What is bleeding Madras?

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.