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Vestments Home | Patterns And Books | Fabrics Ecclesiastical Fabrics and Trims for Construction Of
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Note: The Holy Spirit embroidery on this stole was custom done by a good friend, Tammy Maria Baker. If you want embroidery on your stoles, we can arrange it. However! Not for your first stole. Let's keep your first stole as simple as possible.
Each of my four Teaching Stole Kits cost $40. Here are your choices:
1. Children Of The World Stole Kit. The face fabric of this stole is 'The Children Of The World' tapestry.
2. Polyester Stole Kits. This is my good polyester fabric that makes handsome stoles. The colors are: Dark green, medium apple green, white, off-white, red, Roman purple (a red-purple), indigo (a blue-purple) and rose. Included in this kit is a second kit that I call The Simple and Beautiful Kit. This kit teaches you a useful method for decorating vestments, paraments and banners .............. simply and beautifully! While it's not for everything, it's a nifty thing to know. If you'd like to see some pictures, email me.
3. Dupioni Silk Stole Kits. Dupioni silk comes in jewel tones, is textural and has a lovely sheen. The colors are: Dark forest green, medium apple green, an olive Epiphany green, white, soft-white, deep Holy Week red, Pentecost red, Roman purple, indigo, rose, bright gold, old gold, silver and black. Great colors! And, it's a very nice fabric to work with.
4. Fleur Rose Stole Kits - Fleur Rose is a creamy white fabric decorated with golden fleur de lys. Here's a picture - I'm sorry that the light wasn't better. This stole is a bit more complex because the pattern must be centered.
I am determined that you will be successful with your first stole. My Teaching Stole Kits are guaranteed. If you mess up your Teaching Stole Kit beyond all redemption, simply pack up the materials and send them back to me. I'll send you new materials. I do this so I can see where you're having difficulty. I can adjust my instructions so this doesn't happen to other people. I've always offered this guarantee. I very seldom have anyone take me up on it.
Note: We can also make up these simple kits in camouflage fabric for use by our military chaplains. Contact me for information.
Advanced Stole Kits
As I mentioned earlier, I offer two types of stole kits: The Teaching Stole Kits and the Advanced Kits. My customers often purchase one of each, both at the same time, because it contributes a continuity to their learning process. It's helpful to complete the Teaching Stole Kit and then, with that experience fresh in your mind (and fingers!), go right into an Advanced Kit.
My Advanced Stole Kits are meant for people who have already constructed a Teaching Stole Kit and are ready to go forward on a work of art. If you have never made a stole before - even if you are an experienced seamstress/seamster, I do not recommend these kits! These kits are, however, well within the skill level of an intermediate sewer - IF you have already completed a Teaching Stole Kit!
The stoles shown below are pictures of some of the kits I have available. Scroll down a bit and take a look.
As you look at these stoles, notice the different fabrics: Damask, brocade, tapestry and dupioni silk. ('Damask' fabrics are all one color with the pattern woven in - like the upper portions of the green, white and red stoles. 'Brocade' fabrics are the same as the damasks except that the pattern is picked out in a metallic thread - like the orphrey on the red stole. 'Tapestry' fabrics are multi-colored - like the orphreys on the white and green stoles. An 'orphrey' is a decorative band of colorful fabric. The raw edges of the orphrey are often secured with a narrow decorative banding called a 'galloon' or 'gallooning'. The green, red and white stole orphreys are secured with gallooning. The orphrey on the blue stole is secured with navy piping. Orphreys may also be simply top-stitched which gives a simple, clean apppearance.)
Notice the red stole: This is the 'Fairford' pattern. This particular fabric comes in both damask and a matching brocade. This red stole is constructed of a combination of the red Fairford damask and the red Fairford brocade. The Fairford damask comes in bridal white, ivory, violet, green, black and blue. The Fairford brocade comes in gold, ivory/gold, red/gold, violet/gold, black/gold, black/silver and blue/gold.
Here's some more information about stoles and fabrics: Some fabric patterns work better for stoles. Fabric patterns that have a small repeat 'fit' the width of a stole. Ely Crown, Chelmsford, and Tudor Rose are good examples. Other fabric patterns such as Fairford and Winchester have sections of their patterns that 'fit' the width of a stole. The Fairford pattern has a 4 inch width of twining leaves that I always use for stoles. The Winchester pattern has a row of fleur de lys that look wonderful on a stole. Fairford and Winchester 'cut up well' for stoles.
The pattern of the green stole is called 'Florence'. Florence is more difficult to use for stoles because the pattern must be cut in half. The two 'halves' are then matched. You can (barely) see on the green stole that the pattern halves become 'mirror images' of each other.
If you are making only a stole, it's easier to use a smaller patterned fabric - or, something like Fairford or Winchester that cut up into smaller patterns. But, if you're also making a chasuble, you'll want a pattern with a larger repeat and you'll have to make the stole 'work' - as I did with the Florence. A small repeat fabric works well on a stole. A small repeat fabric on a large vestment or parament will look 'busy'.
Please note: If you choose, we can design a chasuble or dalmatic to match any of these stoles - or, your custom design. Please contact me for information.
