Toolbox
- tulle
- needle and thread
- French comb or barrette
- ribbon for trim (optional)
As you plan your wedding, you’ll fast discover that most wedding-related things are quite expensive, and you can easily overspend almost without realizing it. One of the surprise costs as you shop for your wedding day attire is the veil, which can easily cost a couple hundred dollars for the simplest of designs
. Before you casually add a veil on to your wedding gown purchase, consider making it yourself. With as little as $10 in supplies and an hour or two, you can create your own veil that suits you to a tee.
Gather the supplies
The main thing you’ll need, of course, is some tulle (a.k.a. netting). This is available in any fabric store and can be found in 72″ and 108″ widths. For a fuller veil, use the 108″ wide tulle.
Cut the tulle
Lay the tulle out on a large table (or a clean floor) and keep it folded in half lengthwise (this is how it was at the store). Put the folded edge nearest to you. At this point you have two layers of tulle.
Now fold the tulle in half crosswise by grabbing the rightmost edge and folding it over so that it touches the leftmost edge. At this point you have four layers of tulle.
Measure again how long you want the tulle to be (from the top of your head down) and cut the tulle to that length (keep it folded) if needed.
Now round off the top left edge of the fabric by pinning to mark it and then cutting in a smooth motion. If you need a guide, try a large serving platter. You want to be left with a quarter-circle shape:
Arrange the layers
Unfold the tulle completely. At this point you have one layer of tulle. The dashed red lines below show where the folds used to be:
Fold the tulle crosswise from right to left, but you don’t have to bring it all the way over. You can match the ends up for a single-length veil, or you can leave a few inches between the edges for a nice layered look. If you keep a shorter layer, it can be used as a blusher if you like. At this point you should verify that the length is exactly what you want and if it’s too long, cut one of the rounded ends shorter, as needed.
Gather the tulle
You will now have to decide if you want the edges of your veil’s two layers to come all the way up to the top of the veil or not. If you choose to have the edges come up to the top, the top of your veil will be puffier. This decision is particularly noticeable if you plan to put a ribbon trim on the edges, because the ribbon will clearly be only at the bottom or will go up to your head, depending on your choice. This picture illustrates the two variations:
For the first look above, you will gather up only the center portion of your tulle, as seen in the first diagram below. For the second look above, you will gather the entire width of the tulle, as seen in the second diagram below:
Once you have decided how much tulle to gather, do so with a needle and strong thread, weaving in and out with small stitches. Pull the thread to gather the stitched tulle so that it is only about 2 inches wide. Knot the thread securely.
These photos show the gathering process on a short “center only” veil that I made for my niece to play dress-up with.
Attach the comb or barrette
Now take your gathered portion of tulle and sew it securely to either a simple French comb or a barrette.
You can still wear a fancy tiara or decorative barrette if you like; just place it right in front of your veil on your head. If you wish, you may also be able to sew the veil directly to the tiara, depending on its style.
Decorate the veil (optional)
Your veil is ready to wear at this point, but you may want to decorate it further. A popular finishing touch is to sew a thin satin ribbon along the edges of the veil. You can do so easily with a sewing machine and some white thread. When sewing, don’t bother to try to get the ribbon right up against the end of the tulle — it’s far easier to just leave some extra and then come back and trim it later.
Now go back with scissors and trim the excess tulle right next to the ribbon. And don’t worry about trimming it perfectly. I promise that nobody more than 2 feet away from you will even be able to see it!
You may also choose to sew or glue tiny sparkling beads or gemstones randomly on your veil. If that’s what you like, then do it. It’s your veil, so it should be special and exactly the way you want it!
Congratulations! You’re done!
Here are two finished examples. My niece’s “play” veil is on the left and my actual wedding veil is on the right. This veil pattern can easily be adapted to any length and many different styles, from the simplest of play veils for little girls who want to play dress-up to beautiful full-length veils for the bride. Oh, and don’t forget those girls who are preparing for their First Communion. They will need their own veil for the ceremony!
42 comments so far:
Just remember, goslings, nine yards makes a wedding veil! (that is two layers before according to height, and two layers after, with what’s left!)
great i had found a perfect page b4 telling and showing similar to this how to make different types of veils now it gone. This page will do thanks
Hi, love your work! And today I got my order of padding compound, which I look forward to using. I really admire your work.
Thank you so much, my daughter is getting married in October and asked if I would make her veil, this site is a godsend.
