DIY Wedding Veil: Step By Step on How To Make Your Own Wedding Veil

Not everyone has the money to splurge on their wedding. But this doesn’t mean you can’t look like a princess on your special day. Veils can be shockingly expensive. However, with a little bit of DIY, you can make your own for a fraction of the cost. You don’t need to be a world-class seamstress. Nor a top designer. Just follow this simple guide on how to make your own wedding veil.

Wedding Veil Research

Before you even get started you need to make sure you know what kind of veil you want. Maybe you tried on the perfect veil in store. Or you’ve scoured the internet for weeks looking. Maybe you’ve even checked out our wedding blog for all the latest wedding inspiration. Whichever way you find it, it’s integral to this project.

A first step would be to get a picture of your preferred design. Alternatively, sketch out what you want by combining elements of different veils you’ve seen. You’ll need to know the length, trim, color, and any extra details you want before you even get supplies. This is your veil. You have complete creative freedom.

If you are going for a different color to the standard white be careful. You need to ensure it matches the dress. For anyone already in possession of the dress, this can be easy but if you don’t you may want to hold fire on your veil making. Being locked into a certain, peculiar shade for your dress could cause major issues. And ultimately land you with an extremely pricey gown or worse, a mismatched outfit.

Supplies needed to make your own veil

• Tulle

• Nylon thread

• Sewing needles

• Sewing machine (depending on complexity)

• Trim + decorations

• Pins

• Scissors

• Headband/clips

Step by Step guide to making your own veil

Start by cutting your tulle. This needs to be either an oval or a half-oval depending on whether you want it to go over your face or not. The half-oval will just drape behind you whereas the full oval will cover your face until you flip it back. To determine the size, grab the tulle and start playing around in the mirror. This will help you determine the exact length you want it.

Measure the length from your head to the bottom of the tulle. Double it for a full oval. Then lay the tulle out and cut it at that length to get a rectangle. Then fold this in four and round the open edge. Once you unfold it you should end up with an oval/rounded rectangle. Hold this to your head to check you like how it falls and don’t want to make any adjustments.

We’d suggest making a mock version veil and then the real thing, especially if you have excess tulle. This just ensures that the veil is going to be exactly what you want. For the mock-up, don’t worry about perfect stitching or even stitching at all. You can use pins to hold it in place temporarily. This also means, if you happen to get it right the first time, you can just sew what you’ve got and carry on. But if it isn’t quite perfect you haven’t wasted time sewing and decorating it properly yet. If you don’t have enough tulle for a mock-up then be very careful on each step. Always cut more than what you need and trim any excess. You can’t add more tulle if you’ve made it too short.

Add trim to your veil

The next step is to add a trim to the tulle. A raw edge doesn’t look great on your special day. Add lace or ribbon all around the edge. Or simply fold and hem the edge. It’s completely your choice. You can also add beads or other decorations. Just make sure none of these are too heavy. This could pull the tulle, ruining the way it drapes, and could also make the entire thing uncomfortable to wear.

Now to gather the tulle to create an actual veil. Sew one or two lines of straight stitch through the point you want the tulle to gather. This will be the bit that sits on your head. Pull the stitching tight to gather the tulle as you go. Leave the other end of the thread uncut so you can place it on your head and tighten or loosen it as you see fit. Once you’re happy, cut and tie the loose end of the thread. You’ll need nylon thread here since tulle is nylon based. Cotton thread will just slip straight through the tulle and will stand out.

To attach this to your head you’ll need a fastener. Sew or glue the tule to a headband, clip, or comb. You can get plain white/clear ones of all of these. You could also buy a tiara or pre-decorated headband. Then attach the tulle to that. This would also work if you had inherited a veil from a family member that you wanted to use but that needed the tulle replacing.

If you have a plain fastener you can stick the tulle on top then use any decorations you like to hide the gathered tulle. But if you want to see the band you’ll need to attach the tulle underneath it. With a headband this is simple as even with tulle underneath it will still hold to your head. For a comb or tiara, you’ll want to place the tulle on top of the comb part that sits in your hair and behind the decorated part so it’s still visible. Don’t glue this straight away, sit in the mirror and get it perfectly in position before you do anything final.

Finishing touches to your DIY veil

Once it’s all attached you can add any finishing touches. Beads, jewels, pearls. Whatever you fancy adding. Again, ensure these decorations are going to match your dress. Or get enough of these that you can add yourself to your dress to tie the two together. Keep going back to the mirror to see how it looks. Don’t limit yourself to traditional decorations or placement. Anything you like can be added. It’s your wedding, not anyone else’s. You can have decorations going down the veil itself, piled atop your head, or right on the bottom. Let your creativity run wild.

For more practical, hands-on advice like this, you can visit our wedding planning page and let us help you create wedding perfection.