How to Finish Your Veil Edges
No matter what style you like your veils, rectangular or semi-circle, poly-chiffon or silk, plain or print pattern, you’re going to need to find a way to finish the edges. Unfinished edges of fabric fray and leave little strings all over the place. Those stringy edges can get caught on your costume, too, wreaking all sorts of havoc during your dance.
When I was a baby dancer and just wanted a veil to practice with, I took a 99 cent bottle of clear nail polish and painted the edges (kind of like what we do to stop a run in pantyhose.) But that’s far from an ideal finish.
Besides having nice looking edges, you also want some weight on the edges to help the flowiness (is that a word? Sure!) And depending on your dance, you may need something to grab onto, so you know you have the correct edge when you don’t have time or opportunity to look directly at the veil.
Most dancers are so busy with their everyday lives that they just don’t have time to hand bead a veil. Long-term projects are just not an option. So, here are some great ways to machine finish your veil edge in a jiffy:
1) Use a serger (or overlock machine) to sew a rolled hem. You’ll get a nice, neat edge that’s not noticeable at all from a few feet away.
2) Add some sparkle by edging the veil with beads. No, you don’t have to do it by hand. Machine beading is easy if you have a sewing machine that takes a pearl foot (like the Bernina sewing machines.) All you need to do is run molded beads (either pearls or faceted) through the pearl foot and sew a zig-zag stitch over the edge of the fabric. Instant bling!
3) Scallop the edges of your veil using the scallop decorative stitch on your sewing machine. This crescent shaped stitch is fairly common on most machines these days. Use metallic thread to make an extra special edge.
4) Embroider the edges with an embroidery machine. You can use the beautiful pre-programmed scrolling or floral designs. Or some machines like the Janome MC9500 will let you download patterns or design your own. Of course, if you don’t have a machine capable of fancy embroidery, you can always draw a design on the edge and fill it in with regular machine stitches. This is called thread painting, and it can be quite striking (especially from a distance.)
So, don’t let your lack of time keep you from having a beautiful veil. Be warned: these techniques can get addicting. Before you know it, you’ll have more veils than you know what to do with. (hey, you can always send one to me!)
Mira has been costuming belly dancers for over 2 decades. She talks about sewing machines and stuff at www.SeriousSewing.com. She also runs a marketing blog for professional dancers and teachers at www.BellyDanceBusinessAcademy.com