Author Topic: Chapel Veils (Read 11451 times)

2Vermont · « **on:** November 08, 2013, 06:34:02 PM »

Where can I purchase one? I want to make sure I am purchasing from a reputable, traditional Catholic company.

jen51 · « **Reply #1 on:** November 08, 2013, 07:28:03 PM »

Order them from this gal. She's a trad. Her veils are beautiful!!

http://rosamysticamantilla.com/

Nadir · « **Reply #2 on:** November 08, 2013, 08:27:07 PM »

I picked up two rather nice mantillas at the Baptist shop for $1 each. They didn't know what they are. And they are not likely to have any more. Not that anybody else here would go to visit the Baptist shop.
:heretic:

Nadir · « **Reply #3 on:** November 08, 2013, 08:33:46 PM »

How often do you have to catch your mantilla and put it back on your head?

Just a tip: I sewed my mantilla on to a headband and now it NEVER slips off.

SoldierOfChrist · « **Reply #4 on:** November 08, 2013, 08:34:50 PM »

I just bought one for my wife. Those mantillas look very nice.

SoldierOfChrist · « **Reply #5 on:** November 08, 2013, 08:36:37 PM »

Quote from: Nadir

I picked up two rather nice mantillas at the Baptist shop for $1 each. They didn't know what they are. And they are not likely to have any more. Not that anybody else here would go to visit the Baptist shop.
:heretic:

Nadir that is really funny.

kaylaVeronica · « **Reply #6 on:** November 08, 2013, 09:26:31 PM »

Quote from: jen51

Order them from this gal. She's a trad. Her veils are beautiful!!

http://rosamysticamantilla.com/

I have one of her veils. She's so talented!

I also recently got a head-scarf from a thrift store for $3 and a lace wrap style veil that came in a hope-chest from my great-grandma (which was weird because she is protestant, but it's definitely a mantilla)!

Neil Obstat · « **Reply #7 on:** November 08, 2013, 10:09:51 PM »

Quote from: 2Vermont

Where can I purchase one? I want to make sure I am purchasing from a reputable, traditional Catholic company.

May I recommend a reliable, Catholic company with real French lace
veils?

St. Therese of Lisieux made French lace by hand with her mother, who
had a home business.

Site

ONLY 6 LEFT! Exquisite Calais French Lace! This cotton and silk blend is so soft and delicate, it simply "puddles" in your hand! No need for combs or pins - this veil becomes a part of you. 22" X 18" Oval shape! Available in Black. Made in Calais, France. Please allow two weeks for delivery.

Price: $48.00

DOWN TO THE LAST 2! Exquisite Calais French Lace! This cotton and silk blend is so soft and delicate, it simply "puddles" in your hand! No need for combs or pins - this veil becomes a part of you. 40" x 20" Available in Black and White. Made in Calais, France. Please allow two weeks for delivery.

Price: $48.00

DOWN TO THE LAST 3! Exquisite Calais French Lace! This cotton and silk blend is so soft and delicate, it simply "puddles" in your hand! No need for combs or pins - this veil becomes a part of you. 40" x 20" Available in Black, White, Soft Ivory and Gray. Made in Calais, France.

Price: $48.00

I don't know how they can be "available in 4 colors" when they're
"down to the last 3." :confused1:

.

Neil Obstat · « **Reply #8 on:** November 08, 2013, 10:28:28 PM »

.

This is a bridal veil picture:

.

2Vermont · « **Reply #9 on:** November 09, 2013, 07:01:45 AM »

Does color or length matter? Suggestions if not?

TKGS · « **Reply #10 on:** November 09, 2013, 07:34:13 AM »

Quote from: 2Vermont

Does color or length matter? Suggestions if not?

Length does not matter. One of my daughters likes a fairly large veil that is rectangular and flows over the shoulders. One of my daughters likes a small round chapel veil that covers only the top of her head. My third daughter used to wear a nice dress-hat for Mass before entering the convent. My wife's veil is oval and is mid-sized between the two girls.

As for color, most people seem to wear black all the time. My girls have a variety of colors so that they can match their outfits or wear a color fitting for the season. For example, they each have a pink veil that they wear twice a year in Advent and Lent. They have blue veils that they wear on feasts of Our Lady. They also have green, black, and white chapel veils. By the way, they don't necessarily insist on these particular colors for those occasions if the outfit they've chosen clashes with veil color--the veil color is changed. They also have a red veils, but I don't think I've ever seen them wear the red ones.

Someone gave us Muslim head scarves that they bought while in Afghanistan. The girls tried them on but opted to use them as warm shawls in the summer when the air conditioning in the chapel can sometimes make it feel a little chilly.

Frances · « **Reply #11 on:** November 09, 2013, 08:16:36 AM »

Why not make a veil? Cut lace to desired size and shape. Sew trim around edges. Voi!a! A custom-made veil!

