Butterfly Veil Pattern

NOTE- the radius of the veil shown here will be 105cms- if you need a bigger radius, these fabric allowances will need to be increased.

You will need approximately 2½ metres length of crystal organza/scintilla/other veil fabric of 140cms width; if the fabric is only 115cms wide, then you will need approximately 2¾ metres. If you don't have enough, though, you can reduce the angle of the panels (it would normally be 120° each, but you could take it down to 110° each; I don't recommend less than 100°, or it will start to look like a plain half circle veil!) 

Cutting Pattern for fabric 140cms wide 

Cutting Pattern for fabric 115cms wide 

Once the two panels have been cut out, you need to sew the edges together, to make them into a two-thirds of a circle shape. I use a double seam*, to avoid any spare fabric flapping around. (See below for more detailed instructions). Hem all the edges (or flame-seal*, IF your fabric is man-made, you've tested it on the fabric scraps and your hands are steady enough!)

The Finished Article 

Double Seam

Assuming there is a right side & a wrong side to the fabric the instructions for the double seam would be:-    Place the "front" sides of the fabric panels together & sew an ordinary straight seam to join them together. Then open the veil out into its final shape. On the reverse side of the panels, hold both seam allowances together. Then fold both the seam allowances together to one side, & tuck the raw edges under so that the back of the veil doesn't show any raw edges. Then you can either hand stitch the seam allowances to the reverse side of the veil, or machine sew it.   If you want the seam to look less bulky, you could try cutting away some of the excess fabric before doing the second seam, but make sure it's the INSIDE edge, rather than the outside edge, as this needs to be wide enough to sew the second seam.  Back to pattern

Flame Sealing

If you really cannot sew, or if you want to keep the veil as lightweight as possible, it may be possible to "seal" the edge of the fabric. You can only do this with man-made fibres. You seal it by running the edge through a candle flame. TEST BEFOREHAND on spare scraps of material to make sure your fabric will be suitable for this!!! Also, you have to be very careful with this technique, if you go too slow you will melt more fabric than you intended. 

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