No. 20 Chhattisgarh Central 4 Drape - Chhattisgarh, India

This is a formal drape of the Lodhi community, with the pallu grandly tucked in as a triangle in front.

How-to Drape Instructions

1. Double knot sari at right waist with inner end in front. Lift and tuck inner edge about two inches.
2. Tuck outer end in at left waist.
3. Drape outer end over right shoulder front to back leaving a generous drape in front.
4. Bring edge of draped portion between legs and tuck in at center back waist.
5. Tuck right edge of draped front portion in at right waist and left edge in at left waist.
6. Drape remaining outer end over head.
7. Bring outer end from back to front and make an arm's length fold.
8. With help of your chin, flip edge into a V and tuck in ends at center back waist.

The sari's design is universal and limitless, referenced around the world for its drape, textile and history. It is versatile and adaptable to context, environment and culture, with its making directly tied to the livelihoods of millions of karigars (craftspeople).

Traditionally, it is a single piece of unstitched fabric with variable densities in its parts - with heavier weights allowing for it to drape correctly. Today, its definition includes textiles woven by mill or by hand, often with one density.

Border&Fall’s project is a non-profit cultural documentation of an incredible textile and garment contribution from India, intended to address a perception shift of the sari, which is often seen as staid, traditional and increasingly worn only on formal occasions, particularly in urban India. Each of these films features a drape from a particular region in India, represented through fifteen states. Every drape stays true to its region, whereas the textiles and blouse pairings have been styled to represent a vision of the sari's changing presence.

This project was created by Border&Fall and its team includes Malika Verma Kashyap, Rta Kapur Chishti, Deep Kailey, Rashmi Varma, Sanjay Garg, Sunitha Kumar Emmart, Julia FG Smith, Suniti Rao, Rhea Subramanian, Pallavi Verma, Sharanya Aggarwal, Mehak Kapur Chishti, Carol Humtsoe and TJ Bhanu.