• Cool, dry and dark. Light fades dye and thread over the years.
• Breathable wrapping. Wrap in a clean, washed, plain cotton or muslin cloth, or acid-free tissue. Plastic traps moisture and invites mildew.
• Loose folds. Avoid sharp creases across embroidered areas. Put a roll of tissue or soft cotton inside each fold.
• Refold every few months along different lines, so no fold becomes a permanent crack.
• Roll, don’t fold, for special pieces: roll face out round a tube covered in clean cotton.
• Don’t hang heavily embroidered pieces for long; the weight stretches the cloth. Blouses can hang briefly on padded hangers.
• Line wooden shelves and steel trunks with clean cotton, so the textile doesn’t touch bare wood or metal.
• Keep insects away with dried neem leaves in a small cotton bag, or cedar, especially for silk. Keep them from touching the textile directly.

In the humid months – in Bengaluru, through the long monsoon season – damp is the biggest risk. Mildew can spot cloth for good, and damp makes colours more likely to transfer.

• Air your textiles on dry, bright days: unfold them indoors or in the shade for a few hours, never in direct sun.
• Put silica gel sachets in the cupboard (not touching the cloth), and dry them out or replace them when they are spent.
• Keep cupboards off outside walls where damp comes through, and leave a little space behind them for air.
• Never put anything away damp, including after ironing with steam. Let it cool and dry fully first.
• Check once a month: look for musty smells, small grey or black spots, and insect damage.
• Dry washed pieces quickly. In humid weather, dry indoors under a fan rather than leaving them damp outside for a day.
• Wear your Kasuti. Pieces that are used and aired regularly do better than pieces shut away for years.

• Silk sarees and heavily embroidered silk pieces are often best dry cleaned rather than washed at home. Choose a cleaner who handles silk sarees, and ask them to test a hidden spot first.
• Don’t spray water on silk while ironing; it can leave water marks.
• Zari and metallic thread tarnish with damp, perfume and some plastics. Wrap them in soft cotton or muslin and keep perfume and deodorant away from them.
• Spot-clean with care. Dab (don’t rub) a fresh mark with a clean damp cloth from the back. For anything more, ask a professional.

An old piece – a grandmother’s Chandrakali saree, a child’s kunchi, a ravike – may be fragile in ways you can’t see: weakened fibres, dyes that will run, threads that will break. Before any cleaning or repair, ask a textile conservator. A museum’s conservation department, or a conservation centre such as INTACH’s, can advise or point you to one.

Until then, these simple steps do no harm:

• Don’t wash, iron or dry clean it.
• Handle it with clean, dry hands, and support its whole weight when you lift it.
• Remove dust gently only if needed: a vacuum on its lowest setting, through a clean piece of net held over the cloth, never touching it.
• Store it rolled on a cotton-covered tube with acid-free tissue, wrapped in washed muslin.
• No pins, tape, glue or sticky labels. Tack a cotton label to a loose corner if you must.
• Write down what you know: who made it, when, for what occasion. Photograph it front and back. The story is part of the heirloom.

• Keep a test scrap from every project, stitched with the same threads, and wash it first.
• A white towel under drying pieces shows at once if colour is running.
• Turn garments inside out to wash and dry, so the embroidery is protected.
• Wash after wearing, not before storing for a season: stains and sweat set over time and attract insects.
• Air before wearing. Shake out and air a stored piece for a few hours before you wear it.
• Muslin bags made from old soft cotton dupattas or dhotis are perfect saree covers.
• Label storage bags with what is inside and the date it was last refolded.
• Keep a care card with each piece you give or sell (see below).

Colour has run onto the ground or the embroidery.

1. Rinse at once in plenty of cold water, changing it until it runs clear.
2. Dry it quickly, flat, on a white towel, in the shade.
3. Prevention: test colour first, wash separately, and never leave dark pieces soaking.

Small mildew spots have appeared.

1. Take the piece out into fresh air (shade, not sun) and let it dry completely.
2. Brush off loose mildew gently outdoors, with a soft brush.
3. Prevention: never store damp, use breathable wrapping and silica gel, and check monthly in the monsoon. Old marks may need a professional.

There are permanent-looking fold lines.

1. Press gently from the back with steam, through a pressing cloth, on a towel.
2. Refold along different lines, padding the folds with tissue.
3. Prevention: refold every few months, or roll special pieces.

You find small holes from insects.

1. Check every other piece stored nearby.
2. Air and brush the piece; clean the cupboard thoroughly before putting anything back.
3. Prevention: store only clean pieces, use neem or cedar, and check regularly. Ask a professional about repairing the holes.

The stitches look flat and shiny after ironing.

1. Hold a steam iron just above the back of the embroidery to lift the stitches.
2. Next time, iron on a thick folded towel.
3. Prevention: always use a pressing cloth, and iron from the back.

A dark ground has faded unevenly.

1. There is no reliable home fix; accept it as wear, or ask a professional.
2. Wear and display it so the faded part is less visible.
3. Prevention: dry and store away from sunlight, and wash by hand only.

The piece smells musty.

1. Air it in the shade on a dry day.
2. Store it with fresh, dry neem leaves in a cotton bag.
3. Prevention: never store in plastic, and air stored pieces regularly.

• Myth: salt in the first wash fixes the colour. Fact: this is a common household belief, but salt doesn’t reliably fix most modern dyes once they are in the cloth. Testing and washing separately work better.
• Myth: plastic keeps textiles safe. Fact: plastic traps moisture and causes mildew. Cotton breathes.
• Myth: strong sun freshens and disinfects. Fact: sun fades dark grounds and bright thread. Air in shade.
• Myth: mothballs are the best protection. Fact: they have a strong smell, are harmful if swallowed, and some sources warn their fumes can affect delicate fibres. Neem or cedar, cleanliness and regular checks are gentler.
• Myth: old pieces should be washed to “save” them. Fact: washing can destroy a fragile heirloom. Ask a conservator first.

For earning: give every customer a small care card with each Kasuti piece: hand wash cool and separately, test colour first, dry in shade, iron from the back, store in cotton. It protects the piece and your name. Say plainly if a piece should be dry cleaned.

For teaching: end every course with a short care lesson. Washing a test scrap together, and watching whether the colour runs, teaches more than any list.

• The guidance here is standard care for hand-embroidered natural-fibre textiles, not rules written down only for Kasuti.
• The belief that black Chandrakali sarees protect against the evil eye is traditional; it is reported, not documented in detail.
• Advice on mothballs and camphor differs between sources; we suggest gentler methods.
• Whether a given silk saree should be dry cleaned depends on its dyes; ask the cleaner to test.
• INTACH runs conservation centres in India; check their current services before relying on them.
• Source: D&D’s ebook Kasuti – The Complete Encyclopedia, chapters 5, 13 and 15.

• Do you test colour on an inside seam before washing?
• Do you wash by hand, cool, and separately, without wringing?
• Do you dry in the shade and iron from the back on a towel?
• Do you store in cotton, not plastic, and refold every few months?
• Would you ask a conservator before cleaning an heirloom?