A veil can add a very elegant, vintage-inspired touch to your bridal look. These veils are relatively easy to make, but still need to be carefully crafted before the big day arrives, to avoid overloading yourself with stress. Alternatively, you can create a veil to add a touch of class to a costume or semi-formal look. For any occasion you want to wear one, here's what you need to make it happen.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Creating a Base
Step 1. Cut an oval from a stiff canvas fabric
The oval should be no more than 10cm long and 5cm wide.
- Stiff burlap is a material used to make hats. If you can't find it, you can replace it with any other stiff fabric. Two layers of canvas or cotton lined with a thickness might be fine.
- Choose a white material or any other material that matches your hair color to prevent the base from being too visible.
- The size of the base does not necessarily have to be exact, but at least it must be wide enough to support the veil and at the same time small enough to be covered later by a decoration.
- Draw the oval on the fabric using a fabric marker or chalk.
- Cut out the stiff fabric using sharp tailor's scissors or shears.
- You could also replace this stiff base with something more flexible made of felt. The veil may not have much shape or support, but it would still be fine if you are careful to treat it carefully afterwards.
- For a more frivolous variation, cut a heart instead of an oval. The heart should be visible under the veil. You could also use a cookie cutter or any shape to trace the shape onto the fabric, or draw the heart freehand. Try to make a heart approximately 7.6 x 7.6 cm in size.
Step 2. Fold the hat cord to create the edges of the oval
Use enough wire to cover the entire perimeter with about 2.5cm of overlap.
- The hat cord is thicker than that of metal hangers, but is heavier than the netting cord. If you need to replace it with another type of handcrafted cord, look for something that you can bend with your fingers, but that can hold its shape under less pressure.
- The cable should be placed directly on the surface of the oval.
- If you are using a flexible material, such as felt, or a different shape, such as a heart, the cord is not necessary.
- Arrange the overlap so that it extends over the long side of the oval, rather than the narrowest part.
Step 3. Sew the cord to the base
Attach it to the stiff fabric oval by sewing the zigzag stitches. You can sew by machine or by hand.
- Some might find it easier to sew the cord to the base as you fold it than to do it once it is shaped.
- Use sewing thread that is the same color as the fabric of the oval.
- Make sure your sewing machine does the zigzag stitches. There should be a specific setting on the machine and it will need to have a needle that moves from side to side.
- Follow your sewing machine's instructions on how to set the stitch length and width. You will need moderately long stitches to cover the cord, but the width will be set on the low side of the center.
- Sew as usual. Start on one side of the cable. As you step on the pressure pedal and move the material, the needle should move from side to side. System as needed to allow the needle to pass through both sides of the cable.
- To sew by hand, thread the needle by pushing it from the inside of the cord towards the fabric.
- Pull the thread across the cable forming a small diagonal.
- Roll it to the back of the fabric again and push it to the other side so that it comes out, right next to your original stitch. Continue sewing like this all around the cord.
Step 4. Curve the base
Use your hands to gently bend the cord, giving the entire base a slight curvature.
The curve should be similar to that of your head or hairstyle, it will rest on the side of the head, near the nape of the neck, so try to form a curve that fits the position
Step 5. Attack a pettinessa
Hand sew a hair clip onto the long side of the oval base.
- The pettinessa should be simple, without a handle, about 2.5 cm smaller than the length of the oval.
- The comb will be inserted in the hair and will serve to hold the veil in place.
- Use the same thread used to sew the cord.
- Weave the floss between your teeth at the ends of the comb. Do not sew along all the ends of the comb; use just enough thread to hold it in place at the ends.
Part 2 of 4: Creating the Veil
Step 1. Get about 1 meter of white veil
It should be approximately 46cm wide.
- Use a Russian veil or similar mesh veil. The Russian veil net has a solid diamond shape, with gaps of approximately 6.35mm. This style is more suitable for a veil rather than a more delicate veil.
- You can usually find the veil in fabric stores, bridal shops, or even online.
Step 2. Smooth the top corners of the veil
Fold it in half and cut off the top pointed corners of the open part.
- Do not cut the bottom corners or even the top corners of the folded part.
- You just have to cut as much as necessary to round the corners.
- If possible, use a fabric wheel cutter. Otherwise, scissors will work too.
Step 3. Sew the hem of the veil with a needle
Open it and collect it as you weave needle and thread in and out of each space on the net.
- Knot the thread at the bottom corner of the veil. The thread should already be attached to the needle and you should have enough to cover the full length of the veil.
- Pass the thread between the meshes of the net along the edge of the veil. You should sew lengthwise, corner to corner, across the entire surface of the veil.
- Gather the veil lightly as you pass the needle. Do not over-tighten the sewing stitches. The veil should remain loosely gathered, and not held together too tightly.
- The final length of this gathered side should be about 5cm longer than the base length.
