A Guide to Making a Saree at Home

“How to make a saree at home” is the very first question to pop-up in your mind if you are creative enough and love to go customized when it comes to fashion. Saree is the most exquisite Indian attire that gives you a pretty and ‘desi’ look when you wrap it around your body. It’s enough to make anybody fall in love with you when you create your best looks in a simple handmade saree.

So, are you thinking, how to make a saree at home? Trust me; it is not at all a challenging task. You just need to pick a fabric and stitch it with your creative embellishing ideas and get your own customized piece at home. 5.5 meters of fabric is enough for turning it into a saree. For pre-stitching a saree, you need to measure the areas for pleats and pallu and then stitch them accordingly. Using several techniques and implementing a myriad of saree making ideas, you can turn your old saree into a masterpiece. You can also create a designer saree for your wedding with lovely embellishments. Adding a border to the customized design will feed your imagination for a dreamy saree.

How Can I Make a Saree?

Well, making a saree at home is simpler than any other Indian attire. Do you know why? That’s because you don’t have to get indulged in any kind of special cutting of the fabric, as the saree itself is long and single-piece apparel.

So, are you thinking, how to make a saree at home step by step? Well, check out the steps given below.

Find a Fabric

To give your homemade saree the best look, first, you need to find a soft, comfy fabric with a gorgeous appearance. As you are making the saree on your own, you can go with your choice of material.

Here, I have enlisted the most common and alluring fabrics that you can opt to create a stunning homemade saree.

●  Georgette

Georgette is a soft and lightweight fabric, which lets you make a smooth designer homemade saree. If you want to create a comfortable yet gorgeous look, then georgette is the best fabric to opt for. It is easy to stitch and easy to decorate.

●  Net

Net is a transparent, open-mesh fabric, which is quite a trendy saree material nowadays. The material looks great when you pair it with embroidery borders or lace borders to create a stylish party-wear saree look.

●  Silk

India is the cult place of silk fabrics. So, never forget to try on the lustrous, rich, and light silk fabric.

There are a large variety of silks. Pure silk is lightweight and smooth with a slightly glossy texture, while raw silk has a bit of roughness in its matte-finished rich texture.

Tussar silk, on the other hand, is a traditional form of raw silk that you can opt for to make an elegant saree. Also, there is Matka silk, which gives a glossy and shiny appearance to your handmade saree.

●  Crepe

Do you want to create a lustrous saree for your next wedding party? Well, then the crepe material is not a bad option to try. The lightweight, crispy and smooth fabric comes with sheer elegance when you team it up with the finest embroidery.

●  Cotton

Cotton is an excellent choice of material when you want to create a very comfy saree for a perfect summer look. Also, cotton is relatively easy to manage while stitching and adding design or embellishments on it.

●  Chiffon

How can chiffon go out of the list when it is used to create iconic saree looks for ages? Well, a chiffon fabric will look amazing when it is impressively wrapped around your body and create a stunning appearance for any casual or party look.

Stitch the Borders

While making a saree, always ensure to stitch the border edges of the saree. But why is it so? When you visit a fabric shop to buy the material, you will get a cut piece from a large fabric. And this will cause the threads to come out from the cutting ends, giving a very fussy and messy look to your saree. So, to avoid such a shabby look, stitch the hemline and the end of your pallu.

Add Embellishments

A saree looks gorgeous when you add an attractive border to it. No matter how simple the saree is, an embellished border will give your saree a vibrant and expensive vibe. But are you wondering, “how to design a saree border?” Well, it’s simple!

If your hands are good at embroidery, then you can create a variety of floral or patterned designs on your saree edges. Or you can use decorative beads, sequins, pearls, shiny threads, Zari, Kundan, tassels, pom-poms, etc., to give your saree borders a rich and expensive look. Also, there are sequin gums available in the market that you can apply on the border area to create a shiny and easy bead-like look. A fancy brocade border is also a good choice.

Just stitch the border evenly near your saree edges and make the attire look absolutely beautiful. Also, you can add this border to your blouse to create a nicely matched piece.

Create beauty to be the center of attraction amongst the crowd! That’s because, in the end, “Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life,” as remarked by Bill Cunningham.

Add False Border

After you are done with adding embellished borders, you will have to make your saree more secure against wear-and-tear. But are you wondering how to do so?

