Abaya and embroidery colour pairings that work

Choosing the abaya colour itself

The base colour covers far more of you than the thread does, so settle it first. If you are still deciding between black and a colour, read black or coloured abaya before anything else. For single colour families we have guides to neutral abayas, burgundy abayas, green abayas and pastel abayas. Whichever family you lean towards, four things usually decide the shade:

• Your wardrobe: the scarves, shoes and bags you already own. A colour that works with them gets worn.
• Climate: dark colours soak up more sun; pale ones show dust and marks sooner.
• Occasion: daily wear and work favour deep or neutral shades, while Eid, weddings and evenings welcome richer colour.
• Skin tone: the scarf and neckline sit close to your face, so the colour should brighten it rather than drain it.

Tonal or contrast embroidery

Tonal embroidery uses thread in the abaya’s own colour or one very close to it. It shows as a raised pattern when light falls across it and disappears at a distance, which suits work, travel and abayas worn every day. Contrast embroidery uses a clearly different colour, so the motif reads from across a room and keeps its detail in photographs.

Between the two sits low contrast: soft blue on navy, grey on taupe, cream on pearl grey. It is the most adaptable choice for a first coloured abaya, because the pattern is visible without being the first thing anyone notices. How much embroidery you have matters as much as its colour, and delicate, detailed or statement embroidery helps you set the amount.

Metallic or matte thread

Metallic thread, or zari, adds light. Gold, antique gold, silver and rose gold all belong here, and they look softest in daylight and brightest under evening lamps or a camera flash. Matte thread has no shine, so the colour itself carries the design; it is calmer by day and less likely to look too dressy at work. Beadwork and sequins add sparkle on top of either, and whether they suit your fabric and placement is confirmed in the quote.

Plenty of designs mix the two, with matte thread for flowers or leaves and metallic thread for outlines or small accents. Read what zari is for the metallic side, gold or silver embroidery for choosing between metals, and which embroidery is easiest to care for if the abaya will be washed often.

Several colours in one motif

A multicolour motif works when the colours are related and one of them leads. The Rosebud designs put pink rosebuds on a cream vine over a dusty mauve ground: three soft tones from the same corner of the colour wheel, so nothing jumps out. The Wave designs mix gold and teal thread on deep teal, with small shells; the teal thread repeats the fabric and the gold supplies the light, as on the Wave tulip abaya.

When you plan your own, keep one thread colour close to the base, add one contrast and keep any third colour small. Palm Arc does this with bronze close to its chocolate brown and gold as the contrast; Acacia does it with grey leaves close to the taupe and cream blossom standing out, as on the Acacia bisht abaya. If you add initials or a name, take the thread from colours already in the design so the monogram looks planned; initials on an abaya covers placement and size.

How to send us your colours

Colour words mean different things to different people, every screen shows colour slightly differently and phone cameras adjust it as well. So the colour on your screen, in our design previews and in fabric photos is a close guide rather than an exact match, and a small difference in shade is not a fault. With Fabric + Stitching, the quote comes with photos and descriptions of the fabric we propose, as we do not send free samples. See whether fabric can be matched to a colour code and choosing fabric for more.

The answer is to show us as well as tell us. Any of these helps, and all three together help most:

• A daylight photo: photograph the colour by a window during the day, with no filter and the flash off, ideally beside a sheet of white paper so we can see how your camera has shifted it.
• A colour name with a comparison: “navy, nearly black” or “olive, more brown than green” says far more than one word.
• A fabric or garment you own: photograph it the same way. If it is abaya fabric you want made up, our Stitching Only route lets you send it to us in Pakistan once we have confirmed it is suitable.

Putting it in your enquiry

Any of our designs can be made in any colour. On the quote form, write the base colour, each thread colour and where it goes, for example “navy crepe, soft blue irises, silver outline, embroidery at the cuffs only”. Before anything is cut, the abaya colour, thread colours and placement are agreed in writing in the design approval, a written summary of every detail, so there is a clear record of what you chose.

The custom embroidery service explains what can be embroidered and where, and the UK abaya page covers delivery to Britain with import charges included in the quote. Collection designs start from £80 with a matching scarf. When you are ready, start a quote from one of our designs and change its colours, or open the Iris kimono abaya as a navy starting point.