If you have girly girls, you know how much fun dress up can be. You also know that the stuff you buy in the store is expensive on the wallet, but doesn’t last long because it is made so cheaply. A couple of years ago, we were in Claire’s oohing and ahhing over all the jewelry and accessories when one of my girls pulled a veil off the shelf. She was so very excited to pretend she was “getting married”.
She wanted to buy it, but because of the $13 price tag, and the fact that she had no money to spend at the time, she wasn’t able to. Knowing her birthday was coming up, I took a close look at how the veil was made and decided that might be a good handmade gift. I made two, one with pink flowers on the comb and one with purple (I know that when one of the girls is dressing up, the other usually wants to also). Just before I took the pictures last week, one of the dogs got ahold of the purple one and chewed it up! The kids have had them for a year now and they were good as new. The dog got it for 5 minutes and destroyed it.
Because it was such a simple project, and cost only about half of what I would have paid in the store, I wanted to share it with you. Since they are already made I don’t have step by step pictures, but I’ll try to make the directions clear.
Items Needed:
White or Clear hair combs (I paid $5 for a 2 pack at JoAnn’s, but I’m sure you can find them cheaper at Wal-Mart)
Tulle (Measurements on this depend on how long you want to make them and how wide the fabric is on the bolt. Get a piece double the length that you want the finished product to be.)
Decorative Ribbon or Flowers
Needle and Thread
Directions:
This is one of those projects I was able to do while watching TV in the evening. I think it took me two evenings to complete both veils. Not bad for a birthday present that actually gets played with a year later!
Fold the tulle in half lengthwise. Take the folded end and begin to hand sew it to the comb as shown in this picture. You’ll have to scrunch the tulle a little with each stitch until it fits the width of the comb. (You can click on any picture if you need to enlarge it.)
Once you feel the tulle is secure on the comb, repeat the process with the ribbon or flowers. I know it takes more time to do the sewing twice, but I couldn’t keep the tulle in place while trying to do the flowers at the same time. I’m sure the extra stitching can’t hurt. You’ll want to tuck the flowers/ribbon around the back edge of the comb like you see in the picture, otherwise it will unravel and show on the front.
That is really it. Tulle won’t unravel, so there is no hemming necessary. You could even get fancier and tack some ribbon around the bottom edges of the veil. I figured it was a toy and the extra ribbon and time weren’t necessary. Here’s the cost breakdown:
2 pk. combs $5
Tulle $5
Flower edging $3
Total for 2 veils $13 (as opposed to $13 for one at Claire’s)
2 layers allows them to have a front veil if they choose
Do you like to sew? Or would you rather pay the extra to purchase things already made?
