After it is yours
Caring for a silk saree
A silk saree outlives you if you let it. Four habits that decide whether yours reaches a granddaughter.
Sarees in Indian families are handed down. These are the habits that decide whether yours reaches a granddaughter.
The four habits that matter
- Change the folds every few months. Silk weakens along a crease that never moves. Refolding along different lines is the single most useful thing you can do.
- Wrap it in cotton, never plastic. Plastic traps moisture and yellows the zari. An old cotton dhoti or a muslin bag works best.
- Air it, don't wash it. Two or three hours in shade twice a year keeps it fresh. Direct sun fades the dye. Dry clean sparingly — every clean takes a little life out of the silk.
- Keep the perfume off. Spray before you drape, not after. Deodorant and attar stain silk permanently, and no cleaner will lift it.
Follow these and a Mysore crepe silk saree will outlast the occasion it was bought for by decades.
Questions people ask
How do I look after a silk saree?
Dry clean sparingly. Change the folds every few months, wrap it in cotton or muslin rather than plastic, and air it in the shade twice a year. Spray perfume before you drape the saree, not after.