Abaya with a matching scarf: fabric, size and edges

Which abaya fabrics make a good scarf

A quick test: fold a corner of the abaya fabric into four layers and hold it under your chin. If it feels thick or scratchy there, it will feel worse after three hours. As a rough guide:

• Usually fine as a scarf: light, fluid polyester abaya cloths, chiffon and georgette. They fold small at the neck and stay cool.
• Borderline: medium crepe. It wraps, but it adds bulk under the chin and can slip. A narrower scarf helps.
• Happier with a different cloth: heavy crepe, jacquard, linen blends, velvet and anything lined. Pair these with chiffon, georgette or a soft crinkled fabric in the same colour.

Getting the shade to match across two fabrics

The same cloth matches itself, which is the main argument for using it. Two different fabrics in “the same” colour rarely match exactly, because fibres take dye differently and a matte surface reads darker than a shiny one. Black is the hardest: one black leans blue, another brown, and the difference only shows when they sit together in daylight.

So decide which look you want. An exact match needs the same cloth, or two cloths compared side by side in daylight. A deliberate tone-on-tone pairing, a shade lighter or darker, is easier to get right and often looks more considered than a near miss. Our guide to black and coloured abayas has more on choosing colour.

Size and edge finish to specify

Give the finished size as two numbers. Around 180 by 70 cm is the everyday rectangle and about 200 by 75 cm a longer shayla; our guide to hijab and shayla sizes lists the rest in centimetres and inches.

Then name the edge. Finishes and trims are requests: embroidery and lace are offered on outfits we stitch, and we confirm what suits your fabric in the quote. Most of our dupatta finishing ideas apply to a scarf as well. The usual choices are:

• Rolled hem: a very fine, rounded edge. The usual choice for chiffon and georgette.
• Narrow turned hem: a flat hem a few millimetres wide, turned twice and stitched. Neat on crepe and other opaque weaves.
• Wider hem on the short ends: adds a little weight so the ends hang straight.
• Trim to echo the abaya: the same piping, lace or a line of embroidery at one end. Keep it to the part that hangs, since trim near the face can scratch.

Stitching Only: can the scarf come from leftover fabric?

Sometimes, but only if it is planned before cutting. A scarf needs one clean, unbroken rectangle close to two metres long. What is left after an abaya has been cut is mostly curved offcuts and short pieces, which are useful for a belt or pocket bags and not for a scarf. A join across the middle of a scarf is rarely what anyone wants.

If you are sending your own cloth, measure its length and width, send the numbers with photos on the Stitching Only quote form, and say at the start that you want a scarf of a given size as well. As a rough guide, allow about two metres on top of what the abaya itself needs. On a wide roll with a narrow cut, a strip can sometimes be taken down one side instead. We confirm the quantity before you post anything. Our articles on how much fabric an abaya needs and using leftover fabric explain the sums.