Why do I keep tripping on my abaya? Hem fixes

Find your cause in two minutes

Put on the abaya with the shoes you had on when you last tripped, and work down this list.

• Stand straight and look at the front hem. If it rests on the top of your foot or touches the floor, it is too long at the front, whatever the back is doing.
• Take one long stride and stop. If the hem pulls tight across your shins before the stride is finished, the hem is too narrow.
• Walk ten steps and look down. If cloth has gathered between your knees or is stuck to your trousers, cling is shortening your stride.
• Climb three stairs without holding the abaya. Stepping on the front on the way up points to front length; feeling held back at the knee points to width.
• Change shoes. If the problem disappears in a heel, the length was set for a higher shoe.

Why the front trips you when the back looks right

The back of an abaya can be perfect while the front is too long. A hem cut level on the table does not hang level on a body: rounded shoulders or a forward-leaning posture let the front drop, and a bag carried on one shoulder drags one side down. Many abayas are also cut a little longer at the back on purpose, to cover the heel. On stairs it is always the front that matters, because your foot rises towards the hem.

Length also changes with the cloth. Heavy or loosely woven fabric, and anything cut with a lot of flare, can drop by a centimetre or two after hanging for a while, so an abaya that was right in its first month may trip you in its third.

Fixes for the abaya you already own

Start with the fix that matches the cause you found.

• Have the hem taken up. It is one of the simplest alterations there is, and an alterations service near you can do it. We do not alter existing garments, so this is a job to arrange where you live. Ask for the front to be a centimetre or two shorter than the back.
• Belt it. A belt at the waist with a little cloth bloused over it lifts the hem by several centimetres and can be undone later. See belted abaya styles.
• Change the shoes. A flat with a thicker sole or a low block heel may be all a slightly long hem needs.
• Deal with cling. A smooth slip or natural-fibre layer beneath stops cloth wrapping round your legs; how to stop an abaya clinging lists the fixes.
• On stairs, lift the front. Gather a handful of cloth at thigh level with one hand going up. Coming down, the risk is the back hem trailing on the step behind you.

Getting it right on the next abaya

A made-to-measure abaya lets you remove the causes before the cloth is cut. Measure from shoulder to floor in the shoes you wear most, then state the clearance you want separately, as explained in abaya length to the floor with shoes. For a life with stairs, buses and wet pavements, a hem at the ankle bone is safer than one that skims the ground.

Then look at width. If the stride test failed, ask for more hem circumference, a back vent or side slits; how wide an abaya hem should be gives the numbers. Mention it if you want the front slightly shorter than the back. If you own an abaya that never trips you, measure it flat and send those figures with your quote request. We confirm what is possible on your fabric and design in writing before cutting.