The DIY Birdcage Veil Experiment

Supplies

- Millinery netting in 12” width (I scoured the city to find this stuff.  Vancouver ladies, the only place you can get it, far as I can tell, is Gala Fabrics on Granville Street!) - Needle and thread - Hair clip / bobby pins

Step 1 Cut a piece of the netting to approximately 25” in length. Determine where you want the gathered part of the birdcage veil to sit on your head. I wear my hair short in an angled bob, so I wanted the veil go from right to left, angled slightly forward. I bought the 9” and 18” widths of netting (sometimes called Russian veiling), which was all that was available at the fabric store. The 9" was a little too short (but worked great for the bandeau style, like this one from projectwedding.com) and the 18" was too long. If the 12” netting had been available, I suspect that would have been perfect, so I cut the 18” down to 12” and worked with that instead.  Once you’ve cut the netting down to 12”, you will be left with three cut edges and one finished edge.  The finished edge is the part that will be visible across your face—the other edges will all be gathered.

Step 2 Lay the veiling flat, with the finished edge running along the bottom. Starting at either corner of the finished edge, take your thread and weave it in and out of each netting hole (diamond). You'll go up one of the cut edges, across the top cut edge and down the other cut edge.

Step 3 Pull the thread taught, gathering the netting. Now, try it on and see if you like how it looks.  If you are not happy with the way that it sits, adjust as necessary. *Helpful hint: if you find that the top of the veil is too puffy, cut the top corners off so that the top edge has two angled sides.  Repeat trimming until you’re happy with the shape.

Step 4 Once you are happy with the shape and fit of the veil, pull the two ends of the thread taught and tie in a knot. I’d recommend double knotting the thread to make sure that it doesn’t come loose. Fasten the gathered part of the veil to the hair clip, or use bobby pins to secure it to your hair. Cover the bobby pins/clip with a fascinator like this one or this one. Personally, I am going to opt for placing a fresh flower in my hair on the day of the wedding.  Alternatively, you could decide to forgo using a fascinator or flower at all, like in my pictures here. By the way, please excuse the picture—without my hair done or any makeup on, it’s hard to get the full effect of the veil. I’ll be sure to post pics of it in all its birdcage-y glory after our wedding!

Step 5 And you're done! Yay!

So there you go.  I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial of mine—I sure had fun creating it!  If you are planning on wearing a birdcage veil, do you plan to wear a fascinator, a fresh flower, or nothing at all?