If the Indian attire is famous for one thing; it’s their sarees! We have put together an ultimate UK sarees guide for anyone who loves sarees or wants to know about more about its types, materials, designs and how to wear different kinds of sarees. Sarees are a versatile attire that is worn both casually or at religious ceremonies and weddings. The garment is usually 2-3 feet wide and 6-8 yards in length. Traditionally, a saree includes the garment itself along with a petticoat. After wrapping the garment over the waist, it goes over the petticoat and drapes over the shoulder and flows freely on the back.
Sarees are a part of multiple cultures and are most popular in Nepal, Pakistan, India and also in the UK. Saree is a timeless garment which women from all walks of life have been wearing for centuries. The fabric with which the saree is made of itself might be pure cotton or expensive silk. Additionally, the material may be dyed in a range of colours with varying levels of embroidery. Often at times, the quality of the embroidery itself defines the overall cost of a saree. Usually, expensive Indian or UK sarees tend to have an intricate embroidery, with Swarovski elements and silk-thread finishing along the borders.
The cultural equivalent of sarees for men is the salwar kameez, which is also worn by women. However, for women, salwar kameez is designed. Differently, it has a slimmer cut and is paired with a variety of salwar. We have talked about these in detail in our other blog.

 

A Brief History of Indian-UK Sarees

Research shows that Indian saree dates back to 2800 – 1800 BC, as the statues of Goddesses retrieved from the remains of the Indus civilization; were often discovered wearing a saree. In the middle of the 19th century, some controversies in Kerala led to the evolution of the saree that women wear today. Previously it was designed to cover the body differently. Today, sarees are the epitome of modesty, class, and grace in Indian cultures.

 

Indian UK Sarees Design

Commonly, sarees that are worn daily as everyday wear have cotton stitching. Some communities, such as the Malayalis have unbleached cotton. Usually, however, most commodities prefer to use sarees made of dyed cotton with different eloquent patterns. Cotton sarees are supposed to be easy-going and lightweight so that a woman can go out and run the errands smoothly, even in hot weather.
On the other hand, sarees made of silk are reserved for weddings and other formal occasions such as religious ceremonies. Modern sarees involve the use of other different types of fabric that include linen, satin, and tulle. The texture and structure of the fabric primarily affect the draping. For instance, it is challenging to form pleats in thicker materials.
As far as the designs go, they vary a lot depending on the culture and the community. For instance, in India, it is common for sarees to have traditional motifs such as religious symbols and paisley. On the other hand, modern designs include attractive floral and symmetrical geometrical patterns. Sarees that are meant for daily wear, however, tend to be simple with minimal designing such as a different colour border and blouse for contrast.
Traditionally, sarees feature undecorated blouses. However, several modern styles and formal sarees feature blouses that have heavy embroidery and beading on them.

The three popular designs include the following:

The Round Neck Design

The round neck blouse is the most common type of design for traditional sarees. Nevertheless, it is quite an elegant design and is timeless. In case nothing works, you can be sure that this type of blouse will definitely work!

The Square Neck Design

The square neck blouse is another simple design that you can always rely on. It is an elegant and timeless design that is quite eye-pleasing, especially with silk sarees.

 

Chinese Collar Design

This blouse design mainly goes well with cotton sarees. While the Chinese collar blouse is quite easy to cut and make, it gives off a very elite and elegant look. It is a relatively recent design, which gained popularity in the year 2016.

Apart from the designs  mentioned earlier, following are also worn but less commonly:

• High neck
• Tube style
• Shirt style
• Backless blouse
• Tube style

 

How is the Saree Worn?

There is no single way of wearing a saree. It is customised according to the community to which one belongs. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh villages in South India, the Nivi saree is quite common. The fabric of this saree is pleated through one’s legs and is tucked behind the back. This makes it easier for women to walk in these sarees without tripping over the fabric.

The pleats of Gujarati sarees are also often tucked behind the back similar to the Nivi style. However, the pallu is draped through the right shoulder and is pulled through the front.

On the other hand, Bengali sarees are similar to traditional sarees, but the draping method has a few differences. A key ring is used to weigh down the saree’s pallu, and the fibre lacks a thicker lining. Sometimes a decorative trinket is also used to weigh down the pallu.

Two pleats are created at the center of the waist; it is then wrapped from the right side. The  fabric is then reversed and is wrapped from the left side. Next, two pleats in the centre are tucked very neatly at the waist. At the same time, the pallu of the saree gets draped over the left shoulder.