Thanks everyone! Margaret and fen, we’d love to see how your veils turn out
Gosh, I’d be very careful when you cut the tulle. Measure 10 times cut once and all…
Thank you for the detail instructions and pictures. I am getting married this fall and I just made my veil with tulle and satin ribbon. It came out great!!!!
Kia, that’s awesome! We’d love to see your veil if you want to send us a picture or post one to our Flickr group.
I was so happy to find these detailed instructions with pictures on the web when beginning to create the veil for my wedding. Every other website I saw left me confused as to how to begin. My veil is beautiful… thank you for your help! I can’t wait to walk down the aisle wearing my own creation!
Hi Mallory! We’re so happy you liked our instructions and came up with such great results. We’d love to see your veil if you want to send us a picture or post it in our Flickr group!
yrs is the first site that said right this is how y do it and heres the diograms thank god
Daughter is getting marraied in 2 weeks in Maui so we are going to make her own veil this time and I just got done spending over an hour looking on line for how to make it the easiest way, with diagrams, and you were the last one I came across. No one else had diagrams..!!! THANK YOU,THANK YOU, for your detailed instructions, Exactly what I was looking for…
Thanks Mandy and Sylvia. I’m so glad my diagrams could help you both! We’d love to see the veils you end up with. (Oh, and a Maui wedding? Yum!)
hey, thank you so much for this website! my best friend asked me to make her a veil for halloween as she’s going as a corpse bride! ill be following your instructions, only i plan to double the tulle, one black sheet and one red sheet! thank you once again for your help!
ellie, that sounds fantastic! You must show us a picture when it’s done!
Elle – I attached my black veil to a plain headband which I then covered with ribbon. I left the ribbon long at each end to make a tie that goes either under the chin or behind the neck (under my hair). The head band distributes the weight nicely.
Of course, this and a black dress are a quick Halloween costume. It also let everyone know exactly who to follow during our historical society cemetery walk.
I added a layer of a stiffer netting under the softer tulle. The puffiness lets me hold a scavenger list, my notes, or even a treat bag. It’s quite spooky in black but would probably look sophisticated in white or even a light pink.
Since I am ‘in mourning’ a layer of the veil is always over my face. Now I wish I had not gathered it in the middle. It is hard to see through – perfect for a disguise – difficult when doing other activities. But who knew I would get so much use out of it?
Thank you for the easy to follow directions all the other web site’s just did not show the detailed instructions as your’s did. Just finished a veil for my daughter who will be getting married in Oct, 2010. Thanks again Carmie
Thanks, Carmie! We’d love to see a photo of the finished veil if you want to share it with us
What a wonderful site! I’ve been looking how to make a veil for my daughter’s wedding in May 2010. These are definately the instructions I’ll be following, they are so well explained and the best bit – the actual diagrams… I’m off to get started as I’ve the cake to ice too. Thanks very much.
Heather
Thanks so much, Heather! We’d love to see how your daughter’s veil turns out, so come back and send us a photo if you can. Good luck with the cake!
Dear Chica, Could anyone tell me what the pattern cut for a shoulder length Angel Cut Veil would look like? thank you! Joyce
Hi Joyce. I had never heard of an angel-cut veil before, but I did some Googling and from what I can tell, it’s almost the same as the “gathered in the middle” veil we describe above, with one exception — the bottom of the angel-cut veil comes to a point instead of being rounded. So I think you could just adjust the shape of the tulle so that it comes more to a point and then use our instructions and get what you are looking for. Hope that helps!
Wow! Where to start? How to fold the tulle! This very basic point was the missing link. Thank you for starting at the very beggining!
Rita, you’re welcome, and we’re glad you like our tutorial
I’m getting married in July, my 3rd marriage, his 2nd (also I’m 54yrs young) so would it be inappropriate to have a small veil or headdressing? I wasn’t thinking of one till I saw how easy it is.
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, Rena. I say that any bride deserves to have a veil if she wants one, so go for it!
I’m making my daughters veil. The veil she tried on at the bridal shop was a circular “center gathered” veil with a rolled hem edge embellished with beading at the hem. My question is this.. when you (as you did with the ribbon)fold the tulle over wouldn’t the ribbon be on the wrong side of one layer? With the small rolled hem front back doesn’t matter, but when I go to apply the small beads above the hem at what point would I switch to the other side so both layers have the beads on top? If the veil was gathered across the entire top you could switch over at the top fold, but when it’s only gathered in the center you can’t do that. Does this make sense? Hope you can help.. You’re posting has been the best and easiest instructions I’ve found to date.
