Don't leave half your hair hanging out. Then it's just a shayla, not a hijab.
DO make your own shaylas if you can't afford the designer ones [like I can't]. When I first saw this pic I had the bright idea to go buy some silk flowers. I found some nice ones at the dollar store and at local craft stores. Then when I got home, I took a plain black shayla like this one
http://www.sunnahstyle.com/product_info.php?pName=plain-wrap-hijab-black&cName=hijabs-wrapsshaylas for $10.99 USD, wrapped it the way I would normally wear it, and marked with white chalk where I'd like to sew on the flowers so that they would show when wrapped, and not be some bulky thing beneath the material. Then I got to sewing.
I popped out the plastic center of the flower that holds it together, discarded it, and then took the different rounds of petals and reformed them over top of the places on the shayla I had marked with chalk. I stitched them on with a few simple stitches so that they were secure with a colour of thread that matched the colour of the silk flower. Never mind the string underneath doesn't match the shayla's black---I've got a trick for that. Then, I take out some silver-lined seed-beads and a beading needle, and I sew three-five beads in the center of each flower I've sewn on. If you want to do alot of little flowers this is time consuming but the big flowers pictured above? Not so long. In the bigger flowers, I like to put a few swaroski crystal beads. Pretty:D When you've put flowers all the places you want them, just take a black permanent parker, and colour the threads that show underneath. Viola! You have a shayla that looks like it came of a Dubai runway for less than $20.00 Canadian. Which is less than US$.
Whenever I find I am not wearing a plain black abaya that I used to love and that once upon a time you couldn`t get me out of for any occasion, I break out my craft box filled with beads, thread, lace, and ribbon trims (I save some of this stuff from fashion tops I no longer wear but were gorgeous---I cut those up and save the fabrics and trimmings for abaya and shayla crafts---same goes for broken jewelry) and go to town on the abaya. At this point, since I am not wearing the abaya anyways, it is safe for me to ruin it, but I try not to. For example, the Sunnah Style creation above, I have ripped the ruched sleeve on one side soooooooo... I have decided to sew it back on and cover the joint at the elbow with the pretty ribbon below (red one--but in the same patern as the pink). I will, eventually trim a shayla with the design as well, and bead both just the tiniest bit. The abaya will have a whole other life. And then, if I am too lazy to give it another mae over the, first sister who needs abayaat who complimented the design and fits it will be gifted it. Voila. Nothing wastedm and fun in fashion had.
He he he, my beauty supplies, for making over an old abaya:
