Spruce Up Your Home By Using Old Saris As Curtains

Giving your living room a new look and some character need not be an expensive affair. With a little creativity you can add simple but beautiful accents to your space. All you need to do is empty out that trunk or storage which is home to your vintage prints, royal silks, cool cottons and sheer chiffons. The gorgeous nine yards that you, your mum or your grandma once draped around yourself usually go unnoticed and start to wither and fade away with time. Instead of parting with them, here are few simple ways in which you can reuse your saris to give your home a classic touch. Sari curtains are gorgeous; you can go classic or bohemian either ways they are unique, inexpensive, and add so much more glam to your space.

Choosing the right fabric

This is a crucial step, things you need to consider are the weather, how much natural light does your room get, and which space gets direct sunlight. You can go two ways with this – either use parts of the Sari to accentuate your curtains or use the entire Sari as your curtain, the fabric influences how you use the Sari as a curtain.

If your home gets super-hot during summers and receives a lot of natural light, go for your cotton, chiffon or georgette Saris. These fabrics work well as light weight, sheer, flowy curtains. These also work if the theme of your space is informal, modern and chic. For a more classic and vintage feel, silk is the perfect fabric that will add luxury to your space.

How do you find the perfect print?

Just like the fabric, the print should match your overall home décor.

• For a more bohemian look you may use multiple prints and stitch them together.

• If you are going for a country side vintage setup, you may use small delicate prints - floral or plaid work really well.

• For a royal setting you may use bold, slightly blingy prints woven into silk.

• For the modern household, geometric, ombre, one tone prints work wonders.

Styling the curtains

The shape and location of your windows and doors determine how creative can you get with styling. The idea here is to flaunt the best part of your Sari and add a strong design element without making it look out of place.

• While using big bold prints make sure that you pair them up with a plain matching fabric and alternate the sections to add a classy touch.

• Saris with interesting borders and pallu can be used to design one tone drapes with an intricate pattern sewn onto the top and bottom edges.

• While piecing different Saris together make sure you piece them vertically, this makes it look less crowded and gives it uniformity.

• Always keep your curtain drapes longer than the window length.

• Whichever fabric, style, print you chose make sure to add cotton lining to your curtains. They are super important.

On to the technicalities

Whether you are the one sewing the drapes or you’ve outsourced a tailor to do it, there a few things you have to keep in mind while designing curtains from scratch.

• Hemmed edges are important at the top and bottom. If using the entire width of the Sari for each curtain panel you don’t have to worry about it since the Saris already have selvage edges.

• Make sure you’ve sewn in or cut pockets and preferably attached metal rings to the top of the curtains.

A little something to match your new drapes

Make your new drapes completely fit in by adding these small decorative accents around your space:

• Use leftover Sari fabric to create cushion covers or maybe use a different Sari that’s a perfect contrasts with the new drapes in colour or even fabric.

• You can create patchwork wall hangings, get them framed and use them as wall décor

• Create covers for your old trunks, add in cushioning and turn them into seating stool/bench

• If you don’t have it already, invest in a sturdy curtain pole in a neutral shade and not a loud colour so that they can be reusable in the future as well.