
This pattern is a guideline for making all sorts of stylish veils for fashion dolls like Barbie.
It includes instructions for re-creating the veils pictured, plus how to design your own in all 8 of the different veil lengths (cage, shoulder, elbow, wrist, fingertip, intermission, chapel and cathedral), how to assemble them, and several crochet edgings or trims that you can use on your veils.
Continue below for the pattern...
You’ll Need:
- crochet cotton thread size 10-60 (I prefer using #10 or #20 threads, but it all depends on how fine and dainty you want your trim to be)
- 0.6mm-1.05mm hook
- tulle (with the holes 1mm squared) - with 1 yard (about 1m), I was able to make all 10 veils, and 4 swatches with tulle to spare
- safety pins *optional
- tapestry yarn needle
- ruler/measuring tape & scissors
- a headpiece or flower (for cage veils) the veil’s base
- 0.5mm jewelry copper wire + wire cutters (for cage veils only)
- nylon sewing thread (if using a beaded headpiece)
- sewing needle (for threading on beads, or using with nylon thread, and/or for sewing on appliques)
- 2mm seed beads *optional
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Abbreviations: ~US Terminology Is Used~
ch sl st sc dc RS WS st(s) sp sk yo f/o shell double V picot floral picot | chain slip stitch single crochet double crochet right side wrong side stitch(es) space skip yarn over fasten off dc 5 into the same st (dc 2, ch 1, dc 2) into the same st ch 3, then insert your hook into the v of last sc and down the front of that st, yo, pull all the way though. see 1st example in this video tutorial by Moogly just like the picot, only you will do the picot 3 times into the same st |
Pattern Notes & Choices:
- Pick your Veil Length, how many Tiers you would like it to have, and whether you will have a straight or curved edging.
- Pick the Headpiece (for all veil lengths minus the cage) or Flower (for cage veil only) you will use as your Veil Base.
- Pick the Edging or Trim you would like to use on your Veil either from one below or your own choosing.
- Decide whether or not you will use any embellishments like the floral appliques here. (You can always decide if you want this later).
- Once you've made all your decisions, then you can go to the veil instructions!
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Veil Lengths & Tier Notes:
Depending on how dramatic or simple you would like your veil to be, I recommend a width of at least 5” to a max of 15” (12.5 cm - 38 cm), respectively. For most of the examples below, I used a width of 6” or 12” (15 cm - 30 cm). If you will only do 1 tier, it is best to stick to the shorter widths. If you do 2 or more tiers, you can make them wider. See each of the veil length below for recommended lengths and how to make each one pictured.
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Cage Veil Notes & Instructions:

Length: 2” (5 cm) for the doubled up shorter cage veil (pictured to the left) and the regular cage veil (pictured to the bottom left), or 4” (10 cm) if doing the longer cage veil doubled up (pictured to the bottom right).
Width: 5”- 5.25” (12.5 cm - 13.5 cm)
1) Cut tulle.
2) With scrap yarn (same as the one you used to make the statement flower) and a yarn needle, weave the yarn though one of the width sides of the piece. Then crossover to the starting side and weave the yarn down that side. Put tail from the first corner into the needle and repeat to the opposite side. You should now have the top long side and the two shorted sides weaved.
3) Pull tight on both ends and tie a knot to fasten it closed. (You will use the tails to attach flower soon...)
4) Take jewelry wire and cut it to about 1” (2 or 3 cm). Fold it in half and insert into center of statement flower and into the tulle where you tightened it.
5) Sew flower into place, making sure to sew in between the 2 prongs of the wire too. Tie a knot and weave tails into the flower a few times.
6) Trim ends of wire (if need be), so that they are even and and each prong is no longer than 0.5” (1 cm).
- The first cage veil above, uses the 15 Picot Flower and the doubled up short veil lengths.
- The next cage veil to the bottom left, uses the Double Rnd 2 - 5 Picot Flower and the regular veil length.
- The last cage veil to the bottom right, uses the Double Rnd 2 - 5 Petal Flower and the doubled up long veil length.
Shoulder Veil Notes:

Length: 3.5” (9 cm) (pictured to the left)
Tiers: 1-2 (2 tiers pictured to the left)
For this shoulder veil pictured: Straight Corners
Cotton Thread #10 and a 1.05mm hook were used.
Cut a piece of tulle to 6” x 6” (15 cm x 15 cm).
Length = 3.5” (shoulder tier) + 2.5” (top tier) (9 cm + 6 cm)
Width = 6” (15 cm)
Crochet Edging = Floral Picot - Variation: omit the picots
Headpiece = Beaded Headband
Top of veil is gathered to 1.25” (3 cm) and is sewn next to 9 of the 36 beads, or over 1/4 of the headpiece.
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Elbow Veil Notes:

