Making Bridal Mantilla Veils

The mantilla veil adds a traditional touch to your wedding apparel.

A traditional Spanish bridal accent, the mantilla veil proves to be a simplistic adornment to create at home. Mantilla veils ordinarily encompass the back of a bride's head and some of them can trail behind the bride as a long, flowing train. Making your own mantilla veil gives you the ability to experiment with different embellishments and lace fabric styles.

Things You'll Need

• Square of lace fabric (about 60 by 60 inches)
• Paper circle (50 by 50 inches)
• Scissors
• Roll of lace border
• Fabric glue (maximum strength)
• Needle-nose pliers
• Assorted flat-backed beads

Instructions

1. Spread the square of fabric out in front of you on a flat surface. Make sure to spread it out evenly so that there are no wrinkles in it.

2. Place the large circle-shaped piece of paper in the center of the square of fabric.

3. Cut the fabric around the circle carefully. Discard the edges of the lace fabric and the paper circle, leaving the perfect circle of lace in front of you.

4. Squeeze a thin line of glue around the edge of the lace circle.

5. Overlap the glued edge, by about an inch, of the lace with a 50-inch length of lace border. Be sure to glue the bordering all the way around the circle. Give the material about 15 minutes to dry.

6. Squeeze a small dot of glue onto the back of a flat-backed jewel or bead. Choose beads of colors that match the theme of the wedding.

7. Adhere the glued side of the bead to the edge of the veil border, using the needle-nose pliers. Repeat this step with as many beads as you want to create a signature beaded look for the border of the mantilla veil. Let the veil dry for at least a couple hours before it is used.

Tips & Warnings

• Simply drape the veil on top of the crown of your head. You can either cover your face with the front of the veil, or allow it to frame your shoulders and and back, trailing behind you. Use a bobby pin or two to secure the veil to your hair to keep it in place.

References

• Blooming Veils: Mantilla Veil