How To Fix Imperfections in Reclaimed Sari Clothing - Darn Good Yarn

How To Fix Imperfections in Reclaimed Sari Clothing

The story behind our reclaimed sari clothing starts at the sari production facilities where scrap material is salvaged to the landfill where recovery efforts continue and ends in the hands of our customers.

These items are special, not just because they are one-of-a-kind, but because they are handmade by our artisans out of reclaimed materials. The fabric comes from reclaimed saris, fabric saved from the landfills, or even fabric runoff that we are able to save from warehouses that are in our artisans' communities.

Our artisans, hand-picked and mostly women, are often gender or caste system suppressed in their home towns and struggle with poverty. By working with us, these women are able to have sustainable, fair, and safe year-round employment for themselves and their families.

Due to the handmade nature of our product, the reclaimed sari clothing you receive may have natural wear and tear. Or maybe your much-loved item just recently gained a little imperfection after being worn over and over again, but not to worry! Since we have a little bit of an obsession with these garments, we've come up with a few tips and tricks for a few commonly found imperfections.

Our arsenal includes (but is not limited to):

  • Iron-on patches
  • Vinegar
  • Baking soda
  • Laundry stain remover
  • Isopropyl Alcohol or rubbing alcohol
  • Nail polish remover
On a small table in front of a window, a collection of cleaning solutions. (Baking soda, nail polish remover, peroxide, alcohol, and detergent)

Common Imperfections

White stamps & pen marks

If your reclaimed item was made using fabric run off, you might see a white textile stamp and if your skirt was a well-loved sari, you might see pen marks. Thankfully, these marks are easily removed using rubbing alcohol and a little bit of time. 

A close up of a tan sari skirt with a small pen markThe small pen mark has been sprayed with cleaner. A finger wrapped in a white cloth is now rubbing at the pen mark.The tan skirt no longer has a pen mark. Where the pen mark was is now damp, but there is no longer the pen mark.

Loose threads

Since these reclaimed items are individually hand-made and sewn, some loose threads can occur. Thankfully, these are only an aesthetic issue and there are no problems with just giving them a little trim 

A hand is holding a small loose thread off of a navy and yellow sari wrap skirt.A pair of scissors are being held against the navy skirt's loose thread, ready to snip it off.The navy skirt's loose thread has now been removed. The same hand is holding the sari skirt, showing where the loose thread once was.

Small tears / holes

I recently learned that many women secure their saris with pins, which is were some of the small pin-like holes in your skirt may have come from. This is a little reminder that these items are recycled and our artisans have given them a new life as a treasured piece for you!

I personally like to go to my local craft store and pick out a few of iron-on patches that normally go on jean jackets and use them to patch up the small tears in my sari items. I think it gives my one of a kind items a fun little pop of color depending on what patches I can find! 

Don't have time to run to the store? Grab some of our patches!

Dirt or smudges

Very rarely will a stain on your reclaimed sari item be unable to removed. For this smudge that I found on the bottom of my skirt after a night out, I used a little bit of nail polish remover and it vanished in a few minutes! 

A closeup of an ivory and light pink skirt with a dark black stain.The same ivory and pink skirt, but where that black stain was, there is now a damp spot from where the cleaner was added. The black spot is gone!

All of these fixes are great fixes for the small imperfections on your sari item. These of course aren't the only fixes, but these are the ones that we have tried ourselves on our personal skirts and have seen results! 

Of course, if you receive a reclaimed item from us and it is damaged beyond a small imperfection, please email us at info@darngoodyarn.com and let us know - we'd be happy to help you out.

If you end up being able to fix your reclaimed item with one of these easy tricks then we would love to offer you 1,000 Karma Points, which can be used towards future purchases. 💜 Just email us and let us know! 

XOXO 

-Kate