how to sew beads onto a wedding veil OR handmade wedding part four!

When my sisters and I got married (a long time ago!) our talented mother made our wedding veils. Well actually, she made the bridesmaids dresses for two of the weddings and even one of the wedding gowns...

that's how talented she is!

So when my daughter-in-law was trying on dresses (yes, I was blessed to be invited to tag along with Katie and her mom), I volunteered to make the veil. Katie wanted a long veil, Cathedral length, but simple in design. 

 

First I purchased a VERY inexpensive veil from a bridal website. It was sort of a 'Craigslist for weddings' website. Turns out it was long and skinny, oh so skinny! It looked like a long tail. Not to mention the color white was practically a purple/blue white. Since it was only $15 there was no harm done there. And I've since used it at a bridal shower just for fun!

In the meantime Katie's mom purchased the correct color white veil from the Bridal Shop where her dress was purchased. 

Even when it comes to tulle...there are a lot of different whites! Keep this in mind if you make your own veil.

Now, all I needed to do was sew thousands of tiny beads along the perimeter of the veil.

Katie picked out the beads and made a pattern about an inch long.

First an 11/0 (that's seed bead size talk) silver lined crystal followed by a tiny pearl. Next up 3mm pearl, then back to the seed pearl, 3mm pearl, seed pearl, 3mm pearl, seed pearl and back to the silver lined crystal.

Maybe a list is better for clarity?

silver lined crystal 11/0 seed bead

tiny round pearl seed bead

3mm pearl

tiny round pearl seed bead

3mm pearl 

tiny round pearl seed bead

3mm pearl 

tiny round pearl seed bead

silver lined crystal 11/0 seed bead

and repeat

again and again and again 

and here is how much I purchased:

silver lined crystal 11/0 seed bead - 4 containers (600)
tiny round pearl seed bead - about 1,950
3mm pearl - about 1,350
I didn't use everything but this gives you an idea of what will cover such a long veil. 

NOTE: I compared the glass 3mm pearl to the Swarovski Crystal 3mm pearl. HUGE difference in price.  I DO love the real thing but, the fact is, you are looking at the veil from afar and it just becomes a tiny row of beads. Only in examining the beads up close could you tell the difference.

When sewing on tulle you can't pull very hard or it will bunch up. There just isn't a lot of actual fabric to tulle!

Notice that my sewing line is about 1/2 inch from the edge.

I tried it closer to the edge at first but it was hard with how fine the tulle is.

I realized that it would be more stable like this and it would actually look as though it is right on the edge anyway.

My tried a few sewing techniques to keep the line of beads as straight as possible and this is what worked for me.

1. I put my needle through 3 beads then I went around the last bead and down through the tulle BEHIND the last bead. 

The thread can be seen on the side of the bead but barely. And I'm telling you, it can't be seen by people who don't sew and are gazing at the beautiful bride in her beautiful veil.

2. Now the needle comes back up through the tulle in front of the last bead, then through three new beads, then finish step 1.

3. After you have strung the third set of three beads on the needle and pushed the needle down through the tulle behind the last bead, 

go to step 4 BELOW.

4. Bring the needle up two beads back from where it went down and make a knot there.

5. After making the knot put the needle back down through the tulle and bring it up again in front of the last bead.

At this point you will repeat the process all over again. Going back every third bead and making a knot every 9th bead will secure your line of beads. It will become routine and you can probably vary it a bit. I may have done 4 beads instead of 3 every now and again!

If you notice your line going crooked or pulling too tight, just unthread the needle and gently use the tip of the needle to pull some stitches out.
Don't be alarmed by how little you may progress in the first hour. When I first started this project I barely went over an inch in an hour. Once I got my rhythm I was sewing 11 inches in an hour!

I spent 31 hours sewing over 3,000 beads onto Katie's veil and I enjoyed every minute of it!
•••••
And here's a little secret...
that beautiful photo of Daniel and Katie with the veil drifting in the South Carolina breeze?
happened like this:

oh, and that's my beautiful daughter Holli!

say you love it!

1st annual Craft Camp

That's correct! 

It was craft camp at 

the Peterson home in August

Holli and her friend Courtney flew in from Nashville
Katie and Daniel drove up from Aiken
Daniel didn't participate in craft camp
He had other things to do around Raleigh and Cary
and Jeff graciously took on the role of camp cook!
We even squeezed in a movie at the theater and a fun game of Canasta that we picked up and continued each night.

Everyone arrived on Thursday afternoon. The girls shared with each other what we wanted to accomplish. Then we heading out to purchase whatever supplies we still needed.

