How to drape a saree
44 ways of wearing six to nine yards of cloth, from the Nivi to the nauvari, each drawn step by step, with the sarees usually worn that way.
Ready-to-wear and stitched
Pre-pleated and pre-stitched sarees that skip the wrapping.
🇮🇳 5.5 to 6 yards of cloth, cut and sewn into one garmentThe pre-stitched sareeA saree with the pleats and often the pallu sewn in place, so it is stepped into and fastened like a skirt instead of being wrapped.🇮🇳 a sewn gown with an attached pallu panelThe gown sareeA ready-to-wear gown cut to look like a draped saree, with the pallu sewn on, closed by a zip and put on like a dress.
Modern styles
Fashion drapes: the butterfly, the lehenga saree, the dhoti and more.
🇮🇳 about 5.5 yards for the saree, or a sewn flared skirt with a pallu panelThe lehenga sareeA saree worn over, or made as, a flared lehenga skirt, with the pallu draped over the shoulder: a fashion style that mixes two garments.🇮🇳 5.5 to 6 yards, or a stitched dhoti-style setThe dhoti sareeA fashion style that gives the saree the shape of a dhoti, with the pleats passed between the legs to make a trouser-like drape.🇮🇳 5.5 to 6 yards, worn over trousersThe pant style sareeA fashion style in which the saree is draped over fitted trousers or palazzo pants instead of a petticoat.🇮🇳 5.5 to 6 yardsThe butterfly drapeA fashion drape in which the pallu is pleated and spread across both shoulders like wings, over an otherwise Nivi lower half.🇮🇳 5.5 to 6 yards, with a separate beltThe belted sareeA fashion style in which a belt or waist chain is worn over the draped Nivi to hold the pleats and pallu and sharpen the waist.🇮🇳 5.5 to 6 yards, or a sewn fishtail setThe mermaid sareeA fashion style in which the saree fits closely from waist to knee and flares at the hem, like a fishtail skirt.🇮🇳 5.5 to 6 yards, with a cape pieceThe cape sareeA fashion style in which a cape, sewn or separate, replaces the usual pallu across the shoulders.🇮🇳 5.5 to 6 yards, with a jacketThe jacket sareeA fashion style in which a short or long jacket is worn over the blouse and under the pallu of a Nivi drape.
Other lands
The sari of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, the diaspora, and sari-like garments elsewhere.
🇮🇩 🇲🇾 🇸🇬 a length of about 2.5 metres of batik clothKain and kebaya of IndonesiaA wrapped batik skirt with pleats at the front, a fitted kebaya blouse and often a shoulder scarf, the sari-like formal dress of Java and nearby lands.🇮🇩 a wrapped cloth of about 2 metres, with a sashThe Balinese kambenThe wrapped cloth of Bali, worn with a sash and a fitted kebaya to the temple, one of the clearest everyday wraps of Southeast Asia.🇹🇭 a rectangle of cloth, about 2 to 3 metresThe Thai chong krabenA rectangular cloth wrapped round the hips with the ends pulled between the legs and tucked at the back, giving a trouser shape, worn with a chest cloth.🇰🇭 about 2 to 3 metres of silkThe Cambodian sampotThe wrapped silk skirt of Cambodia, folded at the front and tucked at the waist, often woven in ikat patterns called hol.🇱🇦 a sewn tube skirt with a woven hem bandThe Lao sinhThe tube skirt of Laos, with a woven border at the hem and a shoulder cloth, worn by women for work, school and ceremony.🇫🇯 5.5 to 6 yardsThe sari of Indo-FijiansThe sari as worn in Fiji by the descendants of Indian indentured labourers, for weddings, Diwali and prayers.🇬🇾 🇹🇹 🇸🇷 5.5 to 6 yardsThe sari in the Indo-CaribbeanThe sari and head cloth of the Indian-descended communities of Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname, worn for weddings, prayers and festivals.