General Dastar

[carolineislands]

For the Sikhs here in the U.S. -- where do you buy dastar? How many yards or meters long do you usually get the fabric? Do men get longer pieces of fabric? How much do you usually pay?

Also, other things like kirpan, kara, kirpan straps, prayer books etc. Where do you buy them in the U.S.?

Thanks!!!!

 

[Archived_Member1]

For the Sikhs here in the U.S. -- where do you buy dastar? How many yards or meters long do you usually get the fabric? Do men get longer pieces of fabric? How much do you usually pay?

Also, other things like kirpan, kara, kirpan straps, prayer books etc. Where do you buy them in the U.S.?

Thanks!!!!

i get dastaar fabric at Go Sikh: Sikh Turban and Dastaar, wear them with Pride, or from the local fabric store. if your fabric store has "cotton voile", you can use that, but gosikh usually has better prices and colors.

the length of the fabric is completely personal. i use 5.5 meters for my outer dastaar and 3 meters for my keski (small under dastaar). i use half-width fabric, meaning that when i buy it, i cut it in half, longways, and wind up with fabric for two separate turbans. i just find that it's easier to work with this way, and not as bulky.

men's style dastaars vary even more widely than women's... my husband uses 7.5 meters, cut in half, and stitched back together on the long side to make a very wide cloth, which is folded then tied. when he wears a dumalla, he uses 11 meters of half width fabric.

here's a great site with videos on how to tie different styles, it usually includes the length and type of fabric used:

How to Tie a Turban (Sikh/Sikhism Styles)

for other sikh items, you can usually purchase them at the Gurdwara, or people have friends/family bring them back from india.

alternate sites for these items are:

Sikhlink.net
CharhdiKalaa.com: First Ever Complete Online Sikh Shop

and for sikh related books, gutkas, etc:

Sacha Sauda's Website
Singhbrothers - Publisher, BookSeller, Exporter, Quality Printer

the first one is a non-profit organization concerned with education about sikhi. the second is a commercial book publisher and so has more inventory.

good luck.

 

[carolineislands]

I've tried tying the dastar a few times, after watching the videos on youtube. They still come out looking like more of a dasastar. 8) But I'll keep working on it. Thanks for the links!

 

[Archived_Member1]

I've tried tying the dastar a few times, after watching the videos on youtube. They still come out looking like more of a dasastar. 8) But I'll keep working on it. Thanks for the links!

what kind of issues do you face?

one hint is to soak the fabric in warm salt-water overnight, then wash it the next day, before the first time you wear it... this will remove all of the starch and make it easier to tie. women's styles (round or dumalla types) are best with very soft, thin material. some of my dastaar fabric is nearly see-through.

 

[carolineislands]

I think my first mistake was buying the cotton linen instead of voile. And I got it too wide. But I just put in an order for some dastar of cotton voile in three colors and got them 5 meters plus 3 meters extra for the keski -- I'm sure that will work much better. The only success I've had so far is with the simple house turban from the video where you just put the center of the cloth over your head, criss-cross in the back and wrap both ends around your head one at a time. But it's not very pretty. I also tried the gol dastar from the video but when I am tying the keski, that first wrap after you cover your bun just goes every which way and ends up in a big mess. I like the gol dastar best and hope I can someday get the hang of that one. I hope to have better luck when the dastar cloth arrives as it is voile and long enough. It's probably too wide though because I chose the 1.3 meter wide one instead of 1 meter. Maybe I can make two out of each of them. Since they're cotton I can probably dye them different colors.

One other question -- I never see American Sikhs wearing turbans out of print but have seen this in Indian films. Why do they wear them in India but not here? Or is that a different turban?

The one thing I have not been able to find ANYWHERE is the adi shakti pin at a reasonable price. The only ones I've been able to find are solid gold and quite expensive.

Anyhow, I'll keep trying.

The most important thing is, once one starts wearing the dastar... well, then you have to act right.

 

[Archived_Member1]

i started with the gol dastaar video too... but i don't tie the keski into my hair. i tie a small, tight joodha and then tie the keski overtop of it, pulling it tight and close to my head. you'll find your style, it just takes practice.
and yes, you can take the fabric you get and make two dastaars from it... just cut it longways. actually you can cut just a tiny snip and it will tear clean and straight from there.

regarding print turbans... they've been fashionable at various times... i think they're more popular among sikhs in Africa than in the US, though i do know at least one Singh here who wears a plaid turban on occasion.


check Welcome:: Sikhlink.com for the khanda/adi shakti pins, i think they're $2.00.

 

[carolineislands]

regarding print turbans... they've been fashionable at various times... i think they're more popular among sikhs in Africa than in the US, though i do know at least one Singh here who wears a plaid turban on occasion.

YOUR Singh?
:wink:

check Welcome:: Sikhlink.com for the khanda/adi shakti pins, i think they're $2.00.

Wow -- I can certainly afford THAT one!

Thanks again.

 

[Archived_Member1]

YOUR Singh?
:wink:

Thanks again.

nah, he and his wife are friends of ours. one of the few sikh couples our age in town. he's american born and raised and ties what's known as an "african" or "kenyan" style dastaar... they use patterns more often i think...

i'm looking for a photo, but i'm not having much luck.

here's an extreme example:

here's one that's a bit more "normal" example of the african style:

the style is also popular in the UK too.