Soothing Simplicity.. Styled as Longer Arian*

All these are made using the same material throughout; jersey body and awning. The above is dark tropical forest green. Very dark.. like the colour of leaves when you are alone in the jungle and you look up and cannot see the sun... okay, my imagination is running away with me...

This is actually in skintone colour. Looks a bit peachy here as the sun was shining through the drapes when this photo was taken.This is a bright turquoise blue, as some people call it. I personally think the shade is Bondi Blue. Nice, bright and summery.
Longer Arian* in off-white. Looks a bit transparent here, but again this is due to the lighting from behind the mannequin. When it is worn it does not show as much.

Mustard with mustard brocade

...ordered by a very dear customer, who is outstation on a course. This beauty will be waiting for her when she gets back.. :)

Caring for your Tudung/Hijab

I will update this section as new information/methods become available.

The safest (and easiest!) method is always to dry clean. You get your tudung/hijab back in pristine state this way, hassle-free! But for those of you who desire other, more environmental- and monetary-friendly ways to launder your tudung/hijab, read on... The ladies who dry clean may skip the following section and scroll straight down to the section on Storage.

Washing:
Do NOT toss it into your washing machine; as it may stain other clothes and the awning will be mauled out of shape.

With normal jersey/knit material, wash as delicates. Use a gentle detergent, or softener, or body shampoo (I have tried Shokubutsu!) to lightly wash and rinse your tudung/hijab.

For tudung/hijabs with brocade and thai silk awnings, the safest way is to dry clean. However, I personally gently wash my tudung/hijabs under running water, while making sure the awnings do not come into contact with water as much as possible. I concentrate on areas with sweat stains. If some stains do get onto your awnings, very, very gently apply softener/body shampoo to the stain, and rinse under running water for as short a period of time as possible. It is always a good idea to minimise the contact between silk/brocade and water as much as possible.

Do NOT soak your tudung/hijab, especially those with brocade awnings. Brocade awnings tend to shrink horribly.

Also some knits are prone to discolouration, so DO rinse separately.

Try not to wring your tudung/hijab; just gently press out excess water if you must. The best is always to hang it soaking wet. This also makes for minimal or no ironing when your tudung/hijab is dried. :)

Drying:
Air-dry in the shade, away from the sun. They dry really quickly in this tropical weather. I have also air-dried mine in an air-conditioned room, it was dried within 2 hours.

Use a hanger or clothes line to drape your tudung/hijab over. Do NOT stick the hanger in your tudung/hijab and dry it that way; instead just drape it over the horizontal bar of your hanger. Do NOT pin up the hijab by its ends/awning as you might stretch it out of shape. Be careful about the clothespin you use, as some have sharp bits that may pull at your tudung and leave bits of string sticking out.



Ironing:
Use the SILK setting at the most. Steam irons are really good for this. Ironing the underside of your awning will, in most cases, remove any dents that occur in the awning. Most of the time, with proper air-drying, there is hardly any need for ironing (which suits me just fine :)).

Storage:

Drawer Method: With most of the tudung/hijab, you simply roll up the body of your tudung/hijab, and tuck it into your awning, which is then easily organised in a drawer. The downside is that with your hijabs in a drawer it makes it hard to coordinate your outfit with your tudung/hijab. Things also might get disorganised if you are in a rush and simply rummage through your drawer.Another caveat is that you might accidentally dent your awnings by piling your tudung/hijab one on top of another.

Hanger Method: Just drape your tudung/hijab on a hanger and hang away! Use clothes pins to secure onto hanger, but be careful which ones you use as some may have splintery bits that may pull threads from the soft knit/brocade material. You need a LOT of hangers for this.

IKEA Method: Purchase one of these from IKEA and drape your tudung/hijab through the rings, making sure the awnings are in front, not smashed against the back. Holds scarves/tudungs/hijabs aplenty. Hijab tip to Cynosure who first showed this to me!!!

Awnings by Halves, Etc.

Awnings
May be made from the same material as the tudung/hijab, or a different material just to spice things up a little. The area coloured in blue in the picture below shows where the awning is.

Awning shown in blue

Arian* Awnings
This is the standard cut. Suitable for rounder faces, which most Malaysians have including myself :)

Hajab* Awnings
Suitable for oval faces, for whom the Arian* just doesn't cut it. Some round faces look good in these as well, luckily, including myself.

Firmness of Awnings
Reinforcement of the awnings is crucial in order to allow the awning to perfectly frame the face, and to enable one to just slip on a tudung/hijab and be ready within seconds. No more fiddling for ages in front of a mirror!

