Saree border & pallu

Not all the work here goes on a blouse. A saree can be worked directly, and it is the quiet way to make something you already own worth wearing again.

What can be done

A plain border lifted with zari or stone. A motif added to the pallu so it reads in photographs. A run of work along the length of a saree that has gone dull. An old silk given a new border rather than being replaced.

Old sarees, honestly assessed

The most common request is a mother's or grandmother's silk, kept well, that wants lifting rather than replacing. Whether it will take the design you have in mind depends on how the silk has aged, and that can only be judged with it in hand. Sometimes the answer is that it will not, and you will hear that before any needle goes near it.

Plan it with the blouse

Work on the pallu and work on the blouse are seen in the same photograph, so they should be decided in the same conversation. Matching gold to gold has to be done in daylight with both pieces in hand.

Bring the saree. This is one job that cannot be quoted properly from a photograph alone.