Length: 4.5” (11.5 cm) (pictured to the left)
Tiers: 1-2 (2 tiers pictured to the left)
For this elbow veil pictured: Straight Corners
Cotton Thread #60 and a 0.6mm hook were used.
Cut a piece of tulle to 9.25” x 6” (23.5 cm x 15 cm).
Length = 4.75” (elbow tier) + 4.5” (top tier) (12 cm + 11.5 cm)
Width = 6” (15 cm)
Crochet Edging = Picot - Variation: none
Headpiece = Renaissance Tiara
Top of veil is gathered all the way, and is sewn to the center peak of the tiara.
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Wrist Veil Notes:

Length: 6” (15 cm) (pictured to the left)
Tiers: 1-2 (2 tiers pictured to the left)
For this wrist veil pictured: Straight Corners
Cotton Thread #10 and a 1.05mm hook were used.
Cut a piece of tulle to 12” x 12” (30 cm x 30 cm).
Length = 6” (wrist tier) + 6” (top tier) (15 cm + 15 cm)
Width = 12” (30 cm)
Crochet Edging = Shell - Variation: one 2mm seed bead for each sc apart from the first and last sc of each tier (about 80 beads are needed)
Headpiece = Royal Tiara
Top of veil is gathered to 2.25” (5.5 cm) and is sewn next to 18 beads, or over about half of the center back portion of the tiara.
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Fingertip Veil Notes:

Length: 7.5” (19 cm) (pictured to the left)
Tiers: 1-2 (1 tier pictured to the left)
For this fingertip veil pictured: Curved Corners
Cotton Thread #10 and a 1.05mm hook were used.
Cut a piece of tulle to 7.5” x 6” (19 cm x 15 cm).
Length = 7.5” (19 cm)
Width = 6” (15 cm)
Crochet Edging = Chains - Variation: add a picot before chs
Headpiece = Crochet Picot Tiara 2
Top of veil is gathered all the way. Sew veil over all 5 peaks of the tiara - you’ll need to sew parts of the side of the veil to get the right length.
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Intermission Veil Notes:

Length: 9” (23 cm) (pictured to the left)
Tiers: 1-2 (2 tiers pictured to the left)
For this pictured intermission veil: Straight Corners
Cotton Thread #10 and a 1.05mm hook were used.
Cut a piece of tulle to 18” x 6” (46 cm x 15 cm).
Length = 9” (intermission tier) + 9” (top tier) (23 + 23 cm)
Width = 6” (15 cm)
Crochet Edging = Chains - Variation: none
Headpiece = Crochet Headband
Top of veil is gathered to 0.5” (1 cm) and is sewn over the back 5 stitches of the headband.
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Chapel Veil Notes:

Length: 13” (33 cm) (pictured to the left)
Tiers: 1-3 (1 tier pictured to the left)
For this chapel veil pictured: Curved Corners
Cotton Thread #10 and a 1.05mm hook were used.
Cut a piece of tulle to 13” x 6” (33 cm x 15 cm).
Length = 13” (33 cm)
Width = 6” (15 cm)
Crochet Edging = Shell - Variation: switch shells to double V sts. Start and end with 4 sc sts.
Headpiece = Crochet Double-V & Shell Tiara
Top of veil is gathered to 0.5” (1 cm) and is sewn over the front 5 stitches of the tiara.
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Cathedral Veil Notes:

