How to Make Chasubles & Vestments with Chasuble Patterns
I remember making my first chasuble over 30 some years ago. There was nothing available for a chasuble pattern at that time. The only thing I could use for a chasuble pattern at that time was an existing chasuble from the vestry. The chasuble has a straight shoulder seam and a neckline opening. Somehow, I was able to take that original vestment and make a white chasuble with a Jerusalem Cross in blue and red. The chasuble turned on well and it was worn for years by the pastor of my church at that time.
There was a gap of a few years before once again I explored sewing church linens and making church vestments. I thought it would be nice to purchase chasuble pattern since I thought I might be making several chasubles. This time, I purchases a chasuble pattern from an online website. Sadly, the pattern was nothing more than a hand tracing in black marker on white paper. The pattern was not a full-sized pattern and it had no proper neckline. There was a “hole” for the neckline opening off to the side of the pattern which was supposed to be moved to the proper place and then cut to size. The purchase of that chasuble pattern was a disappointment.
Yet in the midst of that disappointment was born the desire to create a chasuble pattern that had an accurately placed and sized neckline, proper shoulder seams, orphrey bands, and neckline facings. This would be a pattern that would be easily usable for those familiar with sewing, and once instructions are written, accessible to the beginning vestment maker as well. I did not want others to struggle with trying to make their vestments. To ensure the success of the new pattern, the chasuble pattern project was undertaken with the aid of my professional pattern maker, Kim. She has been making patterns for years, and she is a master at her craft.
We looked at a variety of chasuble body styles and finally settled on a style that came from a vintage Gothic Chasuble in my collection as the first chasuble pattern to be created. Before the chasuble pattern could be released for sale, it had to be tested by our team of seamstresses for quality, accuracy, and ease of use, and most importantly, tested by our clients.
The Gothic Chasuble pattern body is a delight to sew, thanks to the expertise of our pattern maker. The pattern is printed as a full-size pattern on large white document pattern. The chasuble pattern comes as a multi0sized pattern with a small, medium and large size. There are markings on the pattern showing placement for the “Y” orphrey bands at the shoulders. The “Y” orphrey bands are full-sized patterns. The pattern also has neckline facing pieces. You are free to create this pattern as either a lined or unlined vestment.
The pattern is easily adaptable for different fabric widths by simply adding a seam allowance and sewing a seam at the Center Front and Center Back.
Our Ecclesiastical Sewing Church Vestment Patterns are not the tissue paper patterns used by the commercial pattern making companies. The pattern is toner printed on white paper. The pattern comes folded in an envelope and it will have wrinkles. So, if those need to be pressed out, please use something such as white tissue paper or parchment paper to protect your iron and your ironing surface. There are other ways of printing the patterns which are more costly and require more piecing with larger patterns. For now, this is the most economical way of providing patterns for use in vestment making So please use care when pressing the pattern pieces.
This is a finished chasuble from our Christmas Rose Collection – the Madonna and Child Chasuble – that was created using the Gothic chasuble pattern with the Y orphrey bands.
Our Ecclesiastical Sewing chasuble patterns come with a basic set of instructions that should be easy to understand for an experienced seamstress.
Our clients love the hang and drape of this chasuble, as well as the flexible size options. We hope you will like it too. We are working on creating a more comprehensive set of instructions for the beginning vestment maker and hope to have those available at a future date. Until then, we are available to answer questions by email. Please visit our website to see our complete line of chasuble patterns.
Soli Deo Gloria
Please visit our website at www.ecclesiasticalsewing.com to browse our complete line of liturgical fabrics, church vestment patterns and church vestments. You may also contact us through the online webpage to inquire about custom orders or vestment needs.