How To Make a Wedding Veil

No matter the theme, the one thing as a bride that you want out of the big day is to look amazing! The veil is an enduring accessory, a device popularized by Queen Victoria at her 1840 wedding. It symbolizes modesty and chastity. The bride walks out, shy and masked, and she unveils, showing her face to the world.

Whatever your theme or location, you can adorn a gorgeous wedding veil to walk the aisle in. And a DIY veil can be as amazing as any designer’s. They are easy to make, too! Learning how to make a veil can help you cut costs on your bridal accessories.

If you want to personalize and enhance your big day, here’s how to make a wedding veil.

Give yourself at least three to four months for the DIY wedding veil project. This will give you time to plan and design. Remember, if you make your bridal veil complex and intricate, you’re going to expend time and budget.

There are many ways to get creative and the best part about a DIY veil is you can modernize it to your taste! Make your own wedding veil in 5 easy steps.

Decide on a Style

It’s important to choose a veil that will match your planned hairstyle. So, if you’re going to wear a veil, take into consideration you may need a supportive base. Messy updo, bridal bun, half up or half down, it all needs to be part of the design. The heavier or longer the veil, the greater support your hairstyle requires.

The great thing about a wedding veil you make yourself is the final piece can frame your hairstyle to perfection. You could even swap out traditional metal combs for, say, cotton loops. You can design the perfect bridal veil that fits with your dress, hairstyle, and your preferred length and overall look.

Your veil needs to accentuate your dress. The veil shouldn’t take away from the details and be proportional to the dress. The more complex the design of your dress, the simpler the veil, and vice-versa.

You should also consider the material of your veil: tulle is the most common fabric, but you could also add a lace trim, a beaded hair comb, and other details. Just make sure that you make your own veil to match the wedding dress!

There are four main different veil styles.

Chapel

The chapel is the classic veil. While it works with all dress styles, it stands out with a fitted or mermaid wedding gown. It works well with textured wave hairstyles and comes in at 90″ in length.

Cathedral

The cathedral veil is regal and best with a low bun and a ball gown or sheath dress. The cathedral veil’s length will max out at 120″.

Blusher

The blusher veil is sweet and traditional. A blusher is the shorter front of the veil that covers the bride’s face until she is unveiled. You want to wear it with a backless or A-line dress. It’s quite versatile and, at 30″ works with any hairstyle.

Fingertip Veil

At 45″, the fingertip veil is modern and flexible. You match it with an A-line or ball gown. For hairstyles, the veil works best with half-up or half-down hairstyles.

Gather Materials

Common materials for bridal veils tend to be organza, lace, Russian net, or tulle. Of all the wedding veil materials, designers and brides-to-be lean toward tulle. It is among the most common material for wedding gowns and veils.

Tulle is incredibly versatile and adds transparency, structure, and drape. There’s natural cotton, polyester tulle, synthetic nylon, and it is exceptionally strong but fine. Tulle fabrics also come in soft silk, silk style, polka dot, and more.

Aside from the main material, you’ll also want to get materials like a sewing machine or needle and thread, a hair comb, clip, or crown to attach the material to, scissors, beads, and trim.

Lace trim is a popular fabric choice to sew onto your bridal veil. If you want to embellish your wedding veil with beads or sequins, gather those as well.

You can also find veil patterns to cut from online. Using a pattern guide can make it easier to make your own veil, even if you don’t have much experience with sewing.

Measure and Cut Fabric

Lay the material on a flat, clean surface. Keep the veil in place with tacks, tape, or push pins. Use the following to measure and draw a rectangle.

When you make your own veil, you can decide on exactly how long you want to cut your veil. Remember that you can always shorten it if you want your veil shorter, but you may want to make the veil long at first and cut off the length if needed.

Here are common veil lengths in inches, so you can make the veil exactly as long as you would like for your bridal look.

• Chapel Veil – 36 x 96
• Cathedral Veil- 48 x 114
• Shoulder Length Veil – 30 x 30
• Fingertip Length Veil – 36 x 36
• Floor Length Veil – 36 x 78
• Blusher Veil – 24 x 12
• Elbow Length Veil – 36 x 25
• Waist Length Veil – 36 x 30
• Knee Length Veil – 36 x 45

Tack on an additional half-inch by quarter-inch for rolled edges.

Using either a sharp pair of scissors or a rotary cutter, carefully cut out the rectangle. Fold it lengthwise in half. Now, rotate the folded fabric so that a wide edge faces you. Draw a curved line along on the corner opposite the edge. Cut along the line. You’ll create a soft edge for the bottom of your veil. Skip this if you want defined corners.

Open veil and then fold three of the edges. The fold should be no more than one-eighth of an inch. Iron the folds and proceed to fold another one-eighth. Sew a zigzag stitch along the folds and make sure it is a nice wide stitch.

Get out your sewing machine. Set it for a wide running stitch (at least three-eights to an inch). Sew along the top of the veil. Pull the ends to gather the veil top. Sew or fabric glue the veil top to your hair accessory.

For visual instructions on how to make a veil, check out this DIY wedding veil video tutorial.

Add Embellishments

Embellishments may not be necessary, but you want to know your options. You can use just about anything to highlight your veil. Pearls, beads, mirrored crystals, flower petals, and more can add weight and beauty. All you need are the accessories, a needle and thread, and a little fabric glue.

You can scatter beads or stagger along the veil’s edges. Have an understanding of how delicate you want the embellishment. These extra details should be delicate, otherwise, the veil risks being overdone. Take a look at similar veils and go from there.

You can also add a trim to the bottom edge of your veil, or even all the way around the bridal veil. Lace trim is a popular option, but you could also use beads, flowers, pearls, and other materials.

Sew Tulle to Comb, Crown, or Other Frame

You want to insert the veil into the comb. Hold the comb upside down. Angle the teeth towards your forehead. Make sure you pull the layers of the veil down your back. Should you have a blusher, put it on top.

To attach the comb to the veil material, you can either sew it on, use super glue (just make sure it dries before putting it near your head), or any other method you see fit.

Rotate the comb so that its concave part faces downward. Now, you can place the comb into your hair until it’s well-placed. Take your bobby pins and secure the comb. Make sure the veil’s anchored to your head and won’t move.

Try It On!

Walk around in your new veil and get a look at it from as many angles as possible, including mirrors and pictures. You have time to make adjustments and can add or take away as you see fit. By this point, you already know how to make a veil. Refining it won’t be much trouble.

Don’t feel that just because this is a DIY veil, you can’t use a tailor to help you rework the length, trim, or embellishments. You’ll still be able to take pride in having created your own personalized wedding veil.