Ecclesiastical Vestment Pattern Making

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Ecclesiastical Vestment Pattern Making

There has been a lot of talk about Ecclesiastical Embroidery here on Ecclesiastical Sewing. Today, it is time to turn my attention to the sewing part of Ecclesiastical Sewing.  I have been working on a long-distance project for several months.  Today it was time to take a new step in the project. It was time to draft a new Ecclesiastical Vestment garment pattern from scratch.

The project is recreating a monk habit pattern. Why should a pattern need to be recreated? Doesn’t the Monastery have their own patterns? Someone not familiar with the “rules” of pattern making and the like often hands down, traces off, modifies, or changes patterns. Over time, these actions can distort the patterns, causing pattern seamlines to be shifted from their correct positions. Curves can be traced incorrectly, and the pattern becomes a mess. Trying to create a garment from these patterns becomes a nightmare for the tailor.

Monk Habit Pattern

Ecclesiastical Vestment Pattern Book and Tools
Ecclesiastical Vestment Pattern Book and Tools

Thus, my task today was to take a historical monk habit pattern from an old pattern book and recreate the pattern.

Vestment Pattern Making First lines for Reference lines.
Vestment Pattern Making First Lines for Reference Lines.

The process is quite simple. There are reference points, lines, and measurements. The process is somewhat reminiscent of an interesting dot-to-dot where I not only get to draw the lines, but I also get to place the dots!  Now that is a fun change of pace.

The Ecclesiastical Vestment Pattern in process
The Ecclesiastical Vestment Pattern in process

Only a few more lines to go and the back piece of this Ecclesiastical  Vestment Pattern is finished.

The Completed Back Pattern
The Completed Back Pattern

Before I knew it, the back pattern for the Ecclesiastical Vestment was completed. Time to move on to the front pattern piece. Until next time, and thanks for reading along.

Solo Dei Gloria

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3 Comments »

  1. Thank you very much. I did find a copy available for download so I am having a look at that. I too am starting some ecclesiastical embroidery and sewing techniques – mainly to make myself vestments. Thanks for the blog, I love what you are doing. Fr Andrew

    • Yes. The book is rare. Perhaps in the UK it might be easier to find. It is The Cutter’s Practical Guide – Clerical Dress by W. D. F. Vincent.