Care Guide

A hand-embroidered piece, cared for, will outlive its first wearer. That is the deal.

The first rule

Hand-embroidery is alive. It breathes, settles, and softens with time. Treat your Saanjh piece the way you would treat a piece of jewellery — gently, with attention, and with the assumption that you are temporarily its keeper, not its owner.

Storage

  • Always hang heavy-embroidered pieces flat — never on a regular hanger. The weight of zardozi will distort the shoulders.
  • For gowns and anarkalis, fold along the body of the piece and wrap in muslin (provided in your Saanjh box). Store flat in a breathable garment bag.
  • Keep away from direct sunlight. Even the strongest dyes will fade over time.
  • Place a small muslin sachet of cloves or dried neem leaves in the storage area. They keep moths away without the chemical residue of mothballs.

Wearing

  • Perfume goes on first, your Saanjh piece goes on after. Always.
  • Avoid sharp jewellery — clasps, brooch pins — that can catch on embroidery threads. If a thread does catch, do not pull. Snip cleanly with embroidery scissors.
  • Sit carefully. Heavy embroidery can crease when crushed against a chair-back for long periods.

Cleaning

  • Dry-clean only. Always. Even if a label suggests otherwise. We mean it.
  • Choose a dry-cleaner experienced with hand-embroidered couture. If you are unsure, ask us — we maintain a list of trusted dry-cleaners in major cities and are happy to share.
  • Clean the piece only when truly needed. Over-cleaning weakens both the fabric and the embroidery.
  • For small marks, do not try to spot-clean at home. Take the entire piece to the cleaner.

Repairs

Embroidery does loosen with time. Threads will, very occasionally, come away. This is not a flaw — it is the nature of hand-work.

Saanjh offers complimentary repairs on any piece, for the first thirty days from delivery. Beyond that, we are happy to undertake repair work at a fair price. Write to us with photographs. We will respond with an honest assessment.

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Care, given to anything, returns. The cloth knows.