Birdcage veils are hot! Jill’s mother inherited a birdcage veil from her great-aunt and Jill asked me if she thought I could breathe some new life into it and make it work for her wedding. Of course! Sounds like a project that is right up my alley.
Why I didn’t take a “before” picture, I do not know. I guess that’s the breaks of blogging in retrospect. The photo above was taken after I had steamed the original veil out, cleaned it up and had started playing with adding some color. Everything that is white is from the original veil.
The fabric I used in the jacket actually had a sequined scalloped edge on one side. There was not enough of it to use anywhere in the jacket, but I realized that it was actually perfect for using in the veil. (Close to the top of the photo above, you can see a bit of this scalloped edge that I have cut off the fabric yardage.) The scallops actually fit perfectly around each flower, giving them some depth and color and creating a nice light border.
To make sure that everything wasn’t too matchy-matchy and made from the all the exact same fabrics, I also cut out some beaded leaves from the swatch of the original “Chinese” beaded net. At the top of each leaf, I added some small sequin flowers that I cut from a piece of trim from Mulberry Silks. I placed these leaves and flowers at the point of each scallop in between each flower.
The final touch is the addition of the remaining butterfly brooch. I perched it at the back of the veil in the center of the white velvet bow. I experimented with adding more, (maybe sequins on the white flowers, or leftover beads in their centers, or more ribbons etc.) but edited it down to what I think is a perfect and beautiful mix between the old and the new. It has Jill’s pizzaz, while still keeping the original beauty that I think will tie in well with not only the purple jacket, but her beautiful white wedding dress!
So, here’s the pics!
Please Note: Jill has beautiful red hair (that she will be wearing up) and she is MUCH prettier than my sad styrofoam head shown in the photos!!!
