside of a seam. Find a seam allowance or a loose thread inside the garment. On a yarn dyed check, the loose threads are coloured, because the colour is in the yarn. On a printed check, the threads at the edge are usually white or the base colour.

3. Look closely at the lines. On a woven check, each line follows the threads exactly, and where two colours cross you see a small woven texture of both. On a print, the edges of the lines can look soft or slightly blurred, and the pattern may run a little off the grain of the cloth, as if it was laid on at an angle.

4. Feel it. A handloom Madras feels light and slightly textured, with small slubs and uneven threads you can feel under your fingers. Some prints, especially pigment prints, leave a faint coating on the surface that feels a touch stiffer than the cloth around it.

5. Think about the wash. A printed pattern wears on the surface over time, so it can look faded or patchy where the fabric rubs. A woven check keeps its pattern for as long as the cloth lasts, because the colour goes all the way through. Yarn dyed Madras can lose a little colour in the first few washes, and old vegetable dyed Madras was famous for it: an American shop once sold it as "guaranteed to bleed". With modern dyes it is usually a small amount at the start, which is why we say wash dark colours separately the first few times.

How to check in a shop, in one minute

  • Flip the hem or the inside of the sleeve and compare the back with the front.
  • Look inside at a seam for loose threads and check their colour.
  • Hold the cloth up to the light. On a light woven check, the pattern shows through the same from both sides.
  • Read the label or the product page. "Yarn dyed", "woven check" and "handloom" point to a woven pattern. "Printed" or no word at all is worth a second look.

Shopping online? Zoom into the close up photo. On a woven check you can see the threads cross in the coloured lines. Then read the material line on the product page.

Is a printed check bad?

No. A printed check can be a fine, cheap shirt, and it lets designers put a check on fabrics that are hard to weave in pattern. It is often brighter at first, plainer on the back, and the print is what fades. If you want a check that looks the same inside out and gets softer the more you wash it, a woven Madras is the one to look for.

How to care for Madras check

Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle. Wash dark colours separately the first few times. Do not tumble dry, dry it in the shade and iron on low heat. Handloom cotton gets softer after the first few washes, so the shirt you buy is not the softest it will be.

Why we use handloom Madras for The Madras Theory

Our first collection, The Madras Theory, is cut from 100% handloom Madras cotton, woven in Tamil Nadu. We chose it because it is light, it breathes in an Indian summer, and the checks and stripes are woven in, not printed on. It is also the cloth we grew up around. Before someone overseas turns it into a luxury trend, we would rather wear it ourselves first.

Four pieces, all in XS to XL:

Turn any of them inside out. The check looks the same on the back.

Questions people ask

How can you tell if a check is woven or printed?

Look at the back of the cloth. A woven check, like Madras, looks the same on both sides. A printed check is paler or plain on the back, and its loose threads at a seam are usually white.

Is Madras check the same as gingham?

Not quite. Gingham is an even check in one colour plus white. Madras is usually more colours and less regular. Madras is also the name of the cloth itself, so a gingham check can be woven in Madras cotton, like our Bluebell top.

Does Madras check fade or bleed?

Yarn dyed Madras can release a little colour in the first few washes. Wash it cold and keep dark colours separate at first. The pattern does not wear off the way a print can, because the colour is in the thread.

Is yarn dyed fabric better than printed fabric?

It is different. Yarn dyed fabric keeps its pattern through the cloth and on both sides, and usually costs more to make. Printed fabric is cheaper and can carry any design, but the pattern sits on one face.