Anyway here are 2 videos I found…the first is a British woman who is going to Saudi via Yemen and is buying abayaat and apparently also a niqab, upon trying on the niqab she bursts out in tears and proceeds to talk about the niqab as if its some abhorrence and how she feels pity for the women who must don it and “survive”. Watching it I got a bit angry because 1, going to Saudi a woman does NOT have to wear niqab. They dont even have to wear a headscarf. Abaya yes (generally, not necessarily black although thats the local ‘urf and is most common)…but niqab…no…and 2, her assumptions about women wearing the niqab and how much they suffer. tsk, tsk….

the 2nd video I REALLY liked because I felt like the niqabi sister could be me (though sans the niqab since I dont wear it, but I support those who do!) because I feel like we are both on the same page.

and

Seriously…simple is best. Now *maybe* for some BIG wedding party, thats one thing…but I seriously hope sisters don’t turn them self into “Madame Pincushion” on a daily basis!

…and what the heck is the giganto ball she attaches over her bonytail? Looks like someone stuffed a nylon sock with something and is pinning it to the ladies head… “Madame Ballhead”…hello migrane headache and sore neck!  And its a dude doing her hejab! LMAO. This is ridiculous!

These Armine pardesu can be had from E-Tesettur and Armine Online. The silk scarves from HijabPlanet.

These Armine pardesu can be had from E-Tesettur. The silk scarves from HijabPlanet.

asalaamu alaikum….so as I as going around various Irani hejab bloggers, I saw one post here a sister made her own hejab arcs. She seemed quite into them, having learnt about them from Lebanese women in Iran to do Ziyarat (pilgrimage) and she took pictures of how you make them, covering them with fabric and the end result.  Really nice, and her directions are easy to follow. She mentioned using the X-ray paper. I am unsure hether you can buy X-ray paper “off the rack” here in the USA unlike in most other countries where you have to personally buy your medical supplies BEFORE your medical procedure. But, perhaps there is a substitute!

If your confused as to what the heck I am talking about I will reference them from previous posts.

Post 1

Post 2

First step…making the arc! As you can see she is using cloth around the plastic arc to protect her scarves.

End results…

Also, the kind sister who runs Sun Shine Skies recently purchased a colored two-piece jelbab during the recent promotion and made a mention of what she got on her blog! en’sha’Allah, be sure to check it out!

Anyway…I share what I have…just know, im horrible at ewing from a pattern and when I saw I just eyeball it and prefer to use a garment I already have as a template. Please dont ask me for translations or measurements or anything…not because I’m being mean but because 1-I dont have time what with school and all and -those of you who really do know how to sew and use patterns should be able to work with these as they are fairly straight forward. I’d suggest before ruining nice fabric making a mock with some cheapo muslin or scrap fabric.

The best fabric of the Irani modern and traditional chadors are a good quality, lightweight crepe…especially Japanese crepe. Ive seen such fabric being sold on the UK Ebay. Maybe a very light polyester blend. For the house or prayer chadors use a cotton or preferabbly a cotton blend. Traditionally house chadors are colored with a print, prayer chadors are either white or printed and outside chadors are black or nowadays, maybe dark colors are becoming popular (see previous post).

Hope this helps!

A) Traditional chador  …aka…Chador-e Sadeh or Chador-e Irani OR even Chador-e meshki.

**note a last year I made a post showing how I cut, piece and sew one of these…I’ll try to find it for reference. Found it…its HERE

Also this post shows the popular kind of black crepe nowadays…its like sheerish jacquard fabric…

Do look at my link above, as its missing the last step where you cut on a rounded edge…since the chador is just a huge open semi-circle of material. Do check that out to ensure you make it right!

B) Chador-e Melli…aka “modern chador” aka…National Chador.

This is the original “modern chador”…all the other styles that have rapidly developed are an offshoot of this design (generally).

You can make it dark for outside (or light if you choose), printed for when guests come over and white and wstitched up to the chin with or without a chin cover for salaat or hajj/umrah.

Note: style requies elastic placed inside of it to anchor it to the head!

or….

