Historical answer
Why did Gandhi spin his own cloth?
Adopting hand-woven cloth brought Gandhi and the Sabarmati Ashram into contact with weavers’ hardships. He then pursued spinning to reduce their remaining dependence on mills.
The short answer
Gandhi and other members of the Sabarmati Ashram first adopted hand-woven cloth made from Indian yarn. That experience revealed the hardships facing weavers. Because the yarn still came from mills, they then pursued hand-spinning to reduce that dependence and make self-reliance more practical.
Historical evidence
What Gandhi recorded
In his autobiography, Gandhi said the Sabarmati Ashram first resolved to wear hand-woven cloth made only from Indian yarn. That choice brought its members into direct contact with weavers and taught them about obstacles to obtaining yarn, fraud, and growing indebtedness.
Historical evidence
Why spinning followed
The ashram still depended on Indian mills for yarn. Gandhi wrote that this made its members feel like agents of those mills rather than independent producers. They therefore sought to spin their own yarn as well as weave their cloth. In the same account, he connected relief from mass poverty with the establishment of swaraj.
Modern interpretation boundary
Where interpretation begins
The historical record supports an economic and political explanation for spinning. It does not, by itself, prove that Gandhi required every person in every circumstance to make their own clothes. Applying this example to present-day consumption, technology, or employment is a modern interpretation.
Sources and claims supported
- An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth ↗
M. K. Gandhi · Part V, Chapter XL, “The Birth of Khadi”
Supports: The ashram’s hand-woven-cloth pledge, what members learned about weavers, their continued dependence on mills, and the decision to spin yarn.