- Finish sewing by knotting the thread at the opposite corner of the veil.
Step 4. Arrange the gathered part around the base
Hand sew the veil to the base with zigzag stitches along the hem.
- The veil should be placed more towards the center of the base than towards the edges. The center of the gathered part of the veil should be aligned approximately with the center of the base oval.
- Curve the veil around the base so that the corners of the gathered part also reach the base. Do not join the corners. Rather, there should be 5 to 7 1/2 inches of space between the edge of the base separating the corners of the veil.
Part 3 of 4: Creating a Simple Floral Decoration
Step 1. Cut out three flower shapes from cardboard
Two of the flowers should have five petals while the third, and largest, should have six.
- Note that if you wish, you can skip this step and use ready-made fabric flowers that can be purchased at craft or bridal stores.
- The cardboard should be thin and flexible enough. If you don't have it, heavy cardstock or colored cardstock can also work.
- Draw the flower shapes by hand using a pencil before cutting them with scissors or a utility knife.
- The size of the flowers does not have to be exact, but they should be large enough to mask the base of the veil once applied. Make the largest flower approximately 18 - 20cm in diameter, the medium flower approximately 15 - 18cm and the smallest flower approximately 13 - 15cm. The length of the petals should be approximately the same size as the center of each flower, if not slightly smaller.
Step 2. Transfer the shapes to a thin cotton fabric
Place the cardboard flowers on top of the cotton and lightly trace the shape with a pencil or chalk.
- After tracing the shape of the flowers on the fabric, cut out the shape using tailor's scissors or shears. Make the edges as smooth as possible.
- You may also want to look for a lightweight type of fabric that is wrinkle-free to prevent the flower from wrinkling over time.
- You only need one layer of fabric for each shape, resulting in three flower-shaped cutouts in white fabric when done.
Step 3. Arrange the fabric flowers
The larger flower should stay on the bottom and the smaller ones should be on top.
Alternate the petals. Line up the five-petaled flowers so that the petals of the top flower fill in the spaces between those of the middle flower. Arrange the two flowers on top so that all the spaces of the flower at the base are also filled
Step 4. Fold the fabric stack
Fold the flower stack in half three times.
- Fold the stack in half from side to side.
- For the second fold, fold the stack in half from top to bottom. The flower stack should now be reduced to a quarter of its original size.
- For the final crease, join the two straight ends together, forming a triangle.
- Open the petals. Hold the folded part of the stack together from the tip and gently open the petals outward, creating the appearance of a blooming flower.
Step 5. Sew the base
Continue to hold the tip of the flower as you hand-sew the joined pieces.
- Sew over where you are holding the flower together. There should be about 1.25 cm of fabric below the seam line.
- Move the needle and thread through all the layers of the flower, joining them together. Make several stitches, securing the flower well from side to side.
- Knot both ends of the thread to hold the flower in place.
Step 6. Attach the flower to the veil
Sew the flower to the stiff fabric base, centering the center of the flower to that of the base. This completes your veil.
- Fold the tip of the flower so that it lies flat on the base. Sew the flower to the base near the seam line of the flower to maintain its shape.
- Rearrange the flower petals as needed to hide the base.
Part 4 of 4: Variations
Step 1. Make the veil in a different color
If you are not planning to use the veil for a wedding, or if you want a unique splash of color at your wedding, you can use a veil of different material and decorations of different colors.
- For a classic 1940s-style veil, consider using a black veil and a black feathered flower.
- To add a touch of "something blue", use a baby blue veil. Alternatively, you can use a white veil and a baby blue flower or brooch.
- Weave your wedding colors into your project, using a flower that matches one of your wedding colors. To mix everything better, you could decorate your veil with a fabric flower designed as one of the flowers in your bouquet.
Step 2. Add some feathers
Faux feathers can give the veil a vintage feel.
- You could use feathers to emphasize the flower by placing some in the middle of the flower and at the base. Sew or glue them using a hot glue gun.
- You could also make feathers the centerpiece of your veil. Glue the feathers in a semi-circle in a fan shape, placing them so that they fall on the side of the head or on the front. You could leave them as they are, or you could add a touch of light with a small clip at the joining point of the feathers.
- Alternatively, you could glue three or four feathers along the length of the base so that they can surround the head like a headband.
Step 3. Use a paper clip
Instead of attaching the flowers, secure them to the base with a large paper clip or a series of small ones.
Note that you may want a smaller base so it doesn't show
Step 4. Check the edges with lace
Hand sew the lace hem to the base of the veil.
- Use a delicate pattern lace to prevent it from clashing with the decoration on the veil or blocking your view.
- Attach the lace to the veil before gathering the veil and attaching it to your base. The hemming should extend from one rounded end of the veil to the other, so you'll need about 1 meter of lace hem.