 

Common Saree Fabric Types

There are several saree materials that you can choose from. These include the following:

Assam Silk

The silk industry in Assam, India, is famous all over the world for producing high-end sarees for everyday wear and formal occasions. Without a doubt, sarees made of Assam silk are well-woven, exquisite  and have unique designs. Typically, these sarees have delightful floral patterns inspired by nature.

 

These sarees feature unmatched threadwork, embroidery and zari work. Additionally, a nakshi border and pallus with stripes make these sarees stand out. They are a favourite for all the modern fashion enthusiasts who want to carry a hint of tradition with them. Assam Silk is a

fabric type that is adored all over the world because of its unmatched quality.

Arani Silk

The Arani Silk comes from a small town in Tamil Nadu. Arani Silk is made of 5-9 yards of unstitched cloth, with a width of around 2-4 feet. One of the main characteristics of Arani silk is that it holds the vibrant hues permanently featuring high-quality weaving. Moreover, Arani silk sarees tend to have bright constrating colours. At the same time, they also feature zari patch borders which are often unique these sarees.

Bandhani

Bandhani sarees date back to as far as 4000 BC, based on the artefacts that have been discovered from the archaeological exploration of the Indus Valley Civilization. Sarees made from Bandhani fabric tend to have a unique place in the world of Indian Sarees primarily because of its unmatched qualities.

The garmet is plucked with fingernails to form multiple bindings, to provide a meaningful figuring. This is how the Bandhani fabric is decorated. These patterns may include the Shikhari, Bavan Baug, and the Chandra-Kala along with many more.

Bandhani sarees typically tend to be hand loomed exclusively. At the same time, they feature an exclusive combination of colours that are unique to these sarees. These sarees are more or less, stable among Gujarati families in India and are most famous in the Ahmadabad region.

Crepe

The Crepe fabric is quite peculiar for having a very crimpy and crisp appearance. It can be considered as a very anglicized version of the silk fabric. This saree is woven from silk yar when. It is in its gum or natural state. All in all, the crape fabric tends to be quite luxurious and have a very pebbly texture with a high sheen.

Mostly in textiles, the canton variety is used because it carries a very lovely and wavy appearance. In the production of this fabric, yard belonging two bobbins is twisted in opposite directions, which results in a very even and smooth material. As a result of this, the original fabric does not carry any similarities to the newly produced fabric. As a result of this, the crape sarees are most commonly used in evening sarees and bridal sarees.

Chiffon

Chiffon is a very lightweight textile that that is plain woven and quite a balanced fabric. It is woven from alternate twist crepe yarns that come from silk, cotton, and synthetic fibres such as rayon, polyester, and nylon. Due to the twist, results in the thread getting puckered a little in both the directions after the weaving process. As a result, the fabric has a slightly rough texture such as chequered mesh.  A lot of volume is added to the material to make it thicker. Due to

this reason, chiffon is commonly used as a base fabric for appliques and embroideries.

When used in sarees, chiffon tends to add a lot shimmer to the attire. Due to its widespread popularity, Chiffon sarees are found all over India.

Faux Georgette

Faux georgette was created by experimenting on twisted yarns of polyester, nylon, and rayon rather than silk. It is an artificial fabric that is created from the combination of other fibres. As the resulting material has a very breezy, soft and durable; it is highly suited to the hot weather in India.

Sarees that are made of faux georgette tend to be flowy and light. It is quite easy to print on this fabric and embellishments and embroidery on faux georgette is also surprisingly easy as compared to other materials.

In comparison to pure georgette, faux georgette happens to be far more affordable and does not burn a hole in the pocket.

Sarees that are made of faux georgette carry a large variety and can be worn on various occasions ranging from formal workplace parties to weddings. At the same time, sarees made from faux georgette are also highly suitable for everyday use.

This is the prime reason why various ethnic prints, including Madhubani, Dabu, and Batik are used for the decoration of sarees made from this fabric. At the same time, many faux georgette sarees also tend to have modern designs such as abstract art and art deco. Since faux georgette is translucent, sarees made from this fabric can be paired with many designer blouses.

Kanjeevaram

Kanjeevaram also referred to as Kanchipuram fabric more like Benarasi. However, it can be considered as the South Indian version. Kanjeevaram fabric makes use of pure mulberry silk threads that are woven together very carefully. This fabric is primarily produced in the south Indian region, and sarees made from kanjeevaram are timeless in their nature. As a result of this, kanjeevaram sarees have remained popular all over India from many generations.

In Kanjeevaram sarees, the pally and the body are knitted together in zig-zag patterns after. Individual stitching. Often at times, the borders of Kanjeevaram sarees reflect motifs that show different features of the mega Indian epics and Indian history. Kanjeevaram sarees with gold cloths are usually preferred for religious occasions. This is because they are considered to be pious for such occasions.