How to make your own romantic fairy veil with flowers

Tribe member Hanneke not only DIY'd and rocked a gorgeous fairy-esque veil at her wedding but she was also kind enough to let us know how she did it! With no further adieu, here's Hanneke to show us how it's done…

My mom and I DIYed my veil. It was easy and cheap and the result was great. So, I want to share the a how-to with you.

You will need:

• hair comb
• thread that matches the colour of your veil
• 1.5 meters (approx 4ft) by 1 meter (approx 3ft) organza for the veil (I bought some extra, in case I screwed up)
• 0.5 meters (approx 1ft) by 1.5 meters (approx 4ft) of organza in a contrasting color for the flowers (I also made flowers to go on my dress and I have some left over. The organza was very cheap, I paid two Euro per meter)
• little beads (I had them in ivory, bordeaux red and golden brown)
• thread matching the flowers

Step One:

Cut the organza you purchased to make the veil to the desired length. In my case, I cut it to the length of my dress — 1.20 meters (approx 3ft) in length and 85cm (33.5 inches) wide.

Step Two:

Light a candle and hold the edges of the organza above the flame. Not in the flame — just above it. The hot air “kisses” the fabric and it will curl nicely. Curl the two sides and bottom of the veil — the curling will give it a flowing and airy effect.

[Editor's Note: the curling will only work with polyester organza.]

Note: this is the most difficult step. Practice first on some scrap pieces of organza until you know what to expect and how the material reacts.

Step Three:

Make a small hem on the top. Then sew through the hem with a basting-stitch or running stitch and pull the veil together.

Step Four:

Now, sew it onto the comb.

Step Five:

Make the organza flowers to go on the veil. I used this tutorial.

Here's a brief overview: Cut four (or your desired number) flower shapes out of a your flower organza. Curl the edges of the flower above the flame of a candle, same way as the veil. Stack the shapes on top of each other and sew them together using the beads as the heart of the flowers.

Step Six:

Arrange the flowers on the veil.

First try out your pattern with some pins. Then, once you've found the desired look, attach the flowers with a few stitches to the veil.

Voila!:

The comb is easily put in your hair on the back of your head. On my wedding we used some extra hairpins to make sure it would stay, just to be extra safe.

I love my veil, but I'd love even more for you to personalize it for yourself. The flowers are easily substituted for butterflies or leaves or whatever makes you happy! Organza can be bought in very colour of the rainbow, so I can already see awesome blue, red, green, yellow and pink veils…