Abaya for driving: sleeves, hems and pedals

Sleeves and the gear lever

Wide sleeves are the usual culprit. A bell, kimono or butterfly sleeve hangs below the forearm, so when your hand moves from the wheel to the gear lever or handbrake the spare cloth can loop over it, and it brushes the stalks whenever you turn the wheel. A straight or tapered sleeve with a cuff, elastic or a snap at the wrist stays on your arm and out of the controls.

If you love a wide sleeve, ask whether a small tab and snap can gather it at the wrist when needed, an idea covered in our guide to abaya sleeve styles. Sleeve length counts too. Your arms reach forward when you drive, which pulls a sleeve up the wrist, so a sleeve that only just reaches the wrist bone when you stand will look short at the wheel.

The hem and the pedals

A floor-length hem ends up in the footwell. The risks are cloth folding under your heel, catching the edge of a pedal, or being shut in the door and dragged along the road. Three choices reduce all of them.

• Length: a hem a couple of centimetres above the floor in your driving shoes gathers less around your feet than one that brushes the ground. See measuring abaya length with shoes.
• Flare: enough width to step up into the car, but not a full umbrella cut, which leaves metres of cloth to manage. Our article on hem width, slits and vents gives working numbers.
• Front: a closed front, or an open one that fastens down to the knee, stops the two front edges sliding off your lap towards the pedals.
• Habit: sit first, swing your legs in, lift the hem onto your lap or tuck it beside your thighs, and glance at the door sill before you close the door.

Bulk under the seat belt

A seat belt is designed to lie flat across the shoulder and low across the hips. Smooth the abaya under it instead of letting it bunch, and move a long scarf end out from under the strap so it does not tug at your neck when you turn to look behind. A belt knot, a large bow or a buckle at the back of the waist presses into your spine against the seat; a tie that fastens at the side or front is more comfortable, and so is leaving the belt off for the drive. Brooches and chunky buttons that sit exactly where the strap crosses your chest will dig in, so note where the strap falls before deciding where closures go.

Creases, getting in and getting out

Sitting on an abaya for an hour presses creases into the back and the lap. Polyester crepes and the fabrics sold as nida recover from most of that, while linen, cotton and viscose hold every fold. “Nida” and similar names are trade names that vary from seller to seller, so ask what the cloth is made of. Smoothing the back flat as you sit, instead of sitting on a twisted bundle, helps on any fabric. For longer trips, our travel abaya guide goes further.

Higher cars need a longer step, which is where a narrow hem pulls tight across the shins. A back vent or side slits solve it. A pocket that closes keeps keys and a phone off the passenger seat.

Asking for a driving-friendly abaya

When you request a made-to-measure abaya, measure the length in the flat shoes you drive in, and put the driving details in your notes: cuffed sleeve, hem clearance, moderate flare, side tie, pocket. Start on the quote form; we confirm what is possible on your fabric and design in the written quote, before anything is cut.