Thanks
Hi Karen. I know exactly what you mean. For the ribbon edging, it will technically be on the “wrong” side of the tulle for half of the veil. However, as long as you use a nice satin ribbon that is finished on both sides, I promise you that nobody will notice. The tulle is so thin that unless you are just a few inches away from the veil, you won’t even be able to tell that it’s on top of the ribbon on part of it.
As for placing the beads, I think the best way to ensure that you switch over to the other side at the right point is to actually put the veil on your daughter (or hold it in the air, or tape it to the top of a bookshelf) and let the tulle lay exactly like it wants to. Then start applying the beads wherever you think they are needed, on whichever side of the tulle is on top at that point. That way you’ll get a nice, even distribution and you know it will look pretty when it’s on her head!
We’re so happy you like our instructions and I hope my answers have been equally helpful. We would really love to see the veil when you’re finished, if you want to send us a photo.
I followed your website, very easy to follow steps. However, my 2 layer veil looks very thin from the back, and I am not sure how to create a fuller look. Should I make a 4 layer veil, or should I make the width wider? (w: 1m length: 1.4m when it is opened like your first diagram) The shop sells the width as 1.8m, so I can’t have a 108″ wide veil. Will a 4 layer veil option be better?
Hi Joyce. If the tulle you are using is as wide as you can find and you’re not happy with the fullness, then I think doubling the tulle and making a 4-layer veil would be a good idea to try. Please let us know how it comes out!
I thought I was an accomplished seamstress. I remember making two veils years ago. Now that it is time to help a dear friend’s daughter I could find nothing online that showed the cutting diagrams. Your simple drawing brought it all back and made sense. And this was the last time I was going to look online as I have been looking for two weeks or more. Thank you so very much I will be able to sleep tonight and make the veil tomorrow.
Liz Armstrong
Liz, we are so happy that you kept searching long enough to find us! Let us know how the veil comes out
Oh this is wonderful! I’ve been thinking about making my own veil for my wedding in July ‘10, but all the other directions I’ve found make it look impossible! This makes perfect sense! I will definitely be doing this!
Thanks so much for your website! I am excited to save money and have a personalized veil!
Beth, we’re so glad we could help you out. Congrats on your wedding and we’d love to see the veil you make!
You didn’t go into detail about the beading. How do you fix it to tulle. fabric glue?
Also your instructions were for a double layer. Do I just fold once for a singel layer. My grand daughter specifically wants a single because she is short and doesn’t want to be overwhelmed.
Hi dee! Depending on what kind of crystals or beading you want to add, you can either sew them on or use glue. I’m not sure what kind of glue would work best… might be a good idea to ask the folks at the fabric store for their opinion when you buy the beads.
As for the layers, our instructions have you use a long piece of tulle and gather it the middle, which makes two layers for the veil. If you only want one layer, you could use a shorter piece and gather it at the end, instead of the middle.
Chica,
Can you give me any suggestions for getting wrinkles out of the tulle so our veil looks picture perfect for the wedding?
Thanks for your advice.
Barb
Hi Barb! When I made the veil for my wedding, I left it on the hanger for weeks before the big day, and the wrinkles all fell out on their own. If you don’t have that kind of time, though, I found a pretty good list of suggestions in this eHow article. Some of the suggestions include steam and using a VERY low iron. Hope this helps, and please let us know what techniques work for you
Can I use tulle that is 54 wide? That is all that I see at JoAnne Fabrics.
What kind of thread should I use to attach to the comb?
Can I use stitchwitchery or glue to put the satin ribbon on the tulle? I don’t have a sewing machine.
Thanks!
Hi Kate. If you use 54″ wide tulle, the veil will not be very wide or full. You could make it look fuller by using two layers. I’m not sure if you will get results you like, but tulle is very inexpensive, so you could try it and see. If you have time to place an order, you can get 108″ tulle at Fabric.com.
For the thread, I would use the same color as the tulle (white or ivory).
I have not worked with stitchwitchery before, so I’m not sure if it would work for attaching the ribbon. Glue might work, depending on what kind you use. Perhaps you can try some samples on a scrap of tulle and see if it works?
Let us know how it comes out!
Thanks for the instructions and the thread of comments. I found the answer to all my questions there! My daughter is getting married in a few weeks and it bringing home tulle this weekend for a veil. Now I feel more confident about cutting and adding ribbon.