With the approach of Pentecost (celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus after his Ascension, held on the seventh Sunday after Easter) this coming Sunday, there is a need for a few new Ecclesiastical Sewing projects. The projects consist of not one, but rather, three red stoles.  Two of the red stoles are actually intended for an installation, and the third is for Pentecost. I have been seeing lots of RED on the sewing work table over the past weekend. What a joy those assorted Red items have been?

Let’s take a look at a few of the components for the Pentecost Stoles.  All of the machine embroidered designs were stitched by a friend.  The first design is a pair of crossed keys signifying the Office of the Keys, or Forgiveness, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit.  The keys are worked with gold and bronze metallic threads on a piece of red silk dupioni, which will be used as an applique.  When placed on a red and gold brocatelle fabric, and trimmed with a red/gold metallic galloon trim, the result is nothing sort of stunning!  These red components combine well and make a rich and expensive looking stole. With care, one can manage the costs carefully and stay within a reasonable budget.

Since the machine embroidered keys will be used on the lower edge of the stole, the upper chest area of the stole will feature a descending dove with a nimbus (halo) and flames.  I must offer my sincere thanks to the friend who did the machine embroidery on the dove and flames. We were having issues with the combination of threads for the flames, and the color ended up at first looking too soft. My dear friend continued to work on the combination of the threads used for the flames until they were perfect!

The final design to be used in these Red Pentecost Stoles is a Bible and Sword of the Spirit (Ephisians 6:17).  This is a lovely symbol which again  relates to the Holy Spirit.  The design details of this stole are still in the forming stages.

The goal in making three (or there may yet be a fourth) Pentecost stoles is to show the versatility in using similar machine embroidery designs. By varying a few fabrics and trims, this shows how the stoles can end up looking very different and unique. The other goal I have with these stoles is an exercise in size and scale of stole to different body types.  I will keep you posted on the progress and end results of the Pentecost Stole design challenge.

Solo Dei Gloria

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Filed under: Ecclesiastical Sewing, Pentecost Stoles, Red Stoles Tagged: Descending Dove, Dove, Ecclesiastical Sewing, Pentecost Dove, Pentecost Stoles, Red Stoles, Sword of the Spirit