IHS Lenten Hand Embroidery Design

IHS Lenten Hand Embroidery Design: With the season of Lent soon beginning, a few new Ecclesiastical Hand Embroidery Designs have been cropping up in the workroom.  It is fun to take some of the beautiful old designs of the past years and recreate them for use once again in the making of Church Vestments and Church Linens.

When it comes time to select a design for an Ecclesiastical Hand Embroidery project, there never seems to be enough variety from which to choose.  As my library collections grow, so does the volume of beautiful vintage Ecclesiastical Embroidery Patterns.  Often the designs are in poor condition, and it takes hours of work to recreate them into a usable design. Many of the older designs were much more detailed and complicated.  And while many of us like some variety with details in embroidery, too much of a good thing often becomes a deterrent to working on a project.  The key is finding the exact balance between having enough detail in a design for interest and not too much to make stitching impossible.

Embroidery Variations for the IHS Border Design

The IHS design above is an element taken from a very detailed and intricate border pattern. While the entire border was lovely, this design is appropriate as a stand-alone element. The stylized floral elements converted to letters on this design are interesting. They would be fun to stitch as a simple outline or work as a monogram style with a padded satin stitch.  Worked in subdued threads and colors, the design fits the season of Lent. But stitching this design with goldwork threads combined with silk floss would create a design that shimmered, suggesting the glory of the Resurrection. One could even add adornments of beads or jewels at the centers of each letter. With two sizes of the design available, it would be nice for use on a stole, or on smaller linens such as purificators or lavibos.  It would even work well on a pall.  In a larger size, it could be used for a pulpit fall design or even an altar frontal.

The IHS Lenten Design is available here for your personal use.

Solo Dei Gloria

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Symbols of Lent: Penitence to Hope

Lenten Stole with Two-Toned Fairford

Rose Vestments and IHS Design Index

IHS Ecclesiastical Design First Stitches

Thoughts of Lent

Future Projects Design Time