The contemporary Muslim hijab (veil) in Britain takes its form through myriad material expressions including individual style shaped around current fashion trends. Yet its religio-cultural history and connections with activist youth identity politics makes it a contentious object that provokes much debate and interpretation. This essay concentrates on the hijab's materiality and affect: specifically it explores how the material handling of a piece of cloth or scarf, how its feel and its texture, allows Muslim women to create a Muslim identity through embodiment based on their feelings, desires and subjectivity. The essay explores the manipulation of the cloth, its folding and draping, and how this transforms a wearer’s identity into a Muslim ‘look’ for a Muslim ‘self’. The discussion unravels the ways in which the crafting of the hijab exposes a wearer’s skill and dexterity to create different affects; it also considers technological innovation and tech-inspired design change as factors that create new opportunities for Muslim women to subvert stereotypes and fashion systems though ‘smart' hijab wearing.