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Why Must I Attach Saree Fall By Hand Instead Of Sewing Machine

Discussion in 'Sewing & Stitching' started by SuiDhaaga, Mar 1, 2020.

  1. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

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    Recently I purchased 3 yards of this, Amazon.com: Santee Print Works Pin Dots Rose Pink Fabric by the Yard

    I can easily fold this in 5" inch widths and sew it up neatly to make a single fall.

    And I was planning to sew this fall directly onto my georgette saree, Amazon.com: KANCHNAR Women's Pink Color Georgette Printed Saree with Unstitched Blouse-758S153: Clothing

    But now this website says attach the fall by hand, rather than sewing machine,
    Why, What and How of Saree Fall


    But why? Sewing something 5" by 3 yards will take hours upon hours. Why not use sewing machine.

    I see tutorials where person is attaching border to saree using sewing machine, but why not attach saree fall using sewing machine?

    This makes no sense!
     
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  2. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    That is a good article, SD. Has tips and how-to in brief, clear descriptions.

    If you mean you will cut the Pink Dots Rose Fabric into a few 5" strips and stitch them together to make the fall, I would suggest not to do that. Buy a matching pink fall online or locally. Making the fall at home will be a lot of work -- after you have the 5" strips cut, you have to fold and stitch those strips on both the long sides. After all that stitching, then you can join all the 5" strips together to get one long 3 meter fall ready to attach to the 5 meter saree. Note the stitching along the edges in the fall in the picture below. Too much work to do that at home. It will also be not be as fine.
    sarefall.jpg


    For a few reasons. One is that with a sewing machine, the stitches will be very visible. I am not sure if the advanced sewing machine have an "almost invisible" stitch. Second is that, a fall attached with a sewing machine can have "pouts" in few places. : ) Pout means the edge forms an awkward shape. When stitching by hand, we have more control over the fall and saree. If the fall or saree fabric are not "keeping pace" with each other, we can do some "adjustments" once in every few inches. The falls I remember stitching, often the fall material was more fragile, so once in about 8 inches, we gave a tiny 5mm fold/pleat to the fall fabric.

    But, I think stitching the fall by hand on both sides is rarely done now. In my last saree purchases, the tailor did machine-pico on the bottom edge, and hand-stitch of the top edge on my request and repeated reminder. I told him if he or his kareegar (workers) end up stitching both sides by machine, they can keep the sarees. : )

    ===============
    Thank you for starting the thread. Brought back some fond memories. One is that of aunties who fought with the local fall-stitchers if the end product ended up with a "pout". : ) I recall the aunty forming a pout with her mouth to explain to the stitcher what happened as the stitcher held the open saree on his own waist and insisted that it was "falling" fine. : )

    The other is the whole process of "saree ko fall lagana" (adding fall to saree). First, we had a discussion on the material of the fall (cotton, lizzy lizzy..). Then, the fall was bought after going to many matching centers and checking the color in the daylight outside the store. It was soaked in a small bucket or medium size mug overnight. Then, dried in the shade. Followed by ironing it after sprinkling some water on it. For best results, we ironed it while it was still moist and not fully dried after the soak. Then, cleaning the dining table properly before laying open the saree on it. And then working together to finish it before Chitrahaar started at 8 pm. : )
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2020
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  3. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

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    Alas, Amazon doesn't sell these :-(

    You mean like Blind Hem Stitch. Unsure if this would help or not ???

    A pout? I'm wondering if one can pre-iron folds into the sides, and then stitch. Again, I'm trying to think because Indian stores are 3 hours away ....

    Machine-pico? That does look challenging. You roll the side together and have to stitch in a zig-zag. Yikes!




    .
    I love starting these type of threads :)

    That is cute how you Aunty fought with the tailors


    So much work for a fall? I understand it should match because color is subtly shown from wrong side (especially if saree is sheer material such as chiffon or georgette.

    You mean Doordarshan. Those were the golden days of Indian TV. Several programs came to USA such as Buniyaad, Mahabharat.
     
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  4. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

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    I think I will attach Fall by hand.

    My sewing machine doesn't you to alter the width of a stitch. When I practiced blind hem, the right side was folded and some of the threads were quite visible.


    How long does it take for one person to attach fall to saree?

    If I do blind hem by hand, can I stop, put it away and continue the next day?

    There are no saree sewing places nearby, even without lockdown!

    Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2020

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