How to fold a saree

How to fold a saree…

You want to fold it perfectly by yourself?

The neat fold of the saree depends on how you wash it. A worn saree can be creased too badly to be folded without ironing. But for the best result,  you must wash the saree, and wring out the water. The most important step is to shake off the wrinkles thoroughly after that. You can take the help of another person, hold the four ends of the saree and shake off all the crease. 

Watch out for bunched up borders

Hang it straight on the clothes line if possible. If you are folding it, fold it evenly. Then take some time to check the borders as they tend to bunch up and will be impossible to iron if they dry in that state. Stretch the border fabric well till it is flat and let it all dry. Now once it dries this way, the saree is very easy to fold.

The easiest way to fold it?

Just as it is easy to wring and shake off the wrinkles with the help of another person, the easiest way to fold it is also with the help of a second person. Hold the four ends and shake any remaining wrinkles together and the two of you can bring the edges together. Keeping shaking any unwanted folds in the middle and fold it into smaller rectangles till it becomes a square. My grandmother always kept her saree under a pillow so that it looked it had been pressed well. A totally different kind of a head press, eh?

The best way for a single person to fold a saree?

Stretch it out on a table. Bring the ends together. Keep folding, pressing the folds without creases, and bring it to a square shape.

Professional pre-pleating and folding

Now you feel that you need a professional pre-pleating of  your saree. You begin with the pallu. Pleat it into a slim stip and iron it. Then take the middle pleats and iron them. Fold the rest of the saree over the middle pleats and wrap the pallu over it.

Some experts even starch and prepleat together. They do this by soaking a spongy or porous little cloth pillow into starch, and applying it on the saree, pleating it, and then ironing it. This requires some professional level commitment and repeated practice with old sarees before being tried on your current favourites.

All in all, folding requires some patience and practice. But it feels great to fold and manage your sarees without giving it to the laundry every single time.