From your measurements to your door: how a Zarqa outfit is made

Nothing at Zarqa is stitched until you order it. Every outfit is embroidered by hand and cut to your size after you place your order. Here is what happens, step by step.

1. Choose your piece, or bring your own design

Choose a piece from the collection just as you see it, or ask us to change the colour, fabric or cut. You can also send us any ethnic design, from a photo, a screenshot or a sketch, on our Customise page, and we will make it for you in hand-work, never printed.

2. Choose your size, or give us your measurements

You can choose a standard size from XS to XXL. Our sizes are based on body measurements (bust, waist and hip), so measure yourself and pick the size that matches.

Or choose Made to measure and fill in our measurement form. It follows the same list a tailor would take:

• For the kurta: shirt length, chest, waist, hip, ghera (the width at the hem), sleeve length, sleeve opening, front neck depth, back neck depth and shoulder.
• For the bottom: trouser length, bottom opening, thigh and waistband, and the style you want: straight trouser, farsi salwar, patiala or something else.

Only the first four are required. Anything you leave blank, we cut to our nearest standard size. Our measurements guide shows where to measure, and you can save your measurements on your phone or computer to use again next time.

Tips for measuring: use a soft tape, measure over light clothes, keep the tape snug but not tight, and ask someone to help with the shoulder and back neck. If you have a kurta that fits you perfectly, measuring it is a good way to check your numbers.

3. Pay in full, or in three stages

You can pay the full price at checkout, or pay in stages:

• 60% at checkout, to begin the work.
• 20% after the hand-work is finished, before stitching.
• 20% before dispatch.

Shipping is added at checkout.

4. The hand-work comes first

Our karigars embroider the fabric by hand before anything is stitched: every sequin, every mirror, every line of zardozi. This is the longest part of the process, and the part that makes each piece its own.

Suhag on the adda: a karigar works the pearl neckline by hand, long before the kurta is stitched.

5. Then it is stitched to your size

Once the hand-work is done, the outfit is stitched to your size or your measurements, checked, pressed and packed. Every piece is dispatched 4–6 weeks after you order.

Suhag once the hand-work is done: the pearl neckline, the buti across the kurta and the mirror cut-work border, ready to be stitched to size.

6. If it needs a small change

Because every piece is made for you, we cannot take returns. But we want it to fit. Each order comes with one free alteration of up to 2 inches; you only pay the shipping. Any further or larger alteration is ₹500 plus shipping.

Ready to start?

See the pieces, read the measurements guide, or, if you are planning a wedding, book a trousseau consultation. Online consultations are free.