How to make a 1-tier "poof" veil

If you've been to any bridal salon, it can seem a bit crazy how the shops can charge hundreds of dollars (even thousands) for a piece of fabric that sits on your head.  (At least I thought so). 

I found myself going through racks and racks of veils thinking, "How do they get away with charging $150 for this short piece of fabric, and it's not even what I want or like?



Point D'Esprit fabric in Ivory



I decided to observe how they were made and figure out how to make my own.  There are several types of veils out there.  The most common that I saw was the 1 tier "poof" veil.  What I mean by this is that the veil sits on top of your head and goes straight back and has a bit of a poof on the top.  It doesn't sit flat on your head.  The amount of "poof" can be adjusted based on how tight your stitching is of the fabric.  I did a very small poof on this fabric. 

I used ivory point d'esprit (it's got little "dots" on it) to match my dress.  After doing the 1 tier poof veil below, I decided I wanted a mantilla style veil that drapes over my face (another tutorial on that later) so I ended up undoing everything below and completely changing my veil.  I originally did this because I didn't think I'd find ivory lace to match my veil.  I ended up finding the perfect lace on the cheap!  I was so excited.  If you do want lace on the edge of your veil, make sure NOT to attach it to the top part of the veil where the hair comb is.  It will not sit correctly.  I recommend placing beading, sew-on flowers,etc. on that part instead.

What you'll need:

- Fabric in a length you like. (elbow, shoulder, waltz, chapel, cathedral, etc.)

- sewing needles

- thread that matches your veil color

- a hair comb that's clear or matches your veil color

- any beads or embelishments you'd like for the top of the comb or edging of the veil

- scissors

- pins

- a rounded edge (a dinner plate works fine)

step 3

Step 1:  Your fabric will most likely be a straight peice of fabric.  If you want it to have rounded corners or be a rounded peice of fabric you should lay it out flat and iron on the lowest setting if needed.  If the fabric is long or extra wide, fold it in half and have the edges meet up. Pin in place.

Step 2. Take your dinner plate or round edge and place in the open (a.k.a not folded) corners.  You can mark with a piece of chalk or just carefully cut along your rounded corner.  Discard your excess fabric.  You may only want to do this to the bottom of the veil and have your top be straight.  the amount of "roundness" is completely up to you.

Step 3.  Unpin and unfold your fabric.  Take your top edge and gather it into an accordian fold.  Place an elastic band around it if you need to hold it in place securely.

Step 4.

Step 4.  Take your hair comb and align your gathered fabric to where it will be sewed on.  Wrap your fabric around the comb top for easy stiching.  You can also pin in place if needed.



Step 5.



Step 5. Begin sewing your fabric around your comb.  Matching thread ensures that you don't notice the stiching.  It's also good practice to make small stitches.  If you don't have matching thread, you can use clear thread(fishing line), however this may have some reflection to it.



Step 6.



Step 6. Your veil should look similar to the step 6. picture. 

The comb will be placed on top or slightly back on the head and the tight poof at the comb will be softened as the rest of the fabric falls around your face. 

If you would like to add beading or embelishments to hide the stiching or just to add interest to the top of the veil, it's recommended you do it now.  Again, small stitches are key to a professional looking veil.  I did larger so you could see how the veil wrapped around the comb.