Embroidery on sarees, blouses and outfits in Bengaluru

Stitching is separate at most places. The aari studio prices the work and asks you to send your cloth with a blouse that fits. Its list doesn't say if stitching is in, so ask. The boutique stitches a plain blouse for ₹800 to ₹1,200 and a bridal cut from ₹1,500, with one trial and small fixes in the price.

The whole blouse, roughly. At that boutique, a worked front yoke (₹2,000 to ₹5,000) plus plain stitching (₹800 to ₹1,200) comes to about ₹2,800 to ₹6,200, our sum. It leaves out stones and zari if the quote doesn't include them, padding or lining extras, and GST where it's charged. The same boutique's April price page puts it another way: a hand-embroidered blouse at ₹2,500 to ₹8,000 or more, and heavy bridal zardosi at ₹6,000 to ₹8,000 or more, with the stitching and the trial in. Its two pages don't match, so ask for one quote that says what's in it.

The tailor near you. Some tailors send hand work out to a karigar. We couldn't find a neighbourhood tailor that prints a price for it, so show the design and ask for the price with the stitching in it. A doorstep tailoring service starts hand embroidery at ₹3,000 and machine embroidery at ₹2,000, plus 5% GST.

Learning it yourself. A simple neckline is the kind of work people learn. The same aari studio, near Magadi Road metro, teaches aari, and its page says a student finishes three blouses in the course. It doesn't print the fee, so call.

A blouse piece with the work already on it. You buy it and get it stitched. We couldn't find a Bengaluru shop that prints a price for one, so compare in the shop.

A lehenga. The aari studio lists lehenga aari work at ₹2,000 and ₹5,500, without saying how much each covers. For a kurta or a dupatta we found no Bengaluru price.

How much is covered. A neckline, a front yoke, the sleeves, the back, or all of it. At one boutique the same aari work runs from ₹800 for a neckline to ₹8,000 and up for full bridal coverage. Two quotes for "an aari blouse" can be for very different amounts.

What's sewn on. Thread is the lightest and quickest. Beads, stones and raised zardosi take far longer to sew, so they cost more. The same boutique prices a heavy yoke at ₹4,000 to ₹9,000 depending on the stones, how dense the work is and how much it covers.

The cloth. The boutique charges a little more to stitch chiffon, georgette and net, which need more careful handling than silk or cotton.

Aari, maggam and zardosi. One boutique describes aari as fine chain stitch done with a hooked needle, and maggam as a broader word for frame embroidery that often adds stones, beads and zari to the aari. Zardosi is raised metal-wire work with an antique-gold finish. Heavy zardosi and stones sit at the top of that boutique's list.

Why machine work prices look all over the place. The same boutique's newer page calls machine embroidery at ₹300 to ₹800 a sensible choice for everyday festive wear, and doesn't say whether stitching is in that. A doorstep tailoring service starts machine embroidery at ₹2,000 and hand embroidery at ₹3,000, plus GST, and doesn't say either. So when you get a quote, ask if it's for the work alone or the stitched blouse.

How to look. Hand work has a slight relief and texture you can see in close light. Turn a finished piece over: the reverse is where hand work shows how well it was done. Ask to see one before you agree a price.

Ask which parts are which. A blouse can mix the two, a machine-worked base with stones added by hand. That can be fine, as long as the price matches the work. Ask the question straight, and get the answer on the slip.

Which to choose. Machine work is quick and costs less, which suits a kurta, a dupatta or a blouse for a smaller function. The boutique says hand work is worth it for bridal wear, close-up photos and blouses you'll wear for years.

The cloth is yours. The aari studio asks you to send your material with a blouse that fits, and the saree and blouse workshop says it doesn't sell fabric. The aari studio names what it works with (threads, zari, stones, beads and kundan) and says its bridal work is "budget friendly with good Quality beads", which suggests beads come with it. A boutique prices its heavy work "depending on stones". Neither says plainly what's in the quote, so ask.

Buying your own. You can buy stones, beads and zari yourself, in Chickpet for example, and pay for the labour only. Ask the embroiderer first: some prefer their own stock, and they know how much a design needs.

Sewn or glued. Ask how each stone is fixed. Sewn stones hold through wear and dry cleaning far better than glued ones. Ask to see the stones before they go on.

What's left over. When you hand over your cloth, zari and stones, ask for whatever isn't used to come back to you when you collect.

Get measured and cut first. Hand work is often done on the cut pieces on a frame, before the blouse is fully put together. So settle your measurements and the design before the work starts. Changes once it has started cost time and can spoil the work.

If your size may change before the wedding, ask for extra seam allowance inside. A heavily worked blouse is hard to let out later.

Already stitched? Ask first. Frame work is easiest on the cut pieces, and some work can still go on a stitched blouse.

The trial. The boutique puts one trial in its price and fixes it in one to two days. A heavily worked blouse may need a second check after the work is on.

A simple pallu design

₹1,500 to ₹1,900

A worked border and pallu

₹1,900 to ₹25,000

Simple designs worked on the pallu

Priced by the handwork the design needs

At least 10 days

2 to 5 weeks in the wedding season

You bring the saree, or send it

You bring the saree, or send it

Other saree work. The same workshop's FAQ gives ₹1,500 to ₹9,500 per design. A couple's names on the pallu cost ₹3,500 to ₹10,000. The aari studio lists aari work on a saree at ₹5,000.

Old or thin silk. Heavy work can make some cloth pucker, and every stitch goes into your saree. On an old saree, ask for a backing cloth behind the work and lighter work. A boutique also advises lighter blouse work to go with a heavily woven Kanjeevaram.

Settle the design first. Unpicking leaves needle holes in silk, so agree the design on paper before the first stitch.

When you hand it over, photograph the saree, both sides, and get a slip with the design, the price and the date. Ask what they'll do if it's damaged, and write that on the slip too.

What the boutique's price takes in. One place designs, works, stitches and fits the blouse, and fixes it after the trial. With the studio you carry the cloth between the studio and your tailor, and sort out the fit yourself, so add your tailor's stitching to its price before you compare.

Your own tailor. Some tailors send hand work to a karigar. Ask who does it and where, and ask to see that person's finished work. The person who measures you may not be the one who sews the work.

At a boutique too, ask whether the embroidery is done in-house or sent out, and who does it.

Neither page says more about why it charges what it does, so compare what each price covers.

What to look at. Finished blouses in your kind of cloth, held up close and turned inside out. The back should be neat and the stones firm. Ask whether the person you're talking to does the work, or sends it out.

The design on paper. Ask for the design drawn or traced before the needle goes in, with the parts to be worked marked. Once you've agreed on it, keep a copy.

The advance. None of the price lists we read prints one. Agree the amount in writing, and pay the rest when you've checked the finished piece.

Warning signs.

• No delivery date on the slip.
• A price with no word on which parts are worked, or on the stones.
• Won't show you the back of a finished piece.
• Says yes to heavy bridal hand work two weeks before the function. One boutique turns those jobs down.

Where to look. Ask women whose blouses you liked who did them. Bridal boutiques, tailors with a karigar and aari studios all take this work. If you'd rather we do the finding, send us the job and your date on WhatsApp.