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Let's talk for a minute about the design of this group of stoles. I like the 'look' of the single major orphrey.
The usual method of decorating stoles is with symbols and small orprheys. I've made lots of stoles with that type of decoration. The problem I always had was placement: Where do I place the symbols and/or the orphreys? It seemed that, no matter where I placed them, I wasn't satisfied. It always appeared that the decorations had been scattered about the stole at random and for no particular reason. I could never achieve a sense of balance. Balance is so important - and, your eye will pick it up right away.
Go back and take a look at Kathy's second stole - the red one decorated with a group of small orphreys and the golden cross. The elements of her design combine to be very similar to the major orphrey on these four stoles. Both Kathy's design and my major orphreys add a substantial visual 'weight' when they're placed right at the bottom of the stole. This design gives balance to the stoles. I like this design.
Notice one more thing: The orphrey on the blue stole is 23 inches long - it's too long; it's too heavy and dominant. The same is true of the green stole. It's too much. The orphrey on the white stole is 18 inches and the orphrey on the red stole is 17 inches. Better, I think! The purple stole (that isn't up yet) is 16 inches.
I guess it's odd for me to put up photographs of design 'mistakes' I've made. But, in teaching, I've found that my students learn more from my mistakes than they do from my (infrequent!) perfections!
While all the photographs shown above are priest's stoles, they may all be constructed using my New Deacon's stole pattern. Or, if you must, the Old deacon's stole pattern.
Like my Teaching Stole Kits, these Advanced Stole kits include everything you need to complete the stole (face fabrics, interfacing, lining, orphrey, galloon and fringe). These Advanced Stole Kits do not, however, include either the pattern or the Constructing Stoles instruction pamphlet because, having completed a Teaching Kit, you already have both the pattern and the instructions. I don't need to sell them to you twice!
I'm very pleased with these stoles! My customers who have purchased these kits have reported back to say that they are pleased too.
I have these stoles here in my workroom and I have to say that the photographs do not do them justice. They're even lovelier than they look here on my web site. The colors are clearer and richer. The red stole, for instance, as it is shown here appears to be a clear, Christmas red. In actuality, the color is deeper; a more penitential red. If you were wanting a Pentecost or Christmas red, I'd direct you toward a different damask and brocade (or tapestry or dupioni silk).
Constructing a project like this is a highly creative process - I know that! I know that you want your project to be individual rather than something 'stock' and 'off the shelf'. We can do this. It will require a couple of phone calls or emails in which you tell me what you want to achieve and I help you make it happen. I do this with my customers all the time. I enjoy it! 518-798-9637
You can see that there are four types of fabrics available: Damasks, brocades, Dupioni silks and tapestries. The upper portions of the red stole, the green stole and the white stole as well as the bottom portion of the blue stole are damasks. The bottom portion of the red stole is brocade (red and gold). The top portion of the blue stole is dupioni silk. The bottom portion of the green stole is Verona tapestry and the bottom portion of the white stole is Aragon tapestry. For your stole, you may choose whichever combination you want.
The prices of these Advanced Stole Kits depend upon your choice of fabric combination:
$80 - Dupioni silk with damask or brocade
$90 - Dupioni silk with tapestry
$100 - Damask with damask or brocade
$110 - Damask or brocade with tapestry
I want to emphasize: These Advanced stole kits are meant for people who have already worked through one of the Teaching Stole Kits. If you have worked through a Teaching Stole Kit, you know how to make stoles and are ready to take on this advanced project.
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Stole Patterns
This is just a listing of my stole patterns. The rest of my patterns can be found under 'Patterns' (makes sense!) Notice that I offer my stole patterns SEPARATE from the 'Constructing Stoles' booklet.
Stole Patterns - $10 each
I offer three stole patterns: Priest's, New Deacon's and, Old Deacon's (sometimes called 'Boring Old Deacon's)
The Priest's Stole Pattern - I not infrequently read or hear people who ought to know better say: "Just take a pattern from one of the stoles you have in the sacristy." Please! Don't do that! It can be a recipe for disaster! This pattern has worked consistently for me for years and years.
The Priest's stole pattern is 4 inches wide at the bottom hems and narrows slightly into a gently curved neck that rests smoothly around the shoulders. The center seam is correctly angled so that the ends hang straight down the front. The ends do not toe-in or toe-out. The stoles shown under 'Advanced Stole Kits' are all made using this good priest's pattern.
The 4 inch width at the bottom hem can be readily widened to 5 inches - as long as you begin the flare BELOW the neck shaping and widen the stole equally on both sides.
The 'New' Deacon's Stole Pattern - There is a photograph of the New Deacon's Stole in the upper portion of this page - it's the red one with the Holy Spirit embroidery.
The New Deacon's Stole pattern is the liturgically correct alternative to the 'dog-leg' deacon's stole pattern (also known as the 'Old' deacon's stole pattern; alias, Boring Old deacon's stole pattern).
