Well. Wasn't that a fine beginning? Our only granddaughter is getting married January 2nd. Thus far, I've only been asked to do easy things - the ringbearer's pillow, the flowergirl's basket. For her shower, I have the quilt ( of Course!) ready to be wrapped and one of our quilting magazines has suggested a laundry basket to contain the quilt and a table cloth for wrapping. I've printed a copy of their wedding invitation and made a potholder. Cute. (I'm not much into 'cute' but I can get off my pedestal for a granddaughter.) Now. Oh boy. That sweet, sweet bride wants a veil with a pearl edge. I've told her I don't know how to do that but my Bernina book says I can. Anybody every tried putting stringed pearls on bridal illusion? She's such a precious darling that I want to at least try. Help me. Polly Grandmother of the Bride
As you have a nice long time, I would most certainly do it by hand. Mind you - I wouldn't even have thought of doing it by machine anyway! if you used white silk thread, it would barely show - however sheer the fabric it is sewing on Even if you only did a couple of yards a day, you'd have it done in time I'm sure. How long *is* the edge? . In message , Polly Esther writes
And I had never thought to do it by hand. Of course, I can. Silk thread? Yes to that too. For sure I won't have to worry about the OxyClean v. silk battle. Very few brides toss their veils in the washing machine. Thank you, Patti. Polly
I've done this several times -- done bridal gowns, veils, brides maid dresses -- the whole lot. I'm sure that Kate will eventually have some suggestions, too. Will you be embellishing a purchased veil or do you have to make the veil from scratch? Having a rolled hem on the edge of the veil makes the whole procedure much easier regardless of how you attach the pearls. Anyway, if you decide to do this on the machine, make sure that you put a layer of tissue paper or one of the machine embroidery stabilizers behind the illusion. Make sure you get something that will tear away easily after you have sewn the pearls on or dissolve with a spritz of water. There is a special foot made just for this use -- not too expensive either all things considered. It's called the Pearls & Piping Foot and has a special space on the underside of the foot to accommodate the pearls. If you think you want to get this foot (comes with adapter for different types of shanks) let me know and I will dig mine out and give you more info. If doing this by hand, I agree with whomever it was suggested using silk thread. You could also use a glue stick to hold the pearls in place while sewing. What I usually do is to GLUE the pearls in place with clear nail polish and then sew them on! Works a charm, holds forever and dries clear, too -- and LOTS cheaper than the fancy fabric glues available. I usually drape the veil over a chair so that the edge is hanging free and then just put teensy dabs of glue on the edge for every 3rd or 4th pearl. Once it is dry, it's quite easy to then sew the pearls down. I've been in a hurry and not sewn the pearls at all (very time consuming). Of course, I used the polish to glue each pearl down. I would glue down several inches of pearls, let that dry and then do a bit more. Just make sure that you do little dabs of polish or the edge will get too stiff. Let us know what method you decide on, OK? It's always interesting to hear how people do stuff like this :-). CiaoMeow >^;;^<
PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at
I haven't had the chance to sew the pearls but I think I would buy them by the yard----like I saw on a TV show---and use a special foot to sew the yardage onto the veil. Any small pieces of leftover pearls could be put on the ring bearers pillow. Barbara in FL
Polly, I put *lots* of pearls onto the white sections of this quilt from our Pat's book, and I used my Bernina to do it. Of course, I didn't need to stabilize the quilt as you'll need to do with the bridal illusion, but if you can string the pearls (or buy them already strung), you can easily use Bernina foot #23 to zigzag them in place -- no gluing necessary. :) That foot is billed as being an embroidery foot, but it has a *perfect* groove in the bottom for sewing on small beads and pearls. Of course, if your DGD wants large pearls, this foot might not work, but I'm thinking smaller ones are probably the ones in question. HTH!
It does kind of depend on what kind of pearls, and how big, and how you buy them.
For example:
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Obviously the first kind are easiest. The second kind are very uniform and that makes them easiest if you are planning to zig zag them on. The last kind are what I usually use, those I restring on silk and sew or crochet them on by hand.
The kind that are molded onto the string are a bit of a pain. They are stiff, and with no play between pearls they are sometimes a trial to work with. IMO they are best left for decorating centerpieces and things.
I've made a half dozen or so veils. Our public library has both the books Kate mentioned. "Veiled in Beauty" is especially good. The edge I've always used is simple -- small zigzag over fishline, trim next to the stitching. Photos of my daughter's wedding at
I did the edge of my wedding veil by hand, some kind of edging with seed beads, I don't remember exactly how long it took, I think I was aiming for more like 12 inches a day!
Ah yes! and thank you all. There's a beautiful veil going on here. I did put a rolled hem on and we found some pearl edging that is as light as a whisper and just lovely. It was so good to see Anne's notion that pearling
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