Back from the Dead & Birdcage Veil Tutorial

HELLOOOO!!!
WHEW! It has almost been a month since my last post! How crazy! I feel like I have crawled out of a hole! But the hole is conquered. I am officially moved into my house! There are still boxes (of course, the boxes never end.) but there are considerably less boxes than before, and that is what counts!

So to commemorate this momentous occasion, I'm going to start on the list of blog posts I promised I would do! A daunting task in and of itself, but it shall be conquered, just like the mountain of boxes.

So with out further ado:

The Easiest Birdcage Veil EVER!

This veil is kind of a bandeau-style veil, but believe me it looks GREAT and you'll be happy with the results!

Your Supplies:

1. Needle

2. Thread

3. Scissors

4. Two bobby pins

5. 20 ish inches of 9" width Russian Veiling

Russian Veiling is one of the most confusing purchases I have ever made. Literally. I felt like an idiot trying to decide what I needed. So for anyone else out there who is staring at the computer wondering what the heck you need, here's my break down. You're welcome.

- Veiling normally comes in 3 different widths: 9, 12 & 18. 12 is good for full face coverage, 18 is good for blusher veils. We will be using the 9" today.

That sounds so easy right? But believe me, I made about 10 different veils before I came up with this process. In between which I had myself a good little cry. So save yourself the kleenex and just buy the 9". I originally bought a white, polka dot, and pink Russian Veiling from http://www.laceco.com/. I bought 2 yards of each to factor in "oopsies" but you really only need about 15-20", depending on your head size.

Alright so Step 1:

Begin by playing a little dress up in the mirror. Hold one end of the veiling on one side of your face, about level with your ears, and pull the other side loosely across your face. Decide how you want your veil to lay: whether you want it tight against your face, or to lay loose. My sister wore fake eyelashes on her Day, and she also is a fan of Southern Hair (big.) So I cut about 18" to play with.

Step 2:

Take your needle and thread and begin weaving in and out of the veiling. There is a little dot of thicker veiling that connects each one of the diamonds; I stuck my needle through each of these to create an accordion on the end.

Step 3:
Pull your thread tight, making a little bundle of veiling on the end. I stitched a couple extra stitches around this bundle just to make it nice and secure. Repeat steps 2&3 on the other end. Sing "Whistle While You Work" if you feel so inclined. I sure did. You will end up with a little bundle like this:

Just for neatness, I cut the ends off of my bundle, so that it looked a bit cleaner. This isn't really necessary, because the end will be hidden in your hair, but it's up to you :)

Step 4:

Take one of you bobby pins and stitch the closed end onto your little accordion bundle.

Repeat on the other end.

Do a little jig because you're done! That's really it! You're veil should look something like this:

Now it's time to play dress up again! Go ahead and play around with your hair and the veil, pinning it in the ear-area on each side of your head. You can pull ringlets out and pin loosely to cover the pins, or just pin it deep in your hair. Believe me, you will not notice them. I thought my sister would be all worried about the pins, but she didn't even say a thing about them!

If you feel like your veil is too big or too loose, stitch a couple of diamondy guys down to your bundle. This will eliminate the bubble shape on top.

For my sister's veil, I actually made two, one from the polka dot and one plain. We ended up bunching up the polka dot one and attaching it to her fascinator which I had made earlier.

(Pictures by Clayton Austin Photography. See Clayton's work at http://www.claytonaustinlovestories.com/)

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at kaleighblogs@yahoo.com!

Also, let me know if you use my tutorial! I would love to see what you come up with!!!

LOVE,