Refashion: From Abaya to Jilbab

About a year ago I bought this abaya from East Essence.  I ordered the "khaki" color, which is actually a dark army olive green.  And it was... OK.  There is nothing really wrong with it.  I just never felt comfortable with it the way it is.  The fabric is thick and not comfortable for an abaya, I thought.  More suited to a coat than a dress.

I spent about $28 on it, so I didn't want to just get rid of it.  I figured there must be a way to change how I feel about it.

Now, I know you can wear an abaya as a jilbab and that is probably their actual purpose.  But I can't get over my Western idea that an abaya is just a dress.  And this one I felt was uncomfortable as a dress.  So I decided to refashion it into something I enjoy wearing. 

Since I recently started always wearing an overgarment (what I refer to as a jilbab) when out in public, I have been in desperate need of more of them.  No girl likes to wear the same thing day in and day out!  And since I don't have extra money for new clothes, I needed to be creative in how to get some.

So I had an idea for this abaya and when I looked at the structure of it, I saw it would work perfectly!

This abaya buttons from the neck to the waist.  The buttons are hidden behind a placket.  Then there is a fake placket from the waist to the hem.  My plan was to open this fake placket, add closures for the bottom half and shorten it to calf length.

My only worry was the drawstring at the waist.  If the casing for the drawstring was sewn over the seam for that placket (and that connects the two sides of the front together), then I wasn't sure what I would do.  But, mash'Allah, it did not.  There was one clear seam from the open top through to the hem.

I like my jalabib (plural of jilbab) to be openable from the front since I often go places where I may take them off (private residences of family or close friends).  And to me it is weird to go to someone's house to visit and have to pull my jilbab off over my head.  Pulling over my head feels like undressing and makes me stretch in a way I don't want to even in front of people I am related to.  Opening down the front is much more convenient and modest.

Plus, they just feel more like a jilbab to me if they open down the front.  I also prefer them calf length.  I like my pants or skirts showing out the bottom.  Again, to me it seems like more of a jilbab because people can see you have clothes on underneath.  For years I had no idea other muslimahs were wearing more clothes (other than underwear) under their abayas!  And since I live in a predominantly non-Muslim community (so people don't know our clothing customs) and people are supposed to realize we are wearing an OVERgarment (over other clothes), I like to "show" people I am wearing clothes underneath.

Ya ayyuha an-Nabiyy qul li azwajika wa banatika wa nisa al-mu'minin yudnina alayhinna min jalabib hinna; dhalika adna an yu'rafna fa laa yu'dhayn. Wa kana Allahu Ghafur Rahim

O Prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw their JALABIB close around them; that is better that they will be recognized and not annoyed. And God is ever Forgiving, Gentle.  

Quran, Surah al-Ahzab ayah 59 (33:59)  

For more info on why I dress the way I do, see my post on hijab.

THE REFASHION:

I was able to open the seam behind the fake placket down the front.  One seam ripper and some mindless TV.  Easy peasy.

Then, instead of actually sewing them (both due to laziness and because I didn't have of that color thread and didn't like the way black looked with the weird olive color of the fabric), I used iron-on hem tape to cover the raw edges from the seam I just opened.

Same stuff I used (but different color).  I picked it up at Walmart for $1.67 a pack.  I used 1 1/2 packs for this project.  Sometimes my laziness is able to overcome my miserliness.

 Here is the hem tape after using it.  Wish I had used a darker color, though.  But since it doesn't show I guess it doesn't matter.

I then measured for shortening it.  I knew I wanted it calf length.  I don't have anyone handy to help me with hems, so I have devised my own do-it-yourself method.

I put on a pair of older knit pants.  Then I put on the garment.  Holding it the best I can to my body (and noting in the mirror where it hits) I bend over and mark with tailor's chalk where the hem lands on my pant's leg.   Then I hike it up to where I want it to land and do the same.

The method isn't the most accurate, but with a jilbab hem you can off by an inch or so and it doesn't matter.

I measure between the two marks on my pants and now I know how much I need to cut off my garment.

For this one I measured 8 inches.  But I have to remember the hem.  I actually removed only 7 inches, leaving room for the hem.  I measured, marked with chalk and cut, moving slowly and carefully around the hem.  It is a wide hem (the skirt is fuller than it looks in the picture above) so it takes patience and care to get it straight.

After it was cut off, I used iron on seam tape for the hem.  Again, laziness and lack of thread.  Plus the stuff is SO easy!  I ironed on the tape along the edge of the hem all the way around.  I peeled off the paper covering, folded it over and ironed it down to complete the hem.  To make it all nice and neat, I also covered the hem's raw edges with the same iron-on hem tape I used earlier.

They call this stuff hem tape too.  I called it seam tape to be clear.  I love this stuff!  

This is NOT how you use it though!

The bottom right edge shows the seam tape (with and without the paper covering still on).  The loose section is the hem tape I placed over the rough edge.

Now I just had to decide how to close the bottom.  I found some pearl covered snaps I really liked, but thought it would be weird for the closures to only show on the bottom half.  So I will save them for my next refashion (I have another "abaya to jilbab refashion" planned!  Check back for it.) 

These are the snaps I rejected.  But I can't wait to use them on my next project!  I think they will be very pretty.

Next I considered hooks and eyes.  But they didn't seem right.  So I went with snaps that you cannot see from the outside.

Hook and eye: nice, but for another project.

Sew in snaps that are unseen from the outside of the garment.  Perfect!

I measured the placket, deciding that the last 6 inches would be open.  I was left with 20 inches.  I decided to have 4 inches in between each snap.  Counting one at the top, I had 6 snaps to sew on.

I measured each 4 inch space and marked it with chalk.  Then I sewed the top (the males) snaps down.

After the tops were finished, I did the bottoms (the females).  To get an accurate spot to sew them to, I rub my tailors chalk on the male side and then carefully pressed it to the side where the female should go.  Left behind was a dot of chalk to show me where to sew the female.

After that, I was done!  

So I wore it... and realized... I had made a mistake.  The snaps popped open so easily.  PLUS, I had used silver ones, figuring so one would see them, but since they popped open easily they were easily seen.  Not good.  Luckily I wore it to an event where I was mostly standing so there was little popping going on.  But I went straight home and planned a fix.

Now I have sewed in hooks and eyes.  I was worried they would be too difficult to open but that is much better than opening too easy! 

I wore it to work as a test.  A much more controlled environment.  Worked great!

I now had a new jilbab.  It doesn't look a whole lot different, except for the length.  But for me it is much easier to wear.  I now have a garment that is a working member of my wardrobe instead of always being pushed to the back of the closet.  Alhamdullilah!

WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY:

I figure every project has things you wish you had done differently.  I want to share with you mine, so hopefully you will avoid some of my mistakes.

1.

As I already said, I wish I would have chosen hooks and eyes the first time around.

2.

If I was going to keep the snaps, I wish I would have used black ones.

3.

I wish I would have used hem tape that matched better.  I used some I bought for something else.  It is a light taupe color and is noticeable if the hem flips open/up.  Doesn't happen much, but I am picky.

Lessons learned.