New Abayas

Because, there really wasn't anything else to do, I joined the shopping trip and went to the mall and found, inside this mall, a small street market.  Since it was run by Lebanese and Egyptians, it didn't close during prayer time. So, seeing as how they were the only shops open, I meandered through the stalls.  There were stalls with large sacks of various nut and snack mixes, there were men selling more varieties of olives and dates than I ever new existed, and in the corner, was a small abaya shop.  I approached cautiously knowing that I had a limited amount of funds to last me until the end of May or beginning of June when the company would finally pay me (hopefully), and that mom was going to send me the abaya I had bought on ebay but that hadn't arrived in time for my flight.  So, strictly speaking, I didn't need an abaya.  But I could at least buy a black headscarf to blend in a little more.

My colorful scarfs were nice, but definitely made me stand out like a soar thumb.  So, I bought a black headscarf, and then, out of curiosity, I asked about the prices of the abayas.  He had a lot of different styles, all with different prices, and the cheapest one had ridiculous looking black lace everywhere.  There was a plain black one, and I asked about this one, thinking it would be cheaper.  Strangely, it was even more.  He handed me one of the lace filled ones to try on, and it was the kind that snapped down the front, like a choir robe. This would be much more convenient than the kind you pull over your head, and a whole lot more convenient than my fake abaya, which had two pieces,  for throwing on quickly to answer the door, or sneaking to the roof to borrow the broom and dustpan, or when I'm at the office and someone yells "a man is coming!"  The only problem was, it was about 5 inches too long.

I asked the guy if he had any smaller, and he made a quick look through the hundreds of seemingly identical abayas, he shook his head, but handed me a smaller size in the plain black style.  I tried it on, and it didn't drag on the ground, but still covered my feet.  The arms were huge wide folds and when I lifted my arms the sleeves fell back and flapped around.  I looked in the dusty mirror he had and decided that all I needed was a wand and a house Gryffindor scarf and I would be a shoe in for an extra in a Harry Potter movie.  I asked him again for the price, and he told me 150 SAR.  I sighed and shook my head.  The lacy version was 100 SAR.  I told him it wasn't my fault he didn't have my size in the lace style, and asked if I could have this one for 100 SAR.  He told me no, but that he would let me have it for 140.  I started to take it off and make my way out of the shop.  He said, okay, okay, 130.  I told him that since I had already bought a headscarf for 10, and we both knew it was only worth 5, and that you were supposed to get a headscarf for free when you bought an abaya that 110 was a fair price.  He said, okay 120.  I hesitated, but knowing that if I bought it, it would leave me with only about 200 SAR ($50) to last me for the next month, decided against it.  I shook my head and turned to leave, but he stopped me and said okay, okay 110.  I wished now I hadn't made the counter offer, because I really should have just waited to buy it till I was paid, but I could hardly refuse now since he had come down on the price so much, and I had already said I would pay 110.  So, I went ahead and bought it.

Huge Sleeves

At first I was thrilled to have the new abaya.  It was quick and easy to throw on, and the black scarf made me feel incagnido.  But my first attempt to eat lunch in my new abaya revealed the flaws.  The sleeves were big enough for me to hide baby elephants in, and they landed in the dish I was trying to eat with alarming frequency despite my attempts to roll them up and keep them out of the way.  I decided then and there that I needed to do something about the graduation gown if it was going to be practical to wear everyday.

Luckily, my friend offered me some elastic to sew into the sleeves.  The trouble is, I have no sewing machine, so I knew it would take me a while to sew it by hand.  Since I have to wear it everyday, I decided to wait until the weekend to begin my sewing project so that I would have time to finish it before I needed to wear it again.  So all week, I thought about how I was going to adjust it, and particularly, if elastic at the wrists would be enough to keep all that extra sleeve material out of my food.

Later in the week, my friend's touch screen on her phone stopped responding, so I agreed to go with her to a repair shop and try to get it fixed.  We went to the shop, and were the only women there.  While we waited for the man to examine the phone,  I passed the time in my usual way, by staring at my surroundings, which in this case, were men.  The men in the shop were all wearing thobs, and I noticed something that made me angry.  The thobs, which are essentially white versions of our black abayas, had pockets.  I've long been frustrated by the fact that people who make clothes don't seem to think that women's pants need pockets.  I guess it's a universal problem.  The more I looked on at these enviable pockets, while I was being forced to carry my wallet around in a shopping bag, the more angry I became.  It really wasn't fair.  I mean, how hard would it be for the abaya makers to throw in a pair of pockets?  And that is when it hit me.  How hard would it be?  I noticed the thob pockets were really just triangle shaped material stitched onto the inside of the robe itself, with a slit in the side seem of the robe for access.   If I were to cut the extra material out from the sleeve, then it would be about the same exact shape and  I could add two pockets to my own abaya.

It all seemed so simple in my head.  It wasn't quite so simple in practice.  For one thing, abayas are made of a really slippery material, so cutting out the sleeves, was a challenge since I couldn't hold the two sides together to make it even and cut at the same time without it slipping around.  Then of course, I didn't have an iron to fold the seems over and make a nice straight crease, and no pins to hold it in place.  That meant I had to sew everything one stitch at a time, readjusting the material each time, trying to use one hand to hold everything together and the other hand to sew and keep the hem folded.  At the same time, I had to be very careful about making the stitches small and very even, since they would show on the outside of the abaya next to the pockets.   After two days of straight sewing, I had managed to finish up both (now narrow) sleeves and one pocket, all while binge watching two seasons of House.  I decided I didn't have time to finish the second pocket before I needed the abaya for school on Sunday.

Before                                                              After

On Saturday, I finally got to use my pockets instead of dragging my whole big bag around, or looking tacky with a small grocery sack.  I could fit my camera, wallet, sunglasses and headscarf in the pretty generously sized pocket, and had sleeves that stayed out of my way.  It was fantastic!  I can't wait to finish the other pocket so that I can evenly distribute the weight to both sides.  The one downside is that it does pull the hemline of the entire abaya down a little, meaning I trip more often.  But I can easily fix that with another season of House / sewing marathon.

Ebay Abaya

Fortunately, this time, I won't have to wait for the weekend to do the sewing.  Wouldn't you know it?  The same day I fixed my abaya, I received the package from my mom with the one I had bought on ebay.  This one is very fancy, with appropriately sized sleeves, with shiny beads and fanciness down each  sleeve.  It fits over my head with a fancy zipper on the top that makes it easier to take on and off.  There are plus sides to the over-the-head style, for example, it doesn't fall open if some of the snaps pop open, which happens almost every time I sit down, or step on the hem with the other abaya.  I think each one is very unique and has it's own uses, so I'm glad to have two.  Besides, this will allow me to wash one and have one to wear while the other is drying.  I'm turning into a proper Saudi woman, all I need is about 8 more abayas and I'll be all set.