Handloom cloth wants less than most people give it. Almost every saree we have seen ruined was ruined by care, not by wear.
Washing
- Silk — dry clean for the first three or four washes, while the finish is still setting. After that, a cold hand wash with a mild liquid detergent is fine if you are confident.
- Cotton — hand wash cold from the start. Wash it alone for the first two or three washes; handloom dyes give up a little colour early on, and that is normal.
- Never wring. Press the water out between your palms, or roll the saree in a towel.
- No bleach, no enzyme detergent, no washing machine, no hot water.
Drying
Dry in shade, never in direct sun — sunlight is what takes the life out of natural dyes and weakens silk. Hang over a broad rod or a line, never over a thin wire, which leaves a crease that never quite comes out.
Ironing
Low heat, on the reverse, with a cotton cloth between the iron and the saree. Never iron over zari. Zari is metal wound on a core thread; direct heat blackens it, and that is not reversible.
The habit that ruins sarees
Leaving a saree folded on the same lines for years. The fold becomes a crease, the crease becomes a weak line, and eventually the cloth splits along it — always through the pallu, always the most valuable part.
Refold along different lines every three or four months. It takes two minutes and it is the single most useful thing you can do.
Storing
- Wrap in cotton or old muslin. Never plastic — it traps moisture and yellows silk.
- Keep zari sarees away from damp. A silica sachet in the cupboard is enough.
- Use neem leaves or cloves rather than naphthalene, which leaves an odour in silk that is hard to shift.
- Air the cupboard once a season.
A care guide goes out in every Suka parcel, printed for the specific cloth you have bought.
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