Jenny’s bachelorette party was the weekend before the wedding. If you’ve ever been to a bachelorette party, you know that the bride-to-be always wears something to make her stand out in a crowd. Jenny is not the type of girl to want to go all out wearing feather boas and a tiara and a big sign that says “Last Night of Freedom!” I wanted to make her something simple, pretty and very un-tacky.
A veil.
Now if you’ve ever been a bride you know that REAL veils are ridiculously expensive. Plus we were planning a rowdy night out at a smoky bar so there was no way I was going to spend a ton of money on something that could possibly get stomped on or stained with beer.
I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted to make so on the day of the party (I’m not a procrastinator) I hoofed it on up to Wal-Mart to procure my supplies.
One yard of tulle = $1.12
One headband (about ½ inch wide) = $0.97
Total money spent = $2.09
That is all you need to make a very basic veil. Tulle comes in all sorts of colors so if your friend is not into white, make her a veil in her favorite color. Remember it’s all about the bride so think about what SHE would want, not what you want. If you want a veil then make your own. You can wear it around your house while you vacuum (actually that’s not a bad idea….).
Begin by cutting the tulle into two pieces that are a ½ yard each. They do not have to be exactly equal, but should be fairly close. You could also ask the fabric person at the store to do this when you are buying your fabric – one less step to do when you get home.
Next you will sew a tube or hem into the fabric to thread the headband through. Take one piece of tulle and along the side you cut, fold the fabric over about one to one and a half inches and pin. Again this does not have to be even or perfect. You just need a tube big enough to fit around your headband. Once the fabric is all scrunched up you won’t even be able to see the sewed part.
Now sew a seam where you pinned your fabric down onto itself. I used my sewing machine. If you are using a sewing machine, use a wide zig zag stitch and go slow at first as the tulle bunches up easily. If you do not have a sewing machine just sew by hand. Once the tube is complete on the first piece of tulle, repeat with the second piece.
Thread the headband through the tube in both pieces of tulle. Scrunch it all up on the headband so it fits. Make sure both seams are underneath. Your basic veil is done.
I felt like it needed a little more pizzazz though. First I had to find something on which to balance the veil while it was being decorated. I used a beer glass. I then rummaged in my craft drawer and found some silver gemstone, crystally things. I glued a whole bunch of them on the back. I used a dot of regular Elmer’s glue on the back of each gem and then pressed it onto the tulle using my finger for support on the other side.
It was still lacking something. Back in my craft drawer I found some spray adhesive and a big jar of silver glitter. I sprayed sections of the veil with the spray adhesive and then shook glitter all over it. The result was so perfect! It was so sparkly but not too tacky at all (to me anyway).
So is it worth it? Well Jenny loved her veil and she wore it all night. She left a trail of glitter everywhere she went. We all had a fantastic time. It was probably the best bachelorette party I’ve ever been too.
The veil was really easy to make, but more importantly it was really FUN to make, especially for a crafty person like me. I think it meant more to Jenny that I made it, rather than just going out and buying a veil or something else for her to wear.
Making a veil also allows you to personalize it for the bride. You can glue whatever you want to the back of it and do all sorts of different colors. If I made one again I would like to bind the sides of the headband with ribbon so the tulle doesn’t slide off the ends and I might also try trimming the edge of the veil with lace or feather boa or something equally as fun.
Depending on how you make the veil and what supplies you have on hand and have to buy, making the veil instead of buying it can also save you some money. You can buy the bride an extra drink later that night.
I was very proud of this veil! I have two friends getting married next summer so maybe I’ll get to make one again sometime!
3 comments:
what sort of tube are u talking about? is there anyway to incorporate bows into this idea??
what kind of tube do u mean? Is there anyway to incorporate big white bows into this ?? great ideas.
Hi Dani,
Basically I just mean to sew a hem into one end of the fabric. If you are not familiar with sewing that just means to fold one end over onto itself and then sew it down. It should form a loop or tube in the fabric that you can stick your finger in. Then what you do is thread the headband through this hem. Just make sure that when you make the hem to make it large enough to fit the headband through.
I hope that helps. It's hard to explain with words. I wish I could just demonstrate!
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