You see, there didn't used to be 'deacon's stoles' - or, 'priest's stoles' either! there were just 'stoles' - that everyone wore. The stole worn by the priest at the 8:00 service was worn again by the deacon at the 10:00 service. The only difference was that the priest wore the stole with the ends hanging straight down (or, crossed and/or caught into the cincture) and the deacon wore the SAME stole diagonally across the upper body and either tied in a half-knot or pinned with an attractive pin at the waist or hip.
It's my theory that the deacon's stole were 'invented' when the Church began ordaining more deacons. It occurred to somebody that there ought to be some sort of a 'special' stole, just for deacons. And, these new 'inventions' sold very well! (Maybe I'm just being cynical.)
The serious problem with these dog-leg deacon's stoles is that they are commercially produced to fit professional models. Unless your deacon is shaped like a professional model, the Old Deacon's stole won't fit properly. If your deacon is larger in the front than in the back, the upper front and back sections should make allowance for that. Commercially produced stoles don't. The result is that the stole won't fit properly and the point of stress is the join at the side miters - that join stretches and pulls out.
When you try to construct one of these dog-leg stoles, you're probably going to have trouble making it fit properly. Custom made dog-leg stoles typically require extensive fitting - unless your deacon happens to be a model..
Add to this the fact that dog-leg stoles require three miters. These miters contain many layers of fabric - face fabric, interfacing and lining. Miters are thick! All three layers of miters must come together exactly. Miters are not the easiest thing in the world to do.
The New Deacon's Stole pattern is MUCH easier to construct than the Boring Old Dog-Leg. And, to my mind, it's appearance is infinitely preferable!
This is a wonderful pattern; the half-knot connects the stole ends at the waist or hip (or it may be pinned with a handsome liturgical pin). The narrower upper portion has the appearance of a diplomat's sash and makes the stole hang smoothly. The flared portion below the half-knot gives plenty of room for attractive decoration - the width at the bottom hem is 5 inches. This pattern is handsome, easy to construct and makes more efficient use of your fabric.
If you absolutely must have the old, boring dog-leg pattern, I can sell you that one too. But, this 'New' pattern is more better.
The Old Deacon's Stole Pattern - I pretty much described this stole in the New Deacon's Stole discussion above. You can probably tell that I am not a fan of this style of stole. I almost never see one that fits properly. The join at the side almost always gets stretched so, there is a gap. Or, it breaks altogether - I often see safety pins used to replace broken joins. These stoles are 4 to 5 inches in width. To my eye, that's too wide and looks clunky - even on a large person.
Other Crafts Used For Vestment Construction
Many (if not most) of my customers are involved in other fiber crafts; they are quilters, or they do hardanger, they may be skilled in hand embroidery or machine embroidery or, they are lace makers or they work with fabric paints or, they do cross stitch. My customers are wildly creative! And, all of these crafts transmute nicely into the crafts of linen and vestment making.
A sorrow for me is that, while I was in the 'traveling portion' of this ministry (before I opened this website and became chained to my computer!), I saw so many creative examples of other crafts being used to embellish linens and vestments - and I didn't take pictures! While I have some pictures, I don't have nearly as many as I wish I had.
There was a white stole with hardanger inserts. The hardanger was tied with very fine golden threads and the insert was backed with a medium blue taffeta that showed through, emphasizing the gold threads. I wish I had that photograph!
I do have many photographs of pieced and appliqued stoles. Here's one:
Another wonderful stole belongs to my Bishop; it's counted cross stitch - a softly off-white Aida cloth worked with Wedgwood blue, olive green and cranberry. The design consists entirely of a simple, attractive edging pattern worked all around the edges of the stole with a heavier border above the bottom hems.
The three embroideries on my Main Home Page are fine examples of gold and silk-work hand embroidery.
Machine embroidery is another marvelous resource. I have one customer who is expert at machine embroidery and is also a graduate of the Royal School of Needlework. She combines these two skills. She does a gold/silk machine embroidery and then uses her handwork skills to expand and embellish the machine embroidery further. The result is wonderful!
I have quite a lot of customers who work various types of lace - knitted, crochet and, recently, a bobbin lace maker. Lace has many uses - as inserts in albs, surplices and cassock-albs, as super-frontals and edging for the ends of fair linens or around the hems of credence cloths. I have a photograph of an antique crochet lace triangle shape placed at the end of a fair linen. The pattern is the descending dove. There's a small tassel at the tip.
Many years ago, I attended a display of hand made vestments. A white silk cope was shown - very simple and full around the hem. The hem was decorated with the most lovely border worked in fabric paint. The colors were rose and green and blue. I didn't have a camera!
Speaking of which - I do have photographs of an outstanding cope worked in applique'. The title of it is 'Creation'. Here it is! Even if this cope is not your cup of tea, the quality of the design and the execution is clearly, outstanding.
I could go on and on ........... and on! But, I think you get the idea! Your other crafts can be used right along with your vestment making crafts.
ONE CAUTION: Let's not set out to create a work of art until you know the basic techniques for constructing the vestment in question! Take the time to learn the basic skills before going forward to create your work of art.
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Queensbury, NY 12804
518-798-9637
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