Mama ChaCha · « **Reply #12 on:** November 09, 2013, 08:31:37 AM »

Buy your first veil, or veils to be sure. But if you think of designs, or you like to cross stitch or do ribbon embroidery, you can make your own veils with nice embroidery.

We bought ours from veilsandmantillas.com
Pretty good variation and selection, and they're not too expensive if you're cash-strapped.

nipr · « **Reply #13 on:** November 09, 2013, 10:15:59 AM »

Some tips on lace for those interested:

Please don't be fooled into thinking anything under hundreds of dollars or more is handmade, especially if you look on eBay or other such places for true vintage lace. I make lace. It is extremely intricate and takes a very, very long time to produce even a tiny bit, depending on the type of lace -- Chantilly, Irish, bobbin, normal fillet... I think only Belgium produces handmade lace anymore in any quantity, but if there are more places, they are few. It is VERY hard on the eyes and time-consuming.

For lace like chapel veils, you would use very fine thread lie sewing thread to make the veil itself, a paper pattern, backing fabric (to be removed later).... The end product would be prohibitively expensive for most of us. Many veils we see for sale are very pretty but are "sewn together" (most likely by a sewing machine and not by hand) as opposed to "handmade" where every single stitch of thread in the entire veil was done by hand and a machine never touched any of it.

St. Therese's mother made Alenceon lace. That was the name of the town that was famous for that type of lace. It took many people to make just one piece -- each person did their own part and passed it on to the next person. I believe St. Therese's mother had advanced to the point where she could do all the parts involved. Look it up -- it's fascinating to see how it is made!

Lace is named usually by the country or province that produces it. Most of what you see for sale is Chantilly lace, mass produced by machines. This is a "type" of lace and it's so popular it started out in Chantilly but is made everywhere now. It's on clothing and bedroom/bath items, curtains... A rose on a background of netting usually.

Lace comes in all different styles and is made in many different ways. What you see for sale is mass produced on large machines -- essentially netting with a pattern woven in. If the netting looks very even, then you don't have handmade lace because even the netting is done by hand when it is truly handmade ("netting" like in fish nets -- squares made by threads which are then filled in here and there to make a pattern).

Anyway, I've looked at online veil suppliers and I've gone to my nearby fabric shop and have found most of the laces and trims sold by the yard which are shown in the pictures.

It is an easy matter to cut out a veil and sew trim around the edges. You can get a yard of lace for about $17 and get two veils out of it because the fabric comes folded in half and you only need one half for a simple veil. Add about a yard or less of trim of your choice around the edges and you have a veil.

Online suppliers (one person doing this) charge double or triple that for just one veil. I bet they make 3 or 4 of them an hour and they are so lightweight that they cost practically nothing to ship. Easy. They probably buy the lace in large bolts (less than $17/yard) and run out of veils only when the supplier runs out of bolts -- a temporary thing. Of course, the better quality the lace is to begin with, the softer and more luxurious the end product will be. I've seen bolts of lace from Europe -- machine-made, but VERY luxurious and VERY expensive. But even they don't equal what true handmade lace is like.

Also, you might want to add a little starch to your veil when you launder it and iron it to maintain its shape. And be careful when you launder black veils -- the color runs. I would suggest hand washing all veils but especially the colored ones. It's cheap lace so they don't use dyes that won't bleed. Use a mild detergent made for "delicates" or Dawn dishwashing detergent (it is very mild and gets the grease from your hair out beautifully) and lay flat to dry on something you don't mind getting stained like an old towel. Drying doesn't take long. Spritz lightly with starch, iron (medium if it has nylon in it) and you're ready to go!

:cheers:

Neil Obstat · « **Reply #14 on:** November 09, 2013, 11:58:55 AM »

Quote from: Frances

Why not make a veil? Cut lace to desired size and shape. Sew trim around edges. Voi!a! A custom-made veil!

Be careful sewing a trim around the edges, because it has to
be very light, and not make the edge stiff, because if it does,
you will have a cheap looking thing with straight sections
and corners, instead of smooth curves.

I thought I would save money by making veils, so I went to a
yardage shop and they had a few kinds in stock. I got some
and cut out big triangles of it, using a curving pattern along the
edge of the lace figures, to try to make it look like that was the
edge of the sewing pattern.

When I was done, I thought they looked okay, but then I found
out that the material was not really suitable. It was a kind of
polyester or synthetic like that, and it was too stiff. It did not
"fall" off the head like a drapery hanging, but wanted to bunch
up with creases or lumps in the look of it. So my efforts were
not well received, and I don't think these were ever worn, but
for dire need when none other was available.

In the end, material is very important. I don't know what to
call it but the fabric should be smooth and prone to hang freely
down on the sides of the head. It should not be stiff, like a
paper napkin would be. If it were heavy, its own weight might
pull out the lumps, but a good veil does not have to be heavy
to have that effect.

.