Well, add false borders in the inward area at the bottom of your saree. These borders prevent your saree’s edges from getting tangled with your shoes, which saves the saree fabric from tearing out.

However, this step is optional!

How Much Fabric Do I Need for a Saree?

While making a saree, the most critical question that can come up in your mind is,“how much fabric do I need for a saree?”

Well, for a normal saree, the length of the fabric should be at least 5.50 meters. An approximate 6 meters is enough to cover you properly with all draping styles. The width of the saree should be about 1.15 meters. And in the case of a blouse, 80 centimeters is good to go!

For a lehenga style saree, the outfit’s length and width must be 4.3 meters and 1.1 meters, respectively, to perfectly cover up all pleats and drapes.

If you want to sew a half-half saree, then each fabric should be around 2.85 meters long to ensure proper stitching of the material and make the saree.

How Do You Pre-Stitch a Saree?

Do you feel it to be a troublesome job to wear a saree and manage it well?Well, knowing how do you pre-stitch a saree is going to be your darling then!

A pre-stitched saree is the best way to complement your style while saving a lot of your time. If you don’t want to end up creating a mess with your saree, learn how you can pre-stitch it to create a very confident saree look.

• First, measure your waist. Then, measure the same length on the area of your saree fabric that you will wrap around your waist.
• Leaving that length aside, you need to start creating your pleats. The pleated area should be up to 30 centimeters prior to the pallu area.
• Then set the pleats properly after gathering them and pin-up securely. After that, stitch the pleats properly to make them stay secured in place.
• You can add designer patches on the pleats to make it look more creative and pretty. Also, it’s an excellent tactic to cover up the messiness of the stitch marks.
• If you are planning to keep the pallu open, then there is no need to stitch it. But if you want to drape your pallu neatly, then start with measurements from the pleated area. Measure the area as per your bust size. After that, pleat your pallu neatly and stitch it to secure the drapes.

Saree Making Ideas at Home

You might be having a lot of expensive designer sarees in your wardrobe, but it’s not as special as your innovative homemade sarees. With your own touch of customization, the handmade sarees look thousands of times unique from any other sarees available in the market.

So, are you ready to make some creative sarees at your home as per your design choice? Well, here are some of the best saree making ideas at home.

● Go for Pearly Embellishment

Do you dream of wearing a beautiful pearly saree? Then, why not transform any of your dull sarees into a shimmery pearly saree? Whether it is a plain simple saree or an old one, embed pearly beads on it using the embroidery technique.

Simply buy some pearls of any color you want and stitch them on your saree! You can either cover the entire pallu with a variety of shapes of pearls or fix them by your saree borders. Use fabric glues for firm adhesion of pearls onto the saree.

● Dye It Up!

Dying your saree is the best idea to create a colorful and unique look. You can either use the traditional dying method on your cotton sarees or apply the tie and dye technique to create various patterns on your handmade saree.

● Add Some Velvet

For creating a rich and luxurious look, using velvet will be the best option. Whether it is your plain chiffon saree, georgette, or a simple net saree, give it a royal vibe, along with adding velvet borders to it. Also, you can get a charming look if you drape around a half-half saree with a velvety pallu.

● Zari and Kundan

Zari, Zardosi, or Kundan are the most brilliant ways to create a well-decorated saree from a plain one. Embellishments like Zardosi and Zari work look immensely pretty and turn your saree into a beautiful piece of art.

● Pom-Poms!

What are your ideas about the woolen pom-poms? Pretty, right! Then, turn your simple saree into an adorable one, along with rich pom-pom embellishments. You can either buy pom-poms or use the DIY ones and place them on the borders and pallu of your saree to make it look cute and unique.

● Shine Along with Sequins

A sequin border is enough to render your saree a wholesome glamor in no time. Give your saree a gorgeous transformation with the sequin borders all over to make it bling in the best way.

● Add Mirrors

Mirror work is always the most anticipated look for any Indian apparel. Also, it is never out of trend. Create shiny and glossy reflective vibes with the addition of patterned mirrors on the hemline of your saree.

After all, everyone should follow the words of Paris Hilton, “The only rule is don’t be boring and dress cute wherever you go. Life is too short to blend in.“

Making Designer Saree at Home

Making a designer saree at home is one of the best ways to achieve a very decent and gorgeous look for your upcoming party. Also, it saves you from spending a hefty amount of bucks in getting a pretty designer saree.

