Draping your saree yourself, an hour before the function

It is an hour before the festival pooja. The saree is on the bed, the blouse is ironed, and for the first time nobody is going to drape it for you. You have watched it done many times. Now your own hands have to do it.

This note is for that hour.

The look

Choose a saree in light georgette or soft cotton. Both hold a pleat and neither slides off the shoulder. If you have two, take the one you have already worn and sat in. A borrowed one from a sister or a friend works just as well.

Wear a blouse you have worn before, one where you know your arms move easily. Put the footwear on first, before you start. The length of the saree depends on it, and a saree draped barefoot is a saree that trips you later.

For your hair, a low bun keeps your neck and shoulders clear and leaves both hands free. Do it before the saree, not after.

One modest option is a plain saree with a simple border and a long-sleeved blouse. One modern option is a saree in a strong solid colour with a sleeveless or elbow-length blouse. Both drape the same way.

For the one small detail, keep a few safety pins in your blouse pocket or tucked in your waistband. Six is enough.

The one confidence move

Pin first, then walk. Tuck the saree in at the waist, make your pleats, and pin them flat at the waist with one pin through the saree and the petticoat. Bring the pallu over your shoulder and pin it there, so it stays put when you move your arm.

Then walk to the door and back in small steps. Small steps keep the pleats where you put them. Do not rush this part.

What to say first

Someone will offer to help when they see you with the pleats in your hand. Say this, with a smile:

Yes please, just hold the pleats for me.

You drape. They hold. The saree is still yours.

If it goes sideways

A pleat may slip once you are already out in the room. Do not fix it where everyone is sitting. Excuse yourself, go to the washroom, add one extra pin through the pleat and the petticoat, and walk back in the same small steps.

One thing to try today

Tonight, drape the saree once from start to end with your six safety pins. Put on the footwear you will wear, do the pleats, pin the pallu, and walk to the door and back. If a pleat falls, start that pleat again. That one run shows you where your own pins go.

If you like having the look and the one line ready before the day, /moments has each Sunday: one moment coming up this week, the look for it and the one line to say first.