Holli wanted to make a pillow, cover a pad for a tiny bench, make a couple pillowcases and make new curtains for her bedroom!
Katie wanted to make an apron and some earrings.
Courtney wanted to cover some pillows for her sofa and some for her porch.
I wanted to at least start on a baby quilt and maybe even new valances for my kitchen!

This was going to be a big undertaking as Courtney was learning to sew for the first time and Katie and Holli were adding to their learning curve!

We purchased fabrics to go with what we had and found the perfect fabrics for both Holli's windows and mine.
We were already on a roll!

Here is day 2 when
the campers are really getting started.
Holli in the background at the ironing board
{sweet child of mine even ironed all my skirts and shorts in my to-do pile}
Courtney is in the foreground cutting out her first pillow cover
Katie is designing and cutting out the first part of her apron

 

Katie piecing her apron front

Katie was 'getting to know' the sewing machine that she got for Christmas from Daniel. Not to mention designing and figuring out how to make this apron WITHOUT a pattern! She's well on her way to being a pro at this sewing stuff!

here's me - piecing on the baby quilt
Holli did most of this while I was helping the other two. She is good at this piecing stuff!
But, I wanted to make this quilt so she saved some of the piecing for me!
And at the end of day 2...
we had a couple pillow covers for Courtney {background}
a pillow case for Holli {yellow bicycles on white}
a pieced pillow for Holli {bottom center}
an apron front for Katie {left}
a baby quilt top for Lois {right}

On day 3 Katie learned how to etch metal,
all this, while still working on her apron!
First the hole punching
then the stamping
then the actual etching

the finished earrings are fabulous

Katie is a quick study and has this down now too!
Plus, she has given me new etching ideas for
it's by design


There was lots of 'team' measuring and cutting for the two sets of window treatments.

Even Piper got in on the action! {Holli waits patiently in the background}
and because we were ALWAYS having fun at this craft camp
here is Katie on her magic carpet ride
AKA strips of my new kitchen valance

and MORE fun...

while Holli presses and pins the hem to her curtains
I just stand next to her and entertain!

more from day 3
custom reversible bib apron
by Katie

Katie checking out the reverse side {upper left}.
Just before the front and back were sewn together
tucking the bib, neck sash {not quite tucked yet}, and the waist sash inside the edge. Then side 1 of the apron could lie on top, right sides together {upper right} and the final machine seam could be sewn all around the rectangle. A small opening was left so that it could be turned inside out. After everything looked good and the sashes and bib were released from their captivity, the opening was hand sewn shut.
{arrrggg! the girls learned that lots of projects end with hand sewing}
Side 1 of apron {lower left}
Side 2 of apron {lower right}
Yes, that's a pocket on both sides!
we're officially professionals

the hand sewing begins

and here we are on day 4 just showing it all off!

Katie had to head back to South Carolina on the afternoon of day 4.
Holli and Courtney and I still had a full day 5 to finish hand sewing all the pillow closures and Holli's LINED bedroom curtains.
That was a big project
mainly because there was so much fabric!

the Loot photo on day 4
pillows, pillows and more pillows

and earrings that Holli commissioned me to make
the pearl necklace is a custom order for a special bride that I finished during craft camp. So it became part of the loot!

when the Tennessee girls returned to their homes
here's how they showed off some of their projects

Courtney's sofa pillows
Courtney's porch pillows
{there are actually two of each}
and a sage green pillow {pictured in the loot photo} for her sofa

lots of crafty additions to Holli's already crafty bedroom
the burlap type fabric curtains are lined with blackout lining
Holli LOVES to sleep in when her schedule allows!
the little black bench that Grampa made now sports a new cushion of salmon and white polka dots {left}

the cute little pieced pillow is backed with the polka dots
it's home is on the palette couch we made last fall

the bicycle pillowcases brighten up her new bedding
AND
hide her guest pillows
for when someone passes through town and sleeps on the sofa
{she and Courtney even built the trunk at the end of her bed}
this little apple doesn't fall far from her mama's tree!

that's it for craft camp 2012

my kitchen valances and baby quilt were not completed at craft camp but they will be blogged about soon!

the Pallet project

Holli - "Mom, we're going to do a project from Pinterest over Thanksgiving"

Me - "Can't we just do nothing?"

Holli - "No"

Then about a week before she came home I saw my neighbor had a pallet laying next to his truck.

I asked him if he could get us 3 more.

In the mean time Holli came home and Kirby, Holli and I ran some errands including a fabric store in North Raleigh.  I just wanted to stop there 'for a minute' to get some feather pillow inserts.

