How to Add Sparkles to a Wedding Veil

Small crystals can make a wedding veil look glamorous, but stitching crystals onto netting one-by-one is an arduous and intimidating process, even for experienced sewers. You can achieve the same effect with less effort with hot-fix crystals -- flat-backed rhinestones with a heat-activated adhesive coating. You set the stone to the veil by pressing it onto the material with a heated tool that activates the adhesive on the back of the crystal. the process does not distort the finely-woven threads of the netting or require advanced sewing skills, making the project as straightforward as it is stunning.

Things You'll Need

• Bridal veil
• Hot-fix tool, wood burning tool or iron
• Wax paper or parchment paper
• Plate
• Hot-fix crystals, small diameter
• Tweezers

Instructions

Arranging the Materials

1. Put on the veil and look at yourself in a mirror. Make mental notes or measurements about the areas where you want to apply the sparkly stones. Place few -- if any -- on any portion of the veil that covers your face, so that they do not obstruct your view or guests' view of you. Remove the veil.

2. Pre-heat the tool you will use. Hot-fix crystal tools are the best option because they come with different tips sized to fit perfectly around crystals of varying size. Wood burning tools and irons, pre-heated to a low temperature, are also acceptable.

3. Tear a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper. Place the paper on your work surface and the veil on top of the paper. Spread the veil as smooth and evenly as possible.

4. Pour small hot-fix crystals onto a plate to keep them confined, within easy reach. Turn all of the stones flat-side down. Small stones between 1.4 millimeters and 3 millimeters are best for this project.

Application with a Hot-Fix Tool

1. Place the hot-fix applicator directly on top of a crystal on the plate. Transport the crystal on the tool to the veil.

2. Press the end of the tool to the veil in the desired location of a crystal. Hold the tool to the veil for three to five seconds as the adhesive melts and sets to the fabric.

3. Remove the tool. The adhesive should bind to the fabric, pulling the stone out of the tool as you pull back.

4. Apply other stones with the same process. Leave at least two inches of bare veil on all sides of the stones, if you place them in an area of the veil that covers the face.

5. Try on the veil intermittently as you add stones to assess your progress.

Application with Another Heated Tool

1. Pick up a crystal with a pair of tweezers.

2. Place the crystal, flat side down, in the desired location. Set the tweezers aside.

3. Press the end of a wood-burning tool or iron to the crystal. Hold the tool to the crystal for three to five seconds as the adhesive melts and sets to the fabric. Remove the tool.

4. Apply other stones with the same process. Leave at least two inches of bare veil on all sides of the stones, if you place them in an area of the veil that covers the face.

5. Try on the veil intermittently as you add stones to assess your progress.

Tips & Warnings

• Working on wax paper or parchment paper keeps the crystal's adhesive from affixing the stone and fabric to your work surface.

• The total number of stones you need depends on the size of your veil and how heavily you plan to embellish it. Work as far ahead of your wedding as possible, in case you need more stones than you originally anticipated.

• The smaller a stone is, the less it obstructs your view or a view of you. Stones between 1.4 millimeters and three millimeters are suitable. Clear stones are the most obvious choice for a sheer, white veil, but tiny blue, pink or champagne-colored stones are also suitable. Practice applying the stones to a scrap piece of tulle before you apply them to your veil.

• The heated hot-fix application tool comes with various tips to accommodate any stone size you use.

• A bead of glue applied to the back of the rhinestone usually spreads a little when you press it to fabric, leaving evidence of the adhesive around the stone. It is an option, but risky given the delicate nature of the material. It also makes the fabric around the crystal rigid.

• Do not touch the metal portion of any heated tool with your hand after you begin preheating it.