How to drape a saree, step by step

A saree is one long piece of fabric — usually about six yards, sometimes more — worn over a fitted blouse and a petticoat. The petticoat is not optional. It is what the pleats tuck into, and a loose one will drag the whole drape down by the end of the evening. Tie it snug at the waist, high enough that the saree sits where you want your waistline to look.

Put your shoes on before you begin. The hem length is decided by the height you will be standing at, and the bottom edge should just clear the floor in front of your toes.

• A saree you can manage — a lighter fabric is kinder for a first attempt than a heavily worked silk.
• A fitted blouse. If yours has never quite fitted, that is a small alteration and worth doing before the day, not on it.
• A petticoat, tied snug, in a colour close to the saree. For sheer sarees, a satin petticoat reads better under the light.
• Half a dozen saree pins, within reach.

The Nivi drape is what most people picture when they picture a saree: pleats at the front, the pallu over the left shoulder. It is comfortable to walk and sit in, which is why it became the default. Learn this one first.

1. 1

   Tuck the plain end

   Hold the plain end — the one without the decorative pallu — and tuck its top corner into the petticoat at your right waist. Let the hem sit just at the floor.

2. 2

   Wrap once

   Bring the fabric around your waist and back to the right side, keeping the bottom edge level as you go. Tuck it in neatly all the way round.

3. 3

   Measure the pallu

   Bring the remaining fabric around to the front and throw the loose end — the pallu — over your left shoulder. A common guide is to let it fall to about the back of the knee. Pin it loosely at the shoulder while the rest is unfinished.

4. 4

   Make the pleats

   Hold the fabric hanging in front of you and fold it into pleats about four to five inches wide. Depending on the length and your waist you will end up with roughly six to eight. Keep the pleats even, then let them fall straight before you tuck.

5. 5

   Tuck the pleats

   Tuck the gathered pleats into the petticoat slightly to the right of your navel, with the pleats opening towards your left. Pin them from the inside so they cannot slide out when you walk or sit.

6. 6

   Finish the pallu

   Adjust the pallu so the border sits how you want it, pin it at the blouse shoulder seam, and even out the hem before the last pins.

The Bengali drape, often called the atpoure drape, is the one to use with a classic white saree with a red border — the lal paar sada saree. It has no front pleats at all, which gives it a clean, straight silhouette, and the pallu goes over the left shoulder and falls down your back rather than across the front.

With no pleats to pin into, the look depends on a smooth wrap and a border that stays level.

1. 1

   Anchor at the right hip

   Tuck the plain end into the petticoat at your right hip, with the bottom edge just grazing the floor.

2. 2

   Wrap and keep the border level

   Wrap the saree around your waist once, bringing it across the front and round the back to the front again. Keep the decorative border running straight along the hem as you go — this is the line the whole drape is judged on.

3. 3

   Bring the pallu over the left shoulder

   Take the remaining length up and over your left shoulder and let it fall freely down your back. Do not tuck or pleat it.

4. 4

   Pin and check

   Pin the pallu at the blouse shoulder seam so it cannot slide. Step back and check that the hem is level and the border unbroken; fix it before adding a second pin at the back.

The seedha pallu drape, also called the Gujarati drape, brings the pallu from the back over the right shoulder and across the front of the body. It is the one to use when the pallu itself is the best part of the saree: a wide woven border, a printed panel, a heavily embroidered end.

The front pleats are still made as usual — it is only the pallu that changes direction.

1. 1

   Tuck, wrap and pleat as normal

   Begin exactly as for the Nivi drape: tuck the plain end at the right waist, wrap once, and make your front pleats.

2. 2

   Take the pallu over the right shoulder

   Bring the remaining fabric around the body and bring the pallu from your back over the right shoulder so it falls in front of you.

3. 3

   Decide how much to show

   Fan the pallu open across the torso to show the design, or fold it into narrower pleats for a tidier line. An open pallu shows more of the border; a pleated one is easier to control in a crowd.

4. 4

   Pin at the shoulder and waist

   Pin at the shoulder, then add a discreet pin near the waist if the pallu shifts when you walk. Check that the blouse still reads underneath — a very elaborate necklace competing with a wide pallu is a lot going on at once.

A drape that collapses usually has one of three causes, and none of them is the drape itself.

• The petticoat is loose. If it can move independently of your body, the pleats will follow it down. Take it in at the waist.
• The fabric is slippery. Chiffon and smooth silks need more pins than cotton or georgette. Read the fabric guide before you buy if a secure drape matters more than a fluid one.
• The pins are in the wrong place. Pin the pallu at the blouse shoulder seam, and pin the pleats from inside the petticoat.
• You have not sat down in it yet. Walk, climb a step and sit before you leave the house — anything that is going to move will move then.

If the blouse is the problem — the most common reason a saree does not sit right — bring the saree, blouse and petticoat to the shop. We will fit the blouse properly and pin the drape on you so you can see how it should sit.

If you would rather not manage six yards on the day, come and talk to us. We would rather spend ten minutes with you before the wedding than have you fighting with it in a photographs queue.