Notes from beneath the veil

Glad for distractions this week, I wanted to take a few minutes to post a link to Jen Fulwiler's Lenten experiment with wearing a veil.  Do go read it for yourself - her reasoning and reflection on the experience are both funny and beautiful (as always).

As a life-long seamstress, diy-er, and all-around cheapskate though, I have to admit that my first thought was "that veil would be so easy to make!"  The original came from this etsy shop, and at only $35 is a great deal, but if you'd like one right away for whatever reason, I have some suggestions here.

First of all, if you'd like the same concept, but don't want lace, you can find a nice tutorial on sewing your own infinity scarf here.

If you do want to make one of lace, it's even easier.

1. Go to your local fabric store and find a soft lace with one or two finished edges.  For this basic version, you fabric will be somewhere between 45 and 60 inches wide.  (54" is also a common width.)
2. Determine the length you want the scarf to be.  From the tutorials I'm finding, 54-60 inches seems to be a good length.  Since you'll be cutting along the length of the fabric, this is the amount you'll purchase.
3. Cut the fabric in half lengthwise.  You'll have two pieces, each with one finished scalloped edge and one cut edge.  If you prefer, the pictorial directions at the bottom may be helpful.
4. Sew the short edges together by hand or by machine.  Make the seam as neat as possible, since it will show (at least a little).  Again, owning a sewing machine is not necessary for this project!  You can find tips for sewing with lace in this Church Lady post.
5. You can hem the unfinished edge of your veil if you'd like, but since many laces don't ravel it may not be necessary.
6. That's it!  Oh, one more thing - you may have noticed by now that you have enough here for two veils.  The second one is for a friend.  (Aren't you wonderful!)