Types of reinforcements are as follows:

Easy Keep
Specs: 2 inches/5cm by 8.5 inches/22.5cm.
Pros: Enables you to fold your tudung/hijab away in a drawer flat. Travels well. Easier on the sisters wearing spectacles.
Cons: Drawback is that the reinforcement ends around the eyebrow area, so your awning may only look perfect from eyebrow height upwards. But for some faces this is not a problem.

Easy Keep: Awning shown in blue; reinforcement in purple

Half Firmed/Half Moon
Specs: The width is 2.5 inches/6.5 cm from the edge of the awning inwards.
Pros: Looks good! Also allows part of the awning to be placed firmly on the head. Easier to handle and keep compared to the Fully Firmed (see below).
Cons: Requires a little more care in handling and storage than the Easy Keep, but properly handled, over the long run will wear/look better than the Easy Keep.

Half Firmed: Awning shown in blue; reinforcement in purple

Fully Firmed/Full Moon
Alternatively, the whole part of the awning maybe reinforced.
Pros: Some oval faces suit these. But some people just prefer the extra support the Fully Firmed offers.
Cons: Requires a little more care in handling and storage than the Easy Keep and the Half-Firmed.

Fully firmed: Awning and reinforcement in purple

P/s: My personal preference is the Half Firmed/Half Moon as I like to call it.
Credit to resthour.blogspot.com from where I got the pic.

A Readymade for a Friend...

Labuh standard Arian*. Face size S. Awning material: Thai silk. The body is made of cotton jersey, soft and comfortable. The print is of tiny rosebuds in pink, deep pink and cream, on a black background. I am sooo reserving one of these babies for my personal collection!

Glossary of Terms aka What Does 'Awning', 'Tudung', mean?

Awning
Front part of the tudung/hijab which frames the forehead. Is usually reinforced with interfacing to help it keep its shape, thereby minimising time spent in fiddling with your tudung/hijab in front of the mirror. For more info, see Awnings by Halves, Etc.

Firmness
Refers to the dimensions of awning reinforcement. See Reinforcement.

Hijab
Arabic word meaning to cover. Also known as headscarf, headgear & tudung.

Reinforcement
Interface layer hidden within the awning that helps the awning keep its shape. I use the best quality that I can find; in my experience investing a little more in the reinforcement means that it is easier to take care of and maintain its shape.

Tudung
the Malay/Indonesian word for hijab.

Tudung/Hijab Styles and Specs

My hijabs/tudungs come with extra length and a looser cut. Lengths of the tudung/hijab is when WORN, not when laid out flat on a surface. I find that the length also depends on shoulder size, torso width & length (depends on how far your bottommost rib lies from your hip bone) and bosom size. Obviously the bigger these numbers are, the smaller the tudung/hijab would be on you!

Standard Tudung/Hijab

The classic tudung/hijab that is simple yet with a charm all its own.
Length when worn from beneath chin: 17 inches/43cm (mid-stomach)
Pros: One style fits all tudung/hijab. The easiest to wear, this one is really just slip it on and you're ready to go baby!
Cons: Might seem a bit simple for a few. My main gripe is that with certain body types/fabric, this style might not hide the shape of the bosom as well as some would wish.


Scallop Tudung/Hijab

Also known as Tudung Eenaz. :-) Bring the front of the tudung/hijab to one shoulder and secure with a pin; then bring the back of the tudung/hijab to your other shoulder and secure. Gathers beautifully in the front and back: this is the 'scallop' bit.
Length when worn from chin to bottom: 17 inches/43cm.


Pros: Looks really elegant and is really easy to wear. The gathers in front provide extra coverage for the bosom. And you can off-set the whole look with some tasteful pins.
Cons: You still need 2 pins on your shoulders in order to pull off this style.

Button Tudung/Hijab

Has a button and a loop at the back so the tudung/hijab looks a bit neater.
Pros: Fuss-free, it provides a neater look to your hijab, and is quick and easy to pull off. Just slip it over your head and hook the button and you're ready! The fabric gathers slightly in front, providing some coverage where it matters.
Cons: Might look a bit casual for some.

Jakarta Tudung/Hijab

Is slimmer around the neck and rests on the shoulders, then flaring out to drape over the back and bosom.
Pros: Fuss-free, no pins/button required!
Cons: Some people dislike that the seams are on the left and right side of the tudung/hijab.

Oblong Tudung/Hijab

Is basically a long scarf with an awning attached to it.
Pros: Looks really good and is very easy to style! And it is very versatile in that there are many ways to wear an oblong.
Cons: You still need a pin or two to secure it properly.