I just finished
the Bridal veil for the most beautiful Bride - my daughter! It wasn't hard to
make the veil and it looks like it cost a good chunk of change. Here are the
pattern and construction instructions:
Bridal
Veil
Supply
list:
6 yards of tulle in 108 inch width
60 inches of ribbon
A tiara or comb to attach veil to
Beads, ribbon, pearls, etc. to attach to curved edge of veil
Dental Floss
Erasable Marking Pencil
Needle
Scissors
Sewing machine
Straight Pins (T-Pins work best)
Super Glue
- Buy tulle in 108 inch widths. I bought 6 yards for 2 tiers in the back
and the blusher. If the bride wants more tiers, increase the yardage.
Consult with the bride as to how much weight she wants to carry on her
head (some brides are unaware that the veil can be heavy when
embellished). You will need to know how tall the bride is and long the
dress train is. This will be the length of the longest tier. Very rough estimate! The next tier will be about a foot,
maybe 18 inches less than the long tier.
- To round the bottom of the tiers: Lay out tulle on
floor (carpet works best). Find the
middle fold and then the 2 edges. You
will want to keep the tulle folded in half giving you the width of 54
inches. Make sure the edges are
even. Add straight pins down the sides of the tulle squaring up the fabric
as you go down the edges and fold side. I pushed the pins through the
carpet and pad to the floor. I also counted the pins as I put them in so I
could be sure to locate all of the pins when I was finished.
- Make this tool to create simple rounded edges for the
bottom of each tier:
- Cut a length of ribbon about 60 inches in length
- Tie ribbon onto the marking pen
- measure the width of the fabric with the ribbon/pen.
and place a knot at the point the ribbon hits the edge of the fabric. Put
a straight pin into the knot.
- Now you have the tulle laid out so it is straight and
square and you have the tool to make the rounded edge.
- Use the tool you created to measure from the bottom edge
of the fabric up to the ribbon knot on the folded edge of the tulle.
(approximately 54 inches up). Press the pin/knot into the edge of the tulle
at this point.
a.
If you measure on the two free edges
of the tulle, your veil will not have the correct curve on the bottom.
b.
What
you want is to have the arc create a rounded edge that looks like this when you
unfold the width of the fabric
- Okay, Now to
mark the arc:
a.
Carefully
mark the arc with the erasable fabric pencil keeping the ribbon taunt. It should mark the fabric cutting line. It will
look something like this
- Detach the ribbon
pin and pencil.
- Cut along the
arc you just made, being careful to not
cut the carpet
- Measure on the
fold edge from the arc edge up to the length you determined correct in step
1.
- Repeat steps 3 –
9 for the shorter veil – cut 12 – 18 inches shorter than first viel.
- Repeat steps 3 –
9 for blusher. Blusher length will measure from wherever the tiara or comb
is attached, over the head, to about 2 inches below elbow.
- Now to gather
the top of each veil:
- Use dental
floss as thread and sew along the top (un-curved) portion of each veil. I use about 6-10 stitches to the inch.
- Collect
gathers to the width of the comb or tiara. Tie off
thread, Machine sew over gathers with a close zigzag stitch.
- Repeat for next
tier.
- Repeat for the
blusher
- Machine sew the
all three tiers together.
- Make sure to
have the bride present for the fitting and have her fix her hair similar to
what she plans for her wedding day. Properly place the comb or tiara on
head so you can see what direction to attach the fabric. It will be
different for different hair styles and the brides comfort.
- Attach the veils
to comb or tiara. Use dental floss and / or super glue.
- Have bride
verify that the veil appears correct to her.
- Attach trim to the bottom of each veil. Sometimes the trim looks good on all layers, sometimes just on the rear layers, sometimes you will not want the veil to have any trim because the dress is elaborately trimmed with pearls or sequence.
Have fun!
A Saint Powered Life
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