In a nutshell, the Melli is very easy to make…just make a regular, plain chador like A, OK once its all done and pieced…then lay it as shown and cut into it to make sleeves…you’ll need to measure and be cautious when doing this! Make sure you cut out little gussets as they go under the arms…then piece the gussets and stitch up…voila…

C) Arab chador -aka…abaya ra’as…overhead abaya

D) Chador-e Qajari

And for those of you who enjoy a sewing challenge…try the Qajari style chador with mini sleeves, seen below! I cant even begin to fathom how to piece it, sorry! LOL

Have fun!

(Brown chador-e shalee)

(Various colored modern chadors...great for when the mehmoonha come over!)

(swishy...groegous drapes!)

p.s. because I know a well-meaning individual will ask…let me just say…no, i do not know who made these designs and no, I dont know how you can buy them…LOL…they are merely to show a new style in Iran right now.

Two great sites to peruse are HijabPlanet and E-Tesettur, both are based in Turkey. I’ve mentioned them both before…HijabPlanet is great for their wide selection of exquisite silk scarves and E-Tesettur is great for their wide selection of authentic Turkish overgarments called “ Pardesü” or “mantoo”. Both are great sites and ship quickly. Mash’Allah.

HijabPlanet is currently having their annual Winter Sale…great way to get a good price on a lovely silk scarf!

Here are a few silk scarves which I personally like…as you can see I have a think for florals!

(Karaca scarf from HijabPlanet)

(Arancia scarf from HijabPlanet)

E-Tesettur has a great and wide selection of pardesü and some come in sizes that are generally hard to find, which is great news for plus-sized sisters! Frankly…I really their selection, mash’Allah and they have an Outlet section and occasional sales on pardesü and actually, overall the prices of a quality, brand name pardesu ends up being rather reasonable and shipping to the US is around $27 via EMS for 1 pardesü! Only downside is they don’t have a English ordering page so you have to wing it with Google Translate and must pay via PayPal if your outside of Turkey. They speak English though and will get back to you if you contact them.

Here are a few Pardesü which I think look really lovely and quite everyday wearable! Most are ankle length, a few are 3/4th and knee length which would look lovely with those extra-wide legged pants they carry or a swishy skirt!

An Abaya-esque mantoo!

This knee length mantoo would look nice with a pair of brown, ultra-wide, modest pants or a straight brown skirt!

Seriously liking this lovely unique rose gold pendant in the form of a pomegranate (anar)

What did you think about the pardesu styles I just shared? What aspects of Turkish mohajabat fashion (tesettur) do you like and don’t like?

]]> http://muhajabat.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/great-silk-scarves-and-turkish-pardesu/feed/ 5 Umm Ibrahim Screenshot at 2012-01-05 20:11:08 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:41:06 0573__16379_zoom 7447_v-17__78375_zoom 5245__54887_zoom Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:38:52 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:33:31 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:34:05 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:34:43 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:35:11 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:35:55 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:36:36 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:37:03 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:37:36 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:39:14 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:40:14 Screenshot at 2012-01-05 19:38:40 http://muhajabat.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/kinda-i-dream-of-genie-ish-and-one-look-i-like/ http://muhajabat.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/kinda-i-dream-of-genie-ish-and-one-look-i-like/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:31:30 +0000 Umm Ibrahim http://muhajabat.wordpress.com/?p=5963 ]]> So, this is actually like 2 posts in one…also expect not too many new posts until summer because my semester has started and its split into three 8-week sessions which are pretty jam packed!

Anyway…Two styles…

recently Ive been seeing some of the French sisters who wear the Overhead Jilbabs getting this sorta “I Dream of Genie” look going on by putting blingy or plain narrow headbands (or maybe necklaces?!?) wrapped around their heads, outside of the jilbab. Uh, I can’t really explain any better than that…Here are some pictures to show what I mean. Now a huge fan though, maybe good for a womans only even thought…

What do you think? Here are a few more pictures…

But, here is one look I adore…a funky jacket over the jilbab…either denim or faux leather…very chic and funky while still keeping everything covered. I’m not in general a fan of “hijabi fashion trends” but this is one look I’m indeed diggin’. mash’Allah.