Re: Sariss...
If you know how to sew, get the pleats made by an Indian friend cause they do the best sari pleats ever, safety pin them as a guide and then use a big stitch on your machine to go over them to sew them in place. Then later you dont have to worry about getting the pleats right just need to tuck one loose end in your petticoat, wrap it around so that the pleats fall just left of your belly button, wrap around the back coming front, over the left shoulder and ta daaa- the perfect sari!
Basically any non-bulky fabric that is 40-43 inches wide and 5-9 yards long can be used as a sari the only part that needs to be sown is the fall on the underside and the edges on either pallu/borders.