Applying goldwork appliques for church vestments. Center the design, temporarily pin, and hand-tack the applique, using Japanese gold threads for couching. Choose a suitable needle and threads for a polished finish, adding beauty to your ecclesiastical embroidery.
The Madonna and Child Goldwork Emblem is to be used on the back of a white Gothic chasuble. The chasuble is designed using our classic Gothic Chasuble Pattern cut with “Y” orphrey bands. The Virgin and Child design uses goldwork embroidery and colored thread embroidery embellishments on a hand-painted design. This Embroidery Design has a great deal of detailed work and requires care when applying it to a church vestment.
The tradition within the church is to use a Pall to cover the coffin for funerals. At the time of Pugin (early to mid-1800s), Palls were elaborate items, often embellished with extensive embroidery and gold work. Palls are still used today to cover a coffin during a funeral service. They are frequently white in color with a cross or other appropriate design applied. While churches may own a Pall for covering a coffin, they may not have a pall for covering an urn. The use of urns to replace large coffins is becoming more common.
The countless hours of restoration for the Crown of Glory design took place during the season of Lent. And in the end, The King of King’s design shines forth with joy at the dawning of Christmas and Easter morn.
To learn more about making a pastor or clergy stole, we offer a 20-plus-page instruction booklet with photos of our pastoral and priest stole patterns for those interested in making their own clergy stoles.
To test a pattern for a Chalice Veil at Ecclesiastical Sewing. I used red silk dupioni for the face fabric, satin for the lining, and Evesham brocade for the orphrey band, trimmed with Saint Benet trim. The process involved measuring, cutting, and adding the orphrey band and trim. Basting the trim before sewing helped ensure it stayed straight. After completing the orphrey band, I stitched it to the silk, applied a cross with an iron, and hand-stitched the lining. The final result is a beautiful Chalice Veil in the Saint Gregory Collection of Vestments.
Ecclesiastical Sewing sells small iron-on cross appliques. There are a variety of colors and sizes. These little crosses can be used on the neckline of a stole; they can be used to decorate the front of a stole; or they could be used on chalice veils, burses, or other church vestments.
VDMA Cross Embroidery Design
– The first design is the VDMA Cross embroidery design. It features the letters VDMA which in Latin is Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum for the Word of the Lord Endures Forever. This emblem was embroidered on clothing, and engraved on swords, armor, and coins. Wonderful examples of this are found at the Lutheran Reformation.org The VDMA Cross is available as a digital embroidery file that may be downloaded and stitched out using an embroidery sewing machine. We also have the design stitched out and prepared for use as orphrey bands to be stitched on a pastoral stole.
The Two Agnus Die projects for the Easter Set, the gold thread used for couching the blue silk sky is a Gilt Smooth Passing Thread size 4 with a silk core. The thread is imported from Access Commodities here in the States and is available from Hedgehog Handworks. The Gilt threads have 1/2% gold and are very nice to work with. The silk core makes the thread very pliable and so nice to plunge thread tails – an excellent goldwork thread.
The Red Cord was used to couch the Red Passing thread. It worked great from the start, for about 3 stitches. Then, as the metallic cord was pulled through the fabric, the cord separated, showing the white core.
In the Agnus Dei Ecclesiastical Embroidery Project, significant progress has been made on the upper sky. Using long-laid stitches and horizontal guide marks, the detailed stitching maintains parallel and straight alignment. Frequent thread changes are necessary due to the 6 1/2″ stitch width, but the process speeds up as intricate details around the cross are left behind. The joy of completing a major portion of the sky-laid work is evident, with two-thirds now finished.
The update on the larger of the Agnus Dei pieces’ from The Tale of Two Lambs.
The Ecclesiastical Embroidery Design for the Altar Frontal features the largest Lamb, measuring about 15″ in width. The sky is stitched in Royal Floss, a vivid blue from the Belding Brothers Company. Goldwork details use #4 Smooth Passing with Silk Core from Access Commodities. The design aims for a bright and radiant sky, symbolizing the glorious Resurrection.
Starting with a small Agnus Dei hand embroidery design, The Tale of Two Lambs turned into two projects – in sizes small and large. Limited Ecclesiastical designs led to this traditional choice. The smaller Agnus Dei, at 8 1/2″, fits a chasuble’s back. As the project continued, minor changes improved the second design. The small lamb’s hill, initially stitched in camouflage green, became serene blue. Using Soie Ovale for the sky presented challenges, but the finished product was pleasing. Careful placement of gold passing thread helped secure the silk strands, enhancing the design.
Ecclesiastical Sewing made a good progress on Embroidery project. Finished the background using Soie Ovale flat silk, giving it a smooth look. Managed those tricky silk strands with “The Best Laying Tool.” Now, onto the detailed goldwork Italian Stitch with Elizabethan Twist.
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