Rema Kumar-Createnewnarratives

From a cherished classic to a renewed statement piece, this red wine Kanjivaram finds new expression through handblock motifs that lend drama and character to the drape.

What once felt repetitive and ordinary becomes fresh and fashionable when revived with a beautiful round of hand block printing.

Rema Kumar | Textile Designer

looking stunning in her Kasavu reborn through -Create New Narratives!

We’ve rescued countless Kasavu saris from stubborn stains and faded yellow marks, artfully camouflaging them with hand-blocked magic—one, two, or three rounds as needed.

But this one demanded a wedding-worthy glow-up. Enter Benaresi butis salvaged from two vintage saris, spotlighting their intricate woven paisleys.

The real twist? Upside-down paisleys near the Palla of the Kasavu sari —a weaver’s mishap we flipped into perfection. Stick around to the end… you’ll love the reveal!

createnewnarrativesbyrk

Meanwhile is quietly adding chapters of transformations in its kitty. I was delighted to see Suchie post the before-after images of her mother in her classic Pochampilly ikat sari. I had almost forgotten this transformation.. An off-white that had stains which we cleverly camouflaged with two layers of blocks. Swipe to the last to see the original!

We have a special place in our hearts for all the off-whites and cream saris that we have been able to successfully salvage until now!

Revisiting Create New Narratives…

When Dakshayani draped this transformed sari during Navratri, I revisited her message when she had received this sari. The thought delights me that this sari will live on for a few more years in her closet!
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“Dear Rema
Received the saree now. I can’t believe I was going to give this saree away. The stains disappeared in the beautiful prints and the palla looks so amazing. Thankyou so much and wishing you more creative magic like these.
Regards
Dakshayani”

Another entry to that warms my heart. This message reached me on a day I was feeling particularly low last week..

Dakshayani’s sari got a total makeover, the palla having been dyed to a dark midnight blue, and then handblocked with kairis as the main theme as per her request.. Swipe left to see the original. Unrecognizable isn’t it? 😊

Another winner!

So so so happy to see this celebration of pink.. Arati looking gorgeous in this sari that began its new innings with ..

Swipe to the last and you will see its journey.. when Arati draped it sometime ago despite the colour pink bleeding into the beige thanks to a visit to the dhobi.. I immediately knew what we could do to salvage the sari.. and with handblocked geometry love taking over, you can see that we got a winner here, don’t we?

Thanks for giving me a free hand to go ahead with the damage control 💗

Flashback Friday-
A post from 2022 - and in the last few years we have happily given new life to several treasured off-white and cream saris that invariably get stained no matter how much one is extra cautious while draping it!

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“Hi Rema.. thank you so much for the block print work. I wore it for a function yesterday and it was very classy. None of my cousins believed it’s the same saree ☺️” -

Another off white Kanjivaram has been salvaged and begins a new journey in its new avatar.. Pearline had handed over this sari last month when she visited Textile Tales at Chennai... swipe to the last to see the original sari with some of the stubborn stains. continues to bring joy into our lives.. in the year 2022 this initiative saw its maximum stories of rebirth. Looking forward to more in the coming year...”

Throwback Thursday!

“I have an off-white silk saree with red border. Worn only once and it got stained with sweat bleeding the red onto the white part. Also post dry clean it kind of lost its color becoming beigeish tint all over with red stains. Can this be reclaimed with block printing??”.. this was Vibha’s message sometime last year. Just when my series was going strong with saris reaching me from all parts of the globe for a chance at rebirth.
.. Though messages such as these are like distress calls, I must admit with due apologies that they sound like music to me (swipe right to see the stains).

And when it’s an off white, I just love the sheer challenge involved in saving it. Being a Malayali, and having a husband who loves this shade, it gives me immense pleasure everytime I am able to retain the basic shade without having to overdye it. Because off-white would always be timeless and classic.

And I was delighted to see looking as timeless and classic as ever in this reclaimed sari. Thank you for trusting me with this one Vibha ❤

Revisiting our journey over the last few years - beginning with this repost :

“Was overwhelming to be greeted by this image this morning on Sudha’s wedding anniversary.. Draped in her carefully restored wedding sari..

has been such a satisfying project and this is going down as one of my most cherished ones. The border which was falling apart was transferred onto fresh Gajji silk and reinforced. Swipe till the last to take a closer look and you will see that it’s an art in itself.

Thank you for trusting me with this precious one and being so patient . Wishing you many many more happy moments in this Kanjivaram in the years ahead!”