So, here is how you can create your designer saree at home with your own choice of customizations.

● A Lacy Beauty!

For a lace embellishment, cut out laces of your choice and stitch them along your saree edges to get a dazzling border. You can add simple frills with 2-inches of pleats and sew it accordingly to give your saree a ruffle style look.

Also, you can add another decorative lace to hide the messiness of the stitches of your frills. You can go on adding ribbons to make your pallu look more decorative and create a lustrous lacy saree.

● A Gorgeous Cutwork Border!

You can simply opt for a Banarasi or brocade material to adorn your homemade saree. Turn your 5.5 meters saree into an artwork with a sheer golden cutwork border and attach it all over in the pallu and saree borders. You can also add a beaded cutwork border to give the entire saree look a classy lift.

How to Make Saree Drawings?

Saree drawing is another innovative and unique way to turn your saree into a masterpiece. So, are you wondering how to make saree drawings?Simply take your brushes, fabric paints and bring out your inner Picasso.

You can create gorgeous flowers in the pallu area and keep the body simple with a similar floral design. Or you can make mandala arts, patterns, figures, or any other attractive designs on your saree to make it look more beauteous and elegant.

Wedding Saree Making at Home

Weddings are all about looking more gorgeous!

But are you one of those smart and creative brides who love to design their own saree and like to wear something unique? Well, then knowing wedding saree making at home will be much beneficial to you.

Pick a Fabric That Goes Well with Your Ideas

While selecting a fabric for your wedding saree, you need to keep a few things in your mind, as stated below.

• Weddings are undoubtedly the D-day of your life. Hence, you need to focus on the fabric’s glamor that will make you the center of attraction. Pick a shimmery fabric like Chanderi, raw silk, pure silk, Kanjivaram, brocade, or Banarasi silk.
• At your wedding, you need to perform many rituals. So, you must not want your saree to become the cause of your discomfort, no matter how much embellishment you are adding to it. Thus, opt for such a fabric, which is sturdy and not much fancy.
• Pick a lightweight one like chiffon, georgette, silk, etc. Do you want to know why? Well, as you add embellishments to your saree, it becomes heavier. You’ll also be wearing heavy pieces of jewelry at your wedding, which can make you feel uncomfortable to move if your saree is not lightweight.

Focus on Embellishment

Being a bride, you must not want to stay dimmed with your charm, isn’t it? So, focus on the proper decoration of your saree. Glam up in style by adding pearls, sequins, stones, beads, or embroidered borders. You can also go for tassels or cutout patches to make your saree look more gorgeous.

Keep Enough Space for the Pallu While Stitching

While picking a fabric for your wedding saree, it is better to choose a bit lengthy one, as you need to cover your head. Also, your stylist may suggest you have a creative pallu draping style. So, make your pallu look impressive with a mix and match of glittery embellishments.

Go on Experimenting

To look the best on your D-day, you need to experiment with your wedding saree before the final shot. So, you can try on the half-half saree idea or turn your saree into a lehenga saree for setting a new style inspo for other brides.

Pay Special Attention to Your Blouse

While making the blouse for your wedding saree, remember to use the same fabric material you used in the saree. Or, you can go for color blocking and then smartly co-ordinate the embellishments to make your blouse go perfectly in sync with your bridal look.

How to Make a Designer Saree from Your Old Saree?

Turning your old saree into a designer one is the most effective way to get the best value for your money. Here, I have jotted down a few simple ideas on how to make a designer saree from an old saree.

• Apply the method of dying your old cotton saree.
• You can stitch store-bought readymade cutwork Zari, Kundan, Zardosi, or brocade borders on the edges of your simple old saree.
• You can cut halves of two of your old sarees and merge them to create a nice contrasting half-half saree look.
• Make handmade flowers from net fabric and stitch them all around your saree body, maintaining proper gaps.
• Go for a floral embroidered border.
• Cut your saree and sew it in the way of a lehenga to wear it like a lehenga saree.
• Turn your old saree into a gorgeous one by adding pom-poms and tassels.

Bottom Line

So, as evident, “how to make a saree at home” is not at all a challenging task if you know how to stay creative with your ideas. Simply browse through the inspirations on the internet and bring out your inner creativity to design your own homemade saree in the way you want!

So, go on creating innovative sarees; as Manish Malhotra says, “What works for our Indian crafts is the mix of craftsmanship, culture, and a touch of modernity.“