15 Amazing Ways to Reuse Old Silk Sarees

We all have a bunch of sarees of our mothers and grandmothers that are too old to be used but too precious to be thrown away at the same time. Not just because they are made in timelessly old, precise techniques but also because they’re so full of memories that we just can’t throw away.

The next time that your mother or grandmother decides to throw their old sarees away, stop them…for we have some beautiful ways in which you can revive and re-use them. Here are 16 such ways listed out to reuse old silk sarees.

1.Changing the Old Sarees to New Sarees

You can actually change the old sarees in such a way that the very same sarees can be made to look like new sarees. A few means by which you can do that are:
A) If the damaged border is the reason that you’ve stopped using the saree change the saree by removing old border and adding new borders like kundan, zardosi etc.
B) If instead, the border of old saree is good and saree is tattered, design a new saree by adding the old border to a new fabric like chanderi or kota silk.
C) Block printing old plain sarees can change them into brand new, beautifully designed sarees.
D) Two old sarees can be combined to design a half and half saree – a design that has become very popular lately.

2. Anarkalis

Change your old sarees into long and gorgeous anarkalis. With sarees being of the length of a whole six to seven yards, it is easy to make a floor length anarkali out of it. And f you’re wondering how you can transform old Kanjeevarams into anarkalis, take a look at these shiny and resplendent anarkalis made out of kanjeevaram silk cloth.

3. Kurtis

If kurtis are your go-to clothing, make kurtis out of the old sarees that have been lying unused. Get creative while making the kurti adding a fabric here and there and do a bit of designing so that it looks contemporary. You can even use your old kanjeevarams to make grand, festive kurtis and other sarees to make simpler kurtis.

4. Saree Dress

Dresses that are made out of Kanjeevaram silk cloth or any other hand woven silk like chanderi or banarasi are all the rage now, not just in India but throughout the world. So go ahead and make a saree dress out of all the old sarees that you were going to throw away. You can make a skater dress, a formal dress, a cocktail dress or a maxi dress out of these sarees. Here’s a gorgeous collection of saree dresses to give you ideas. Go ahead and get creative!

5. Skirts

Making skirts is perhaps the easiest way to revive old sarees while still retaining all their charm and beauty. Long flowy skirts are the way to go but you can also go ahead and give short skirts a try. Some beautifully ethnic skirts can be made out of silks where as regular sarees can also be used to make some really pretty short or long skirts.

6. Lehengas / Half Sarees

A technique that’s been practised from the olden times, converting your saree into a half saree has always been the norm. This is also a great way to keep the saree’s charm and beauty intact while changing the way it looks completely. The dupatta can also be made out of the saree if there’s left over cloth after using the saree for the lehenga.

7. Palazzos and Pants

If you can use your old sarees as lehengas and skirts, you can also go ahead and make a palazzo pants or even regular pants out of them. Sarees with thick zari borders can make for great palazzo pants.

8. Dupattas and Scarves

If the sarees aren’t in good shape, you can still use them without throwing them away by making dupattas out of them and least of all – scarves. Kanjeevarams and other silks make for some lovely dupattas while sarees made out of lighter fabrics can be used to make scarves.

9. Home Decor

What better way to use your beautiful-but-old sarees than to decorate your home? Make curtains, pillow covers, bed lenin, table covers and any other home décor material you could think of out of your sarees as that sure is a great idea. All it takes is a lot of stitch work and some patience.

10. Kids Lehengas and Frocks

Making cute little lehengas and dresses out of your too-old-to-use sarees is a great way to revive them. They’ll look great  on kids and it is also going to take very less fabric in case there are parts of your saree that was damaged.

11. Bags

No matter how many bags we have, it’s never too many. Making small little shiny bags and pouches out of the old silk sarees is a great way to add more bags to that bunch of them that you already have. Stick a few kundans and stones to make them look prettier. And these bags will perhaps be the best ones that you’ve had.

12. Gift Wrappers

Next time you wrap that gift that you planning on giving someone you love, ditch the wrap paper and wrap it with a piece of an old saree you have instead. This is a way to show your loved ones how much more special they are to you.  Added to that, it is going to add that personal touch to your gift.

13. Over Coats and Jackets

Wearing sleeveless over-coats over kurtis and dresses is trending these days. So why not make a gorgeous jacket for yourself out of the old sarees that have been left out. The grander they are, the better they’ll look on plain kurtis. Since it is so rare to get good jackets, this is a great idea to use your old saree

14.To Decorate Your Jewellery

Yet another novel and ingenuous way to use your old kanjeevarams is to decorate your old jewellery with it. Either wrap around some of the cloth that you take of off the sarees onto your jewellery or remove the golden threads out of your kanjeevaram and entwine it onto your bangles.

15. Laptop/Mobile cases

Yet another wise way to use your old sarees is to make laptop and mobile covers out of them. This works really well if the saree that you were going to throw away was a cotton or a cotton silk or a zari saree. A fluffy and soft case can be made to keep your laptop or your mobile in.

Who knew that old sarees could be put to so many wonderful uses right? Next time someone in your house decides to give away all their old sarees, you know just what to do!

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