How to wash a hand painted saree?

Wearing a hand painted outfit is something that adds liveliness to your wardrobe. It includes the love and hard work of the artist, and even the Vastu says anything handcrafted is a symbol of life. Wearing hand painted clothing boosts a different confidence, giving a feel of uniqueness. Where hand painting an outfit is a unique creativity, taking care of it and especially washing a hand painted outfit is an art itself. Anything that adds uniqueness to you obviously needs your special care. Every outfit needs attention, and when it comes to taking care of hand painted clothing, it needs special care and vigilance. 

Today in this blog we will learn how to wash a hand painted saree, keeping in mind a few simple tips so that we do not ruin our hand painted hard work. Let’s go through the below points and keep our hand painted sarees shining forever.

The first and most important point to keep in mind while washing your hand painted saree is the type of fabric it is made of. Few fabrics cannot be washed at home and need to be dry cleaned. This may include fabrics like chiffon, chinon, crape, etc. You need to check the instructions provided by your seller for the fabric to see if it allows you to wash it at home or has to be dry cleaned only.

Hand washing the hand painted saree: 

If the nature of the saree fabric allows you to hand wash it at home with a few below, you can easily hand wash your painted sarees:

Add cold water in a bucket.

Always remember any hand painted fabric should be washed only in cold water to maintain its life. Hot water may ruin your hand painted hard work. 

• In a bucket filled with cold water, dip your fabric. Remember to wait for at least 5 to 7 days before washing your hand painted saree. Also, your hand painted saree should have gone through the process of heat-setting before you proceed to wash it.
• Also try to avoid frequent washing of your hand painted sarees, as it may let the paint fade soon. You can just clean or wash the stains, if any, and go through the complete washing process only when it’s necessary.

Add a little mild detergent.

Any strong detergent can ruin your hand painted clothing, as they are very sensitive. However, any gentle washing liquid is best to proceed with.

• Do not use any hard chemical wash, as it may let the paint go off.
• While washing, keep in mind not to rub the hand painted area.
• You can even use a few drops of your mild shampoo (non-alcohol-based) to hand wash your saree.

Dip for 10-15 minutes and proceed with light hand wash only.

Let your hand painted saree rest in the bucket with mild detergent for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. This will help all the dirt to go off. 

Now you can proceed to gently wash your clothes with your light hands only. Say a big no to any brush or other things while washing your hand painted saree. Using any such thing can completely ruin your beautifully hand painted saree.

Rinse in cold water.

Once all the 3 above steps are complete, now it’s time to rinse your saree in clean, cold water to remove all the detergents and any dirt.

Again, take clean water in a bucket and dip your saree into it, and try to remove as much detergent as you can.

Now throw that water and bring your saree under running tap water and remove the remaining detergent from it. Once all the detergent and dirt is removed, it’s time to dry it off, but just remember not to wrinkle your saree, especially the painted areas.

Hang your saree out dry.

Put your saree on a hanger or a clothing rack out to get it dry.

• Remember, direct sun heat can fade your saree or any type of clothing, so try to avoid putting it under direct sunlight.
• Let your saree dry under shade.

 Now, once your saree is dry, it’s ready to shine again. Get your saree ironed and cherish the uniqueness of hand paints in your wardrobe.

A few simple steps can increase the life of not only the hand painted saree but of any clothing so you can enjoy wearing them for a longer period. 

Machine washing a hand painted saree:

It is not recommended to machine wash a hand painted saree. Not only a hand painted saree, even any type of saree we avoid washing into a washing machine. As a saree has borders and laces and may include some embellished work on it, it can ruin the unique work on it if washed into a washing machine.

Avoid washing sarees, and especially the hand painted sarees, from washing into a washing machine. As mentioned earlier, depending on the nature of the fabric and work on it, opt for either hand washing or dry cleaning your saree.

Dry cleaning a hand painted saree:

If you opt for the option of dry cleaning for your hand painted saree, be sure to provide some necessary instructions as below to your dry cleaner before you handover the saree:

• Pre-inform your dry cleaner about the hand paint on your saree.
• Instruct him not to use any harsh chemicals on your saree during the dry cleaning process.

These are the few steps and ways to take care of your hand painted saree. You can finally put them in cover till you wear it next time.

Tip: The above instructions can be followed for any hand painted outfit other than a saree as well. Just we need to keep in mind that our outfits reflect our personality and aura, and hence, along with self-grooming, our clothing also needs special care. Specially for hand painted clothing, they need to be handled with love and sensitivity.

Enjoy the trend of hand painted clothing and celebrate the era of wearable artwork.

Refrences- 

• Textile Conservation – The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) offers detailed insights on preserving and caring for delicate textiles, relevant to hand-painted sarees.
• Indian Handloom Fabrics – The National Handloom Development Corporation gives information on the production and care of Indian handloom fabrics, crucial for maintaining the quality of hand-painted sarees.
• Cultural Heritage and Textiles – UNESCO’s insights on cultural heritage preservation apply to the care of traditional textiles like hand-painted sarees
• Martha Stewart – This guide explains how to handle delicate fabrics, similar to those used in hand-painted sarees.