Where to buy cotton or silk lace online

I would go to a fabric store in person if I were you. Maybe a JoAnn's fabric?

Hi Jessica!

From my understanding, water-soluble lace means it was made by machine on water-soluble backing. Once the design is made it is put in water or some other liquid and the backing dissolves leaving the lace.

Have you checked out online stores like Amazon or Etsy? You may find silk or cotton lace on either. You should also check sites like Joann, Fabric and Mood Fabrics.

Are you making the veil yourself also?

Hi Cliodhna - thanks for the response! I was so confused about what water-soluble meant. I don't intend to go swimming in my veil, but it seemed out that the veil could dissolve...

I've been checking both Amazon and Etsy. Etsy has a good selection, but I don't think I've found pure cotton or silk. A lot come from Chinese vendors - great prices but I'm dubious about quality or authenticity of natural fabric.

I'm considering making mine unless I find someone that could make it affordably. I thought I was so clever buying silk tulle in Thailand much cheaper than what silk tulle would cost here and thinking it couldn't cost that much for the labor of making it into a veil with lace. The places I'm looking at having my dress altered estimated $250-500 for a lace trimmed veil, even though I'm providing the tulle. So, I'm now trying to find the lace and maybe even consider making it myself. The wedding is in September - I have time to learn.

I had my dress and veil custom made and my dressmaker recommended I buy my fabrics from Britex Fabrics which is a 4 story fabric store in San Francisco. I live 2 hours away so I could go in person to look at and touch the fabrics, but they have a website and do ship certain fabrics. I suggest calling them and describe what you need. They have a section dedicated solely to veils, lace for veils, and other notions to make accessories.

Thanks! I checked out the site - indeed, this is more what I'm looking for!

Oh good! The store was amazing! It made me want to have more handmade clothes since they had every possible fabric imaginable. The lace selection was stunning and it took me nearly 2 hours just to pick what lace I wanted.

Hi Jessica Did you end up finding and buying the lace you wanted? Which one did you end up getting?

I realized that silk lace was going to be challenging to fine and out of my price range, and the cotton lace wasn't the elegant or fine look I was going for or was embroidery. I did a bunch of searching on Etsy and found ranges of prices and sources. I bought several swatches from lace sellers from China - these are good quality, but the color wasn't the right color I was looking for. I ended up buying this gorgeous lace trim from Bridalfabrics.com in the UK, though it's 6 times the price I could have spent with some sources on Etsy. However, it's the right color and the quality is excellent.

I'm delighted you found what you were looking for. Even though it ended up a little more expensive, I'm sure it will be worth it! Will you be attaching this to the veil yourself?