The Rose Vestments and IHS Church Embroidery Project is an ongoing Ecclesiastical Sewing work in progress. The seasons of Advent and Lent are heavy Penitential Seasons. But during these seasons of the church year, there is a slight break in the Penitential heaviness. The break comes on the Third week in Advent when we celebrate Gaudete Sunday – which means Rejoice. For the Lenten Season, the break comes on Laetare Sunday – the Fourth Sunday in Lent. To convey that break in the heaviness of the Liturgical Seasons, the color for the day may be changed to Rose.
The Rose Set of Vestments to be used at my church on these two special Sundays during the Church Year will include the following pieces:
- Altar Frontal and Superfrontal
- Pulpit Fall
- Stole (with perhaps an additional stole for guest preachers, or as a spare) and Maniple
- Chasuble
- Chalice Veil and Burse (the burse is optional, as our church does not use it at the moment – but it will most likely be made to have a complete low mass set).
The Fabrics being used for the set are Florence Brocade in Rose
and Verona Lurex Tapestry in the Metallic Gold. The Verona Tapestry comes from the UK. It is a lovely fabric! The weight is a little heavier than the brocade. It features two main design motifs. The first is a Jardiniere, or large ceramic pot, used to hold flowers. And this one is a beauty! Jardineire motifs are seen frequently on the tapestry fabrics used in Ecclesiastical Sewing and Vestment making.
The description of the Verona Tapestry states:
In spite of its name, this is a multi-coloured Indo-Portuguese design of the 18th Century.
The birds have a symbolic significance, they are the mediators between Heaven and Earth
and in early Christian art they signified saved souls.
In the next few weeks, I will begin working with the Verona and the Florence Brocade, preparing the cuts needed for the Altar Frontal and Super Frontal. Once those are cut, the Pulpit fall, chalice veil and stole will follow. Although it would be nice to complete the entire set of pieces listed above for Gaudete Sunday which is the Third Sunday in Advent, time will be tight. The remaining vestment pieces may have to wait for Laetare Sunday during the Lenten Season. Sewing this Altar frontal and Superfrontal will involve a great deal of handwork. There is a major piece of Ecclesiastical Embroidery in the works for the Altar Frontal. For now, the Altar Frontal will be the only piece with Ecclesiastical Embroidery. At some point, the embroidery for other pieces can be completed and added to the sets. The nice thing is that with the use of the Verona Tapestry, there is not the need for much in the way of Ecclesiastical Embroidery. The tapestry has wonderful design motifs and color. With the addition of trimmings such as braids and fringes which are all selected, it will be best to keep things on the simpler side. But more on that as the project moves along.
One final little word of caution for those who might be interested in creating a Rose set of Vestments for your own Parrish. Please be careful in selecting the tone and shade of Rose for use in the church. The color should never look as if it were a Rose colored fabric from the bridal department at the local fabric store being used in the church. If you visit Church Linens Elizabeth has a selection of several Rose fabrics for use during the Season of Advent and Lent. (On a side note: half way down the page are photos of the Good Friday Altar Frontal and Good Friday Pulpit Fall which I made from her fabrics).
For those who would like to follow along with all of the articles related to this project from the concept through completion, the list of articles will be updated here.
Laetare Sunday or Rose Vestments
Testing Card Padding for IHS Design
Ecclesiastical Fabric Pattern Repeats
False Starts and New Beginnings
Ecclesiastical Embroidery a Little Progress
Ecclesaistical Design First Stitches
Ecclesiastical Embroidery Pattern Solution
Underway with Glitters of Gold
New Projects in the Works Soon
Solo Dei Gloria
Be sure to visit our online store front Ecclesiastical Sewing where you may shop for Liturgical Fabrics, altar linen fabrics, church vestment making patterns, liturgical machine embroidery designs, church vestment trims and notions and so much more. You may also find us on Ecclesiastical Sewing on Facebook , Twitter, and Pinterest. Sing up for our mailing list at the bottom of the page on our online store front and receive a free copy of our Small Linens Booklet as our way of saying thank you for following along.
Filed under: Ecclesiastical Sewing, Gaudete Sunday, Laetare Sunday Tagged: Ecclesiastical Sewing, Gaudete Sunday, Laetare Sunday
