A Cash Saree, a Shrunken Blouse and Moth-Eaten Sweaters
Before her brother's wedding in Hisar, Mrs Sharma bought a saree advertised as "pure Kanjivaram silk" for ₹9,000 from a salesman at a mobile exhibition. The saree has no label and no silk mark, and she paid cash; the only paper is a plain handwritten slip with no fibre description.
Her daughter Rimpi, 15, bought 1.5 m of printed cotton for a school blouse. After the first wash in hot water with a strong detergent, the blouse shrank by about 4 cm at the sleeve, and the red print left pink patches on the white dupatta washed with it. The dupatta is now unevenly pink.
In May the family's woollen shawls and sweaters were packed in black polythene bags with naphthalene balls pressed against the wool and stored in a damp steel almirah in a room with no ventilation. In November two sweaters had holes, a musty smell and a faded look.
1. Describe two simple home tests Mrs Sharma can do to check whether the saree is silk, and state which result would confirm her suspicion.
Read the worked answer
Test 1 - the burn test (the decisive one). Pull out two or three separate yarns from the hem or a hidden corner, hold them with tweezers over a steel plate, and light them at the edge, away from the main saree.
- Silk: burns slowly and shrinks away, smells of burnt hair or feather, the flame goes out when removed, and the ash is black and crushes to powder between the fingers.
- Polyester: melts and curls into a hard black bead that will not crush, with a sharp chemical smell.
- Rayon/artificial silk: burns fast like paper, smells of burnt paper, leaves a soft grey ash.
Test 2 - the water-drop and feel test. A drop of water sinks into silk and spreads; it sits in a bead on polyester. Silk feels warm and slightly rough when rubbed between the fingers and has a soft, deep lustre, while polyester is slick and glassy.
If it turns out to be polyester, the claim "pure Kanjivaram silk" is a misrepresentation. The handwritten slip, any WhatsApp messages with the salesman, and a photograph of the exhibition stall are her evidence; she should send a written complaint and, if needed, approach the District Consumer Commission within two years. The lesson for the family is to insist on a bill stating the fibre, look for a silk mark, and never buy high-value textiles for cash at a mobile exhibition.
2. Explain why Rimpi's blouse shrank and the colour ran, and state four washing rules that would have prevented both.
Read the worked answer
Why it shrank: cotton fabric carries residual shrinkage from weaving and finishing. Hot water relaxes the yarn and the strong detergent plus hard wringing pulls the fibres together, so the garment contracts - about 2–5% is common, which on a sleeve is the 4 cm seen here. Cheap fabric sold without a shrink-resistant finish is worst. Why the colour ran: the print uses a direct dye that was never properly fixed. Hot water opens the cotton fibres, the dye dissolves out, and white fabric washed in the same water takes it up as a stain. Hot water and strong detergent speed this up.
Four rules:
- Test colour fastness before the first wash - rub a damp corner of the print on a damp white cloth; if colour transfers, wash separately or in cold water with a little salt for the first wash.
- First wash in cold water with a mild detergent, soaked no more than 10–15 minutes; no bleaching powder.
- Wash whites and coloureds separately, always, and never leave a wet printed garment lying against white cloth.
- Do not wring hard; dry in the shade, inside out; iron slightly damp. Sun-drying printed cotton fades it.
For the pinked dupatta, a commercial colour remover used strictly as directed, or re-dyeing it a deeper shade, is the practical route.
3. Plan a proper storage method for the family's woollens in a Haryana summer and explain why each step matters.
Read the worked answer
- Clean before storage. Wash or dry-clean every shawl and sweater; invisible food, sweat and oil stains attract clothes moths, and body oils yellow wool over months.
- Sun-dry for 2–3 hours in the morning (not midday), then cool completely before folding. Sun kills moth eggs and drives out moisture; storing anything even slightly damp causes the musty smell and mould.
- Wrap naphthalene or neem leaves in paper and place between folds - never touching the wool. Direct contact with naphthalene weakens fibres and leaves a smell; dried neem leaves are a cheap local alternative.
- Store in cotton or muslin bags, or a trunk lined with newspaper, not black polythene. Polythene traps humidity and cuts off air, which is exactly what mildew needs; newspaper also absorbs moisture and printer's ink repels insects.
- Keep the almirah dry - place quicklime or chalk sticks in a cloth bag in a corner, and air the almirah on dry days. Damp steel almirahs in unventilated rooms are the real cause of the November damage.
- Air and refold every 2–3 months, changing the fold lines and checking for larvae; a monthly five-minute check in July and August is what saves the sweater.
The existing damage cannot be reversed, but ladders can be darned invisibly before the holes spread, and the faded look is largely from damp storage rather than moths alone.