An hour and a half later we had a huge piece of foam 80"x27"x5" and some fabric for making pillows for Holli's future Pallet sofa!

We also saw a couple pallets outside of the store and asked if we could have them. They said yes and we loaded them in the car.

We quickly learned that pallets are different sizes and we needed four to match pretty well.

Our new find did not match the one from my neighbor.

Holli and Kirby took a little trip in the car around town looking for more pallets. They traded their original pallets for some that would more closely match each other.

Is that stealing?

I think it's trading.

Now the 4 pallets needed to be cut down to size.

We just happen to have builders working on our screened porch ceiling. So of course Holli got them to cut our pallets!

We started small by making a couple pillows first. 

Then we moved on to covering the big piece of foam.

The challenge was getting it ON the foam!

It took a team of three.

Thanks Amanda S!

At this point we loaded the 4 pallets in the car

along with the foam cushion

and the 2 new pillows

and headed back to Nashville.

At Holli's house we finished the pallets with six 3" locking swivel casters

and a few metal plates to hold it all together.

A little drilling then nuts and washers and bolts

The pallet boards are all different sizes

so the center caster had to move in a row.

The finished product!

Those crates at the end were a nice little discovery while Holli and Kirby were on their pallet hunt.

Thanks to Pinterest and the blog

Under the Sycamore

for the great idea!

not just for girls

If you're a boy and you want to impress your girlfriend, I've got the perfect project for you!

My oldest son who is 29 and lives in SC came to visit for a weekend in July.  Much to my disbelief, he wanted to make a headband for his girlfriend who is working in Colorado.

He did all the Google research on the type and size and I had him 'shop' in my huge fabric supply right here in my studio.

We used this Between The Lines blog post as our guide.

While reading the directions, Daniel saw that the headband shown was made for a child so we adjusted our measurements, but not by much.

We cut the large piece (the main part of the headband) 

5 inches x 17 inches

We cut the smaller piece (the part that covers the elastic)

6cm x 20cm

and the piece of wide elastic 

12cm long

YES

that is correct

we used inches AND centimeters

the blog is French!

And as long as we were going to make one girl happy, why not two?

so we made one for Holli as well.

I gave direction

Daniel did the sewing and pressing

When the project was complete he headed straight to the big screen to catch what he had missed in the Womens World Cup

no worries here that he's changing his hobbies from sports to sewing

but it sure was fun for a day!

 Holli's is pink and gray

Katie's is green and blue

 Daniel pulling the elastic through its sleeve

It took me awhile to figure out the directions for this part because I had a hard time telling the difference between the right and wrong side of the fabric in the original blog photos. 

I think this photo will help me with future headbands

 the man at the machine!

 the finished product

I folded the widest part in a little for this look

and sent a surprise photo/text message to Holli

maybe I'll get photos of the girls one day...

Blog update
Daniel, Katie and the headband!

crafty in Nashville

So I've been spending time with Holli in Nashville this week.

One entire week.

Tuesday to Tuesday.

Bliss.

We've shopped, dined, run errands, exercised, and shopped a little more.

Holli worked too.  She is getting ready to take kids to camp and there is plenty to do in preparation for "the best week of their lives". 

But, since this was sold to me as "the best week of my life" we've been on the go for days, building up to Holli's 26th birthday.

There is so much to see and do in Nashville and we have so much fun together.

But let's face it, for Holli and I nothing is as fun as our craft time together.  Holli had saved an idea from a blog and we spent her birthday afternoon on our Book Page Wreath.  We started out by stopping by a used book store to pick up a book from the free pile.  This is a very inexpensive craft project. 

In addition to a couple books

you need a foam wreath

some brown craft paint is nice

a glue gun

and lots of glue sticks!

The project could be finished in an afternoon but we started late in the day, stopped for snacks and birthday dinner out, and even made cupcakes.  So our wreath wasn't finished until after church the next day.

Here's a few photos we took along the way but, if you want the real directions to do this yourself please refer to the original blog.  She even has a video that we thought was helpful.

 aging the edge of the pages with a little brown paint

 starting the ring of rolled pages on the back of the wreath

 the completed back

 working on the first row from the front

 lots of variation in rolling the paper

sometimes in an S, sometimes loosely, sometimes not

 looking good but still a ways to go!

 finished!

or

was it

that we were out of glue sticks?!

 the original instructions said to glue a piece of ribbon to the back to use as a hanger.  I didn't trust that so we stuck a piece of wire around the wreath and twisted it.

much better!

 the end