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Bleeding Madras is a hand-spun yarn woven in India, made popular in the 1960s (most notably in S E Hinton’s book The Outsiders). Dyes that were not colorfast were used, resulting in bleeding and fading colors that gave the fabric a new, personalized look each time it was laundered. As the colors bled into the water during each wash, it was called Bleeding Madras. Especially popular in California at the time, shirts were marketed as guaranteed to fade.
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Bleeding madras is the real deal. It’s where madras plaid got its popularity from. The fabric was woven with yarns, that were dyed using vegetable and natural dyes, that were not colorfast, resulting in the colors “bleeding” with each wash, finally leading to a fabric that had a worn-out, vintage look, which was very appealing to some. Hence, it became a very popular fabric for shirts and vintage menswear.
Today, bleeding madras fabric is still available, with sellers such as https://www.fabriconlinestore.com/product-category/bleeding-madras/ , that sell it by the yard. Great for making shirts for myself.