As the name suggests, the sari fall ensures that your sari
pleats fall nicely. Saree fall refers to a sturdy cotton or
terry-cotton 5 inches broad and 3 metres long strip of
fabric – that is sewed and attached to the hem of a saree,
such that it covers the initial drape and pleats area only.
Fall is attached from the wrong side of the sari, and must
not be visible from the outside. The Sari Pallu and the
final drape leading to Pallu don’t have the fall.
Sarees are unstitched reams of fabrics. On their own,
many of them lack tensile strength and are, thus, prone to
stretching and tearing.
The saree hem that falls near feet is liable to entangle
with foot-wear or come under feet, and may keep scraping
the ground and hard surfaces, when the wearer walks.
This further subjects the saree hem to tearing and
damage.
Also, many sarees are made in flowy, fluid, light-weight
fabrics, which keep flying off, when tied. Pleating such
sarees and keeping their pleats in place is quite difficult.
Saree Fall is used to take care of all these issues. The
extra fabric sewed to the saree lends weight and
strength, thus making a saree stiffer. This ensures easier
and defter pleating, leading to a graceful fall of the saree
fabric. Pleats stay in place, thanks to saree fall as it adds
weight. Saree fall supports the hemline as well as the
whole fabric, by fighting gravity and scratches (from foot-
wear and ground).
These days, most stores offer to attach the saree fall and
finish a saree, before delivering it to the customer. In
India, traditionally, friendly neighborhood tailors oblidge
and agree to attach saree falls, and thus, rarely anyone
gives proper thought to saree’s humble companion.
If you do not have an access to tailors or home-sewers to
get saree fall attached by hand, look around, as these
days saree falls are attached by sewing machines too.
Many believe that this is not a good method, as the look
achieved is not flawless or absolutely clean. However, if
you don’t have a choice, this is better than not having
any saree fall at all. This method is also quicker than the
traditional hand sewing.
Asking for Saree fall attachment from a retail store leads
to delay of a day or two in delivery. Now, will this work if
you wish to wear a just-bought saree for a function?
Same applies, if you plan to give out the saree to a tailor
for fall attachments, as any tailor will typically ask for a
few days, before he/ she returns your ‘finished’ saree. In
such a case, your plans of wearing a fresh-from-store
saree won’t work (even if you already have a matching
blouse in your closet).
Asking for Saree fall attachment from a retail store leads
to delay of a day or two in delivery. Now, will this work if
you wish to wear a just-bought saree for a function?
Same applies, if you plan to give out the saree to a tailor
for fall attachments, as any tailor will typically ask for a
few days, before he/ she returns your ‘finished’ saree. In
such a case, your plans of wearing a fresh-from-store
saree won’t work (even if you already have a matching
blouse in your closet).
Keeping aforementioned issues, there would be times,
when you will need to attach the saree fall on your
beloved saree – on your own. Thus, it makes sense to
learn to do this simple attachment.
The first step, many don’t realize, here would be to
choose and buy a proper saree fall.
COLOUR – Fall must perfectly match the saree’s colour.
The fall should not show from under the (transparent)
saree, unless intended otherwise.
Thus, don’t just go by the saree’s base colour. Take into
account the hem and border colour. For example, let’s say
your saree is pale yellow, and has a dark brown border.
Note the width of the border. If your saree border is same
width or more than the usual fall (4-5 inches), pick one
that is in same colour as the border. This will ensure the
colour doesn’t visibly peep out of the saree hem, even if a
pleat folds, at times. However, if the border width is
lesser than the fall width, select the fall colour as per the
saree’s base hue.
ABRIC – Pick cotton or terry-cot falls, which are sturdy
and stiff. Polyester falls tend to be slippery, and attaching
them can be quite a task. Thick falls do not automatically
translate to better falls, so choose wisely. Rubia cotton is
a popular and suitable fall fabric, available at most fall
sellers.
Colour Fastness – Check a fall for colour bleeding,
before attaching it to your saree. Do not attach a fall, if
its colour is not fast and bleeds, as it will destroy your
saree later on. Preferably, was the sari fall, dry and iron it
before sewing it on. This also ensures that the starch from
cotton falls is removed effectively.
Buy a suitable saree fall. Wash and prepare the fall for
attachment. Turn in its edges from breadth with gentle
stitches (length is generally secured already).
You will need a few all-purpose pins, matching thread and
thin sewing needle for fall attaching. You should know
how do basic running stitch (and preferably back stitch)
to do this by hand..
Do not attempt attaching a fall by machine, unless you
are adept at it, and your machine has appropriate settings
and needle for this purpose.
Spread and lay your saree flat on a surface, and attach
the saree fall on the wrong side – with all-pins to the area
that requires the fall (the fall must end before the drape
that lead to the pallu).
Now, use running stitch to secure the lower end of the fall
first, as it is less tricky. Keep using back stitches
intermittently, to ensure a stronger attachment. Ensure
the stitches are not big, when passing thread on the right side of the saree.
Repeat the same process on the upper end of the fall, but
be extremely careful, while doing this. Here, the thread
should be not visible on the right side at all, so keep your
stitches tiny. Also, there should not be any fabric folds
(even minor ones), to ensure the fall looks good. If the fall
is not attached properly from the upper end, it can
destroy the whole look and fall of the saree.
Well, ideally, a saree should not be worn without
attaching a fall to it first. However, if you really are in a
hurry, you may wear sarees in thick, sturdy fabrics, once
or twice, without a saree fall. Ensure that you walk
carefully, and the saree edge/ hem doesn’t come under
your feet.
Thin and light-weight fabrics definitely need a saree fall,
or they will not drape, pleat and fall well. Net sarees,
chiffons and georgettes should be reinforced with good
saree falls.
Delicate sarees like silks, ones with fragile resham edges
like Banarasis and pure handloom ones must be worn,
only after they have been sewed with a fall, unless you
want to risk tearing the edges of your expensive sarees.
