Passage to India — by Guest Mom Michelle/Scribbit
My sister spent Christmas in India visiting my parents and she sent me a huge box of goodies from the other side of the world. Purses, peacock feather fans, mahogany boxes, cinnamon wood picture frames, sea shells, silk shawls, statues of elephants, coins, bangles — some of the things even came wrapped in pages from the Bangalore newspaper. If only I could read Hindi.
The box still smelled faintly tropical, warm and spicy. I love textiles and was especially thrilled at the hand-embroidered silks she sent — this little elephant from Rajahmundry made me want to quote some Kipling, "O Best Beloved" — but when I pulled out this piece of hand-woven sari silk I was speechless.
Eight yards of the most deep and resonant red which also happens to be the accent color in my kitchen and living room. But with so much beautiful fabric I need ideas for using it to its best advantage.
I wish I could pull off wearing a sari but I'm afraid not only would I be cold I'd look ridiculous. Have you ever seen a viking in a sari? That would be me, though not quite as hairy I'm much too tall and pale to make a the outfit work but maybe as a skirt? A Dress? Pillows for the couch? A duvet? A tablecloth? Lamp shades? What I'd especially love is a way to use it above my new fireplace as an accent piece in the living room.
Help! I need your ideas! Here's what I've been able to come up with so far:
Making a Roman shade from a sari
A sari scarf
Making a canopy from a sari
A patchwork sari purse
A sari-bound journal
Labels: guest mom, make something
posted by Gabrielle of Design Mom at Thursday, January 31, 2008
16 Comments:
My husband is going to Bangalore in March. I hope his eye is as good as your sister and brings me home some treats as gorgeous as these!
Oh! Definitely make a skirt. I made a BEAUTIFUL skirt for my daughter out of some sari fabric(very similar to yours) and I am now so jealous.
If the newspaper is from Bangalore it will not be Hindi - it will be Kannada.
I have some cute dresses made from sari material. Try a form fitting spaghetti strap dress.
"Sari", can't help you with want to do with that gorgeous stuff! Your post made me think of "Jane Eyre", when St. John made her learn Hindostance. Love that book.
I have a really oversized glass vase filled with (nice-looking) fake flowers from our wedding, and I wrapped the vase partially in fabric- sort of draped and modern looking. I also stuck some feathers in the flowers, because I liked them. I know it's starting to sound a little Designing Women, but I swear it looks tidy and contemporary. If you're looking for a mantel-decor thing, maybe draping fabric around something else would be nice.
What's over the mantel now? Would a fabric-covered homasote type thing look nice to frame what you've got there?
The only thing about skirts is that clothing wears out and isn't scene daily like a display would be...
I have no solid ideas, but i do know that i LOVE that fabric. I now must plan a trip so I can buy some of my own, beautiful!
Definetly a straight long skirt with a long slit on one side with a form fitting blouse - looks gorgeous - I have one of those.
I love Sari material!
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I'll have to go through some of my patterns and see if I have any good skirt ideas there--though a full dress is definitely tempting.
I really wanted my sister to get my daughters little saris but so many of the clothing items there are custom made that it just wouldn't work well. I may not be able to pull off a sari but a 5 year-old would be adorable.
Miriam--lovely idea. I've tossed around the idea too of using it as a curtain. So many possibilities . . .
I brought some beautiful fabrics back from Thailand years ago - one is now a tablecloth, another is a tablecloth runner (not practical since my table is always much too cluttered to show it off) and my favorite now covers two throw pillows on my couch.
If you really love the fabric though I'd have it made into a swirly summer skirt. Silk would be too hot for a summer skirt here, but I'm betting that in Alaska you could do it and it would be GORGEOUS.
i just returned from a field study in India and wore saris the whole time i was there - i wasn't quite sure what i would do with them upon my arrival back home in the states, but i knew i wanted a quilt. i ended up purchasing a quilt while there, but i'm going to go back and add some of my sari fabric to it to make it a little more personal. so, you could use the material to jazz up any item that you already have. you could also make a skirt like people have suggested, and i think the roman shade idea is really great. it's hard because you want to turn it into something that will show off every bit of it!
another idea - since i was wearing saris while there, i had all the sari blouses made (which are made, usually, from excess material at the end of the sari, you probably know this if you have parents living there) and i wasn't sure what i'd do with the blouses when i got back but have realized they make great little bolero-type vests. this is another option for you if you'd like to wear some of that beautiful fabric! AND you don't want to wear it as a sari unless you have a petticoat, a petticoat is usually a must! (at least in South India!) good luck!
I didn't realize they wore petticoats underneath--I hadn't heard that. Good to know!
I think Mom and Dad are in Chennai right now, they're always running around somewhere. My sister, brother and sister-in-law spent three weeks there over Christmas to visit and came back raving about how amazing it was. I think Andrew and I may have to go next year and see for ourselves.
I have seen lovely fabrics turned into works of art simply by stretching them over canvas and hanging on the wall. These would be lovely done that way.
I think making a skirt out of your beautiful fabric from the Middle East would be a waste. If you want a skirt like that, JoAnn's has great sari fabric.
You need something timeless. Frame a square of it, or, I love the idea to put it over canvas, like a large fine art print.
Were it me, I'd be framing it in a dark wood, oh, so beautiful. Then a couple accent pillows.
Could you make a shawl out of it? I think that would be beautiful to go along with your little black cocktail dress. My best friend is from Pakistan and her aunt is a seamstress. When she would go home for the summer, she would bring back beautiful dresses for me and shawls made from fabric that she got in the marketplace. I felt so glamourous in those things.
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