Short answer
Put the body, border and pallu on separate layers, select the border colour with Select > Color Range, and change it with a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer clipped to the border layer. Keep the zari safe by leaving gold out of the selection or limiting the adjustment to one colour range, then check the new combination on a strike-off.
Key points
- Cut the body, border and pallu onto their own layers before you change any colour.
- Use adjustment layers with masks so the original colours stay in the file.
- Leave gold and zari shading out of the selection, or limit Hue/Saturation to one colour range.
- Check every new border in greyscale so it still stands apart from the body.
- A new border colour in screen printing may mean a new screen, so count colours first.
A buyer likes the saree but asks for the same body with a new border ("border change karo"). Border changes are a routine revision on saree designs, because the border and pallu set the occasion while the body sets the base look.
The work is simple once the file is set up in parts. The harder parts are keeping the zari as it is and choosing a border colour that suits the body.
Set up the file in parts
A saree is about 5 to 6 metres long and 1.1 to 1.2 metres wide (HPRT). Most saree print files have three zones: the body, the long border along one or both edges, and the pallu at one end.
Before changing anything, give each zone its own layer:
- Save a copy of the file. Never recolour the only master.
- With the Rectangular Marquee tool, select the border strip along its full length. Borders are usually straight bands, so a rectangle is accurate.
- Press Ctrl+J to copy the strip to a new layer. Name it "Border".
- Do the same for the pallu, then for the body. Name each layer.
- If the border runs on both edges, select both strips together (hold Shift) before copying.
Tip: If you only have a flat JPG, ask the original designer for the layered PSD first. Zones drawn on separate layers are faster and cleaner to recolour.
Recolour with Color Range
Select the border colour
Click the Border layer, then choose Select > Color Range. Keep "Sampled Colors" and click the border's ground colour with the eyedropper (Adobe Help).
Move the Fuzziness slider until the whole ground turns white in the preview and the motifs and zari stay black. Use the eyedropper with the plus sign to add any shade you missed, and the minus sign to remove one.
Change it with Hue/Saturation
With the selection active, add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Photoshop turns the selection into the layer's mask, so only the selected area changes.
Right-click the adjustment layer and choose Create Clipping Mask so it affects the Border layer only. Now move Hue to change the colour, Saturation to make it stronger or softer, and Lightness with care.
Note: Lightness pushes colours towards grey or white and can make a border look washed out. For a big change from light to dark, add a Curves layer with the same mask and darken there instead.
Keep each option on its own layer
Make one adjustment layer per option and name it: "Border bottle green", "Border mustard". Switch them on and off to compare. The original colours stay underneath, so you can always return to them.
Keep the zari safe
In a printed saree file, zari is not metal. It is a set of yellow, brown, cream and white pixels that look like gold. Any adjustment that touches those pixels turns your gold green, pink or grey.
There are two ways to protect it:
- In Hue/Saturation, open the drop-down that says Master and pick only the range of the border colour, such as Reds or Greens. Yellows, which carry most of the gold, stay as they are.
- Paint black on the adjustment layer's mask over the zari motifs. Black hides the change in those areas.
Warning: Check the zari at 100% zoom after every change. A thin green edge around gold motifs is easy to miss on screen and very visible on fabric.
On fabric, a normal digital print shows the zari as gold-coloured shading without real shine. Metallic effects on printed sarees usually come from foil printing or metallic ink (MySilkLove), and HPRT notes that only some advanced digital machines support metallic inks. If the buyer wants real shine, ask your print house what they can do before you design for it.
Contrast combinations that work
Woven silk sarees give printed designs a ready reference. Kanjivaram weavers have long paired a body with a contrast border, and many of those pairs translate well to print.
| Body | Border and pallu | Zari / accent | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rani pink | Green | Gold | South Indian wedding pairing (Shrus) |
| Deep red (aaraku) | Bottle green, emerald or deep teal | Antique gold | Vidhya Raghunathan |
| Chilli red | Coffee brown or green; self red for a richer look | Temple gold | Vidhya Raghunathan |
| Coffee brown | Deep temple red, mustard | Antique gold | Vidhya Raghunathan |
| Mustard yellow | Peacock green | Gold | Hayagrivas |
| Dark blue | Rani pink | Gold | Hayagrivas |
| Red | Navy blue | Gold | Hayagrivas |
A Ganga Jamuna border uses two contrasting colours, one on each edge of the saree (Hayagrivas). In a print file, that means two border layers with two separate adjustments.
Simple contrast rules
- Change lightness as well as hue. A mid-red body with a mid-green border of the same lightness looks muddy from a distance.
- Let the pallu follow the border colour in most cases. A third colour in the pallu works only when the body and border are calm.
- Keep the body's motif colours in the border's accents so the two parts read as one saree.
- Check in greyscale. Add a Black & White adjustment layer on top and toggle it. If the border and body merge into one grey, the contrast is too weak.
Example: Body: rani pink with gold butta. Option A: bottle green border and pallu with the same gold. Option B: self-toned maroon border. Option C: navy border with a thin rani pink edge. Three clear choices for the buyer from one body.
Try many options quickly
Making six border options by hand takes time, mainly in judging which colours suit the body. Color Variation makes many colorways of an uploaded design in one click and keeps the motif as drawn.
Upload the whole saree to see full palettes, or a crop of the border and pallu to see many border colour ideas side by side. Pick the colours you like, then apply them to the border layer in Photoshop with the method above so the body stays untouched.
Send options to the buyer
- Export each option at the same crop: a section showing body, border and the start of the pallu.
- Put six options in a grid of two rows on one image, each labelled "D-2417 A", "D-2417 B" and so on.
- Send the grid on WhatsApp for the choice, and keep full-size files for the printer.
Before printing
- Count colours. In screen printing each colour needs a screen, so a border colour not used elsewhere in the design can add one.
- Check the corner where the border meets the pallu at 100% zoom for leftover old colour.
- Keep the file at its original pixel size and DPI. Do not resize while recolouring. See saree design file size.
- Save as TIFF for the printer, not a WhatsApp JPG.
- Approve the new border on a strike-off. Screen colours and fabric colours differ, as explained in why print colours differ from the screen.
Next step
Open the saree file you most often get border requests for and split it into body, border and pallu layers today. Then upload a crop of the border to Color Variation, pick the strongest colours and build your six-option grid for the buyer.
Questions people ask
Can I change the border colour without affecting the body?
Yes, if the border is on its own layer or inside its own mask. Select the border strip with a rectangle, copy it to a new layer, then clip the colour adjustment to that layer so nothing outside it changes.
Why does the gold zari turn green or pink when I change the border?
The adjustment is reaching the yellow and brown pixels that make the gold look. Pick only the border's own colour range in Hue/Saturation, or paint black on the adjustment mask over the zari.
What border colour goes with a red saree body?
Bottle green, emerald, mustard, navy and coffee brown are long-standing contrast borders for red, usually with gold zari. A self-toned red or maroon border gives a richer, single-colour look.
Can a printed saree have real metallic zari?
A normal digital print shows zari as gold-coloured shading without real shine. A metallic look needs metallic ink or foil printing, which only some print houses and machines offer, so ask before you promise it to a buyer.