Activity

Design a Sari

Did you know there are over 100 ways to wear a sari? How a sari is draped can tell you about the occasion, the regional origin, and maybe even the social status of the wearer. Learn about two styles of Indian sari and then design your own on the provided template.

Duration

30-60 minutes
Downloads

Design A Sari (PDF)
Grade Levels

College and Beyond, Early Elementary School (K-3), Elementary School (4-5), High School (9-12), Middle School (6-8)
Regions

South Asia
Academic Topics

Rituals & Celebrations
Academic Subjects

History & Social Science

View Gallery

1 Photos

Sari examples

Materials

Video: “Draping the Sari”
Tissue paper in different colors
Scissors
Glitter pens or glitter glue
Glue
Ruler
Pencil
Printout of body template (PDF)

Procedure

Part 1: Watch the Video

Watch the video “Draping the Sari” to see two styles of draping Indian saris.
Pause the video to get a closer look at the colors and designs on the sari. What patterns do you see? Which parts of the sari have the most decoration?
Notice the zari, or gold thread, used to make the fabric shimmer. Notice how the model folds the fabric to make pleats. Where does she place the pleats? What effect do they create?
For this activity, we will design a Gujarati (Northern Indian type) sari.
THINK: Which colors do you want in your sari? What patterns do you want to include?

Part 2: Make Your Sari

Download “Design a Sari” (PDF) and follow the visual directions.

More Ideas to Get Creative

Add a background in colored pencils or cut out your model and paste her on a photo you like. For more inspiration, type “sari” in the search field of the Asian Art Museum’s online collection and click the resulting images to see close-ups. Have fun!