Sari Silk ribbon is a truly wonderous fibre that has found its place within the fibre art and crafting world. This is due to its beautiful and bold colours, the uniqueness across every skein and its ability to be adapted to many art forms including weaving, knitting and crochet but also jewellery making and various other DIY projects such as journal making and flower arranging.
Not only is it beautiful with a luxe look and feel, Sari Silk ribbon goes one step further with an eco friendly and sustainable beginning.
Throughout India women wear a traditional garment called the Sari, meaning “strip of cloth” in Sanskrit. The Sari is a long, single piece of woven fabric measuring from 4 to 9 meters in length that is draped around and across the body in a simple yet elegant way. Paired with a petticoat and blouse the Sari comes in a range of styles depending on the area and for the occasion.
The origin of the Sari can be traced back to around 2800 BC in the Indus Valley Civilization, although these were originally made from cotton. Silk began to make an appearance around 2000 BC and this continued into what we recognise as the Sari today. The Sari was worn by all women however the different dye techniques, patterns and embroidery that was applied to the silk would show the status of women, with wealthier women wearing more colourful and ornate pieces.
Like all clothing, after a number of years the Sari fabric starts to come apart. It is here that ingenious crafty women begin to re-purpose the stunning fabric to create other items of clothing and home wares. In more recent years the Sari Silk ribbon made its appearance.
Today, Sari Silk ribbon has become popular as a recycled ribbon, used across many textile and fibre arts. Each beautiful recycled Sari Silk ribbon is hand created using the ends from the Saris that are collected from the factories. These ends are torn into long strips, sometimes these are left slightly frayed to create a frizzy look, or finished off for a smoother run. These individual strips are simply sewn together to create a single continuous ribbon. The ribbon is then dyed, hand painted or printed in a stunning range of block colours and ombre styles to create a bespoke fibre for your textile projects.
Recycled Sari ribbon is textured but soft and easily malleable and provides that luxurious and elegant look that is so familiar with silk. Its versatility and the fact that no two skeins will ever be the same is why it is so popular with artists and the options for use are only limited to your imagination.
Some things to note about Sari Silk is that it should only be hand washed due to the delicate nature of the woven fabric. It is also best to knit or crochet with a looser tension and it is expected that the ribbons will fold or scrunch as you use them, creating a more dense fabric than you may expect. This is not a flaw but rather a wonderful way to bring texture and depth to your work.
As popularity grows for this lustrous fibre, more specialty designs are being created and Sari Silk is now also available in wide ribbon strips, braided ribbon, stitched and hand spun yarn.
Each of our skeins are approx. 100 grams which provide a length of 35 meters approx. The ribbon width various but is often between 1 to 3 cms. Sustainably made from recycled materials and sourced from manufacturers with sustainable, fair trade certifications, you can feel extra good about adding a Sari Silk ribbon to your fibre stash.
You can view our extensive collection of these beautiful ribbons here.