DR.

KUNTAMALLA SUJATHA GUDIMALLA PRASHANTHI

PROF OF SERICULTURE HEAD, DEPT OF ZOOLOGY
DEPT OF SERICULTURE, LB COLLEGE
KAKATIYA UNIVERSITY WARANGAL
WARANGAL, TELANGANA TELANGANA
The sari is made to be worn and used, that’s the joy of
it, not keeping it in a box somewhere! Wear your saris!
So doing this, you will get dirt on them and that’s a
good sign that the sari has made its way into your life.

I love washing my sari, hanging them up on the line to

get fresh in the breeze and seeing them all unfolded in
their glory is great. They also transform when wet!
If you’ve brought a cotton sari it is most likely starched
– you will need to wash out the starch (and probably a
little of the inevitable Indian grime that got on it during
its creation and life in India).

You will be so amazed how soft the sari becomes after

its washed - you just will want to wear it to bed, its so
soft!
HOW TO WASH AND DRY A SARI

All new cotton saris need to be washed before wearing.

Your brand new sari, fresh from its package might feel somewhat stiff.

This is just the starch that applied to the sari during the weaving or coloring
process. Often the starch is necessary to be able to work with very fine cotton
threads or to make the cloth easier to handle for printing.

During the gentle agitation some color might bleed from the sari. This is
normal, so don’t worry about it. However, it is better to wash one sari at a time
to prevent any bleed over.

When you are finished agitating, take the sari out of the water and gently
squeeze out the excess. Do not wring the sari.

Discard the wash water and refill the bucket with clear cool water. After a
through rinsing, again gently squeeze out the excess water.
Now its time to take your sari for a spin! Although you have squeezed quite a bit
of water out of the sari, it is still too wet and heavy to hang on the line. You can
take it for a little spin in your washer on the spin cycle for about 5 minutes.

Now your sari is ready to be hung on a clothes line, preferably outside out of
direct sunlight! To hang up first fold the sari in half. Give it a good shake as you
are folding it to remove any wrinkles and kinks and hang it in the line.

While the sari is on the line, you can save yourself some ironing time by
stretching it while it is still wet and straightening the grain of the cloth and
borders. Make the fold over the line neatly, lining up the borders.
Start from the top and grab the sari at the boarders, gently stretching
horizontally. Do this along the saris entire folded length. Now stretch the sari
vertically as shown in the picture. Do this on both sides.

There, that is all there is to it! Let your sari hang until it is almost dry or
slightly damp. Other ways of drying of sari!
 The most entertaining and beautiful way to dry is sari with the aid of a friend
on a warm day as is shown in the photos below. In the mid morning sun on the
banks of the Ganges in Varanasi or warm sands of the Puri beach.
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