Length: 15”-18” (38-45 cm) (pictured to the left)
Tiers: 1-3 (3 tiers pictured to the left)
For this cathedral veil pictured: Curved Corners
Cotton Thread #10 and a 1.05mm hook were used.
Cut a piece of tulle to 6” x 12” (15 cm x 30 cm), and another to 6” x 12” (15 cm x 30 cm).
Length 1 = 18” (cathedral tier) + 7” (top tier) (45 + 18 cm)
Length 2 = 9” (middle tier) (23 cm)
Width = 12” (30 cm)
Crochet Edging = Floral Picot - Variation: switch picots to ch 1 picots with a 2mm seed bead (approximately 120 beads) start & end with 7 sc before doing the first & last floral picots per tier, and do 3 sc between each floral picot and picot.
Headpiece = Regal Tiara
Top of veil is gathered to 1.25” (3 cm) and is sewn next to the front portion of the tiara from peak 1 to peak 5. 28 various floral appliques are used, and a few of them have beads sewn to the center of the flower as I sewed them to the veil.
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Crochet Edging / Trim Notes:
The hook and yarn sizes are pretty flexible. You can use any cotton thread between sizes 10 and 60, and any hook size between 0.6mm and 1.05mm. Personally, I prefer using thread #10 with a 1.05mm hook, but use whichever sizes you prefer. Take a small swatch of tulle and test your edging on it to see how it will look and how many tulle squares you need to skip (if any) in order to keep the edge straight. (In the swatches below, I have done one side with thread #10 + 1.05mm hook, one corner with thread #60 + 0.6mm hook, and the last corner with thread #20 + 0.6mm hook)
- If you use the smallest thread size #60, then EACH tulle square is equivalent to ONE stitch space. This means that if you were to do a single crochet edging around the whole piece, you would do one single crochet stitch in every tulle square around the boarder.
- If you use the largest thread size #10, then TWO tulle squares are equivalent to ONE stitch space. This means that if you were to do a single crochet edging around the whole piece, you would do one single crochet stitch in every other tulle square around the boarder. In other words, single crochet in one tulle square and skip the next.
- If you use any thread size in between those two like #20, then every 1-2 tulle squares is equivalent to ONE stitch space (smaller hooks: EACH tulle square = ONE stitch space AND larger hooks: TWO tulle squares = ONE stitch space).
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Chains Edging Instructions: | Picot Edging Instructions: |
Floral Picot Edging Instructions: | Shells Edging Instructions: |
Getting Started & Veil Instructions:
1) Cut the tulle to the appropriate size. You’ll want to make sure you are cutting the tulle straight and in line with the tulle squares. Use the little tulle squares as a guide.
- For 1 Tier, cut it to the recommended length x width of your choosing.
- For 2 Tiers, cut it as one piece adding both recommended lengths together x width of your choosing.
- For 3 Tiers, cut the first and last tiers as one piece like for 2 Tiers, and the middle tier like for 1 Tier.
3) Mark the top horizontal line of the tulle with some scrap cotton thread and yarn needle. If length is longer for 2 tiers, you’ll mark the dividing line between them.
4) Mark the perimeter where you would like your crochet edging to go with some scrap cotton thread and yarn needle. You’ll want to start at the bottom center of each tier and work your way evenly to either side. You’ll also need to leave at least 3 tulle squares around the boarder as a sort of seam allowance. Depending on the crochet edging, hook and yarn size you’ve chosen, I recommend you skip a certain number of squares and just mark where the signature part of the design will go (see crochet edgings for more details). You could omit this step, but it is easier to make the crochet edging even and precise when you do this.
- Extra Step for Curved Edges... Cut the excess tulle away leaving the recommended seam allowance.
- Extra Step for 3 Tiers... Line up the top horizontal line of the middle tier to the dividing line of the first and last tiers so that the top 2 tiers are to the one side and the longer bottom tier is to the other. You’ll need to re-trace the horizontal line with a scrap cotton thread (for crochet headpieces) or nylon thread (for beaded crochet pieces), so that you are “sewing them” together.
6) Crochet the Trim. With RS facing you, and starting on the top left side, crochet around the edge of your tier with your chosen trim right into the places you marked. If doing more that 1 tier, always start with the longest or bottom tier, work you way around to the top tier, sl st join to first stitch, ch 1 - fasten off here if doing 2 tiers, or continue to work your way around the middle tier, sl st joining to the last stitch of the bottom tier, ch 1, fasten off, weave in all ends.
7) Add any embellishments. Make sure to fasten off with a tail long enough to sew each applique to the veil.
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Veil Work-in-Progress Pictures:
More in the Wedding Accessory Series:
- Part 1: Headpieces - crowns, tiaras and headbands.
- Part 2: Floral Appliques - for accessorizing your veils and dresses.
- Part 3: Veils - styles, lengths, attaching to headpieces, adding crochet trims, etc. (This Post)
- Part 4: Bouquets - like the ones I did for my wedding sets.
- Part 5: Finishing Touches - like Garters and Necklaces.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this FREE Crochet Pattern. Please share so others can enjoy it too! *If you have any questions, or need help with this pattern, feel free to contact me, or leave a comment below. I will be more than happy to help you! |

With this pattern you can become a designer too, when you mix and match all the different necklines and silhouettes available for thousands of possibilities. Learn more here...