Another Kind of Stole Project

Recently, I tackled a unique project, and I thought some of you might like to see it. A retired pastor we know has a grandson who is graduating from seminary soon, and the family wanted to give him grandpa's communion kit that he used over the years. But the kit was very worn. So they gave me some of grandpa's stoles from his time in ministry, and I cut one up to recover the inside of the lid and hinge.

Below is a mid-process view, as I forgot to take a photo before I got started. But you can see the staining on the inside of the cover. One of the family will update the inside base with fabric paint, but I think my part turned out pretty good. And just for the record, I used a Fabric Fusion glue pen to affix the new purple fabric in place. For the top lining, I included the interfacing that was in the stole, so it had a little substance to it, but wasn't stiff.

 

I was actually given several stoles, and the other part of this project was to make small banners for the grandpa's six granddaughters out of three of the stoles. 

The length of each set depended on the design and the amount of fabric available. I definitely was figuring it out as I went. We thought we wanted the same amount of space above and below the design, but after making the purple set (same stole as the communion kit lining), I thought it might look better to not count the casing in that calculation. So for the olive green set, I made them a bit longer. 

Then the design was so long on the kelly green set that I just let that dictate the length. On all the stoles, the casings were hemmed and sewn by machine in coordinating thread. For the longest set, since it wasn't finished with fringe, I hand-stitched that bottom hem, which I think looked pretty nice. At any rate, this was an interesting project. I'm glad I could do it for this family, and glad it's done.

The Green Stole

Pretty sure I hinted somewhere along the line that in making the blue liturgical stole for our son, Kendall, and the white one, that those wouldn't be the end of my stole-making. Though he's already acquired several in a variety of colors, he's hinted that eventually he'd like mom-made stoles in a whole range of colors. After taking a quick look at a liturgical calendar, I realized the next season, Time after Pentecost, was rapidly approaching. This season of the church year is the longest, running this year from May 23 through November 27, and is affectionately called the long green season.

At any rate, green was obviously the next color I needed to tackle, and for the exterior and lining fabrics I chose Essex Yarn Dyed in Palm and Kona Peridot. Somewhere, I'd seen a simple cross block that would work well in my improvisational style, so I did my best to create something similar, one for each side of the stole.

The improv crosses were inserted near the lower edge of the stole fronts, and otherwise, that Essex was the main feature.

Where with the two previous stoles - here and here - I'd interfaced with Pellon 987F Fusible Fleece, this time I tried something much lighter, fusible Pellon SF101. It's about my favorite interfacing, and I'm anxious to see what Kendall thinks about the weight and drape. For me, I was mostly trying to prevent some of the wrinkling that I felt happened on the white stole. At any rate, from first glance, it looks to have been a good choice.

For this stole, I ordered a Soft Gold Metallic Cross Applique from Ecclesiastical Sewing for the back neck. The cross is machine-embroidered, and 2" high and wide. It had an iron-on backing, so I did that to secure placement; and then used Aurifil Monofilament to machine-stitch around the edges

Thank goodness for the beautiful Aurifil 50wt 1231 [Spring Green] that matched the Kona Peridot almost perfectly, as sewing the weights in the bottom of the lining wasn't a perfect science. Due to the lighter interfacing, I sewed three weights (aka pennies) in on each side, so again, I'm anxious to hear from Kendall what he thinks about that for future reference.

So the stole just arrived to Kendall, and he'll be able to try it out in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping, of course, that it's a welcome addition to his collection of stoles.

The White Stole

During the final days of March and early days of April, I was working on a secret project - another liturgical stole. The occasion for the gift was to be our son's ordination, which occurred on Saturday! Thankfully, we were able to attend, as it took place at his new congregation in another state. You can be sure we were celebrating!

As for the stole, this white one will be used during the several weeks following Easter, as well as other short seasons throughout the church year. Again, I used a pattern by Paula Behrens. The base is Essex white, interfaced with Pellon 987F Fusible Fleece; and the lining is Kona white. Even though the 987F fleece worked well for the first stole I made a few months ago, with the white Essex, is seemed to look wrinkled. It took some serious pressing and spray starch to make it presentable.

The stole design was inspired by the Iona Stole from Jeff Wunrow Designs. The main feature is the 1.5" trim, and because I really needed to see some fabric for that in person before purchase, I went to Joann and found some options perfect for what I needed:

• Silver on White Quilt Glitter Cotton Fabric by Keepsake Calico
• Gold Shimmer Quilt Foil Cotton Fabric by Keepsake Calico
• Fabric Traditions Textured White Cotton Fabric by Keepsake Calico
• Gold Shimmer Quilt Foil Cotton Fabric by Keepsake Calico
• Screen Blender on White Quilt Cotton Fabric by Quilter's Showcase

Plus I used some Essex Yarn Dyed Metallic Crystal and Diamond Textiles Top Stitch in White that I had in my stash.

I learned a thing or two with this stole - the primary thing being the trim fabric that went around the neck of the stole really had to be cut on the bias. It took making a custom pattern for that bit, a little fiddly, but it worked great once I realized that. Hopefully it isn't obvious, but the trim was hand-appliqued onto the main fabric. I used Aurifil 40wt in white for a little extra strength.

At the center back, I added a 2" gold strip to coordinate with the detail on the front, and also to cover that back neck seam. Again, this stole measured 50" from center back to the bottom front. See my previous stole post to check out how I weighted the front slightly. Due to my method, the bottom front edges were also stitched closed by hand.

As a finishing touch, I stitched one of my A Quilter's Table labels on the lining, and hopefully it isn't noticeable when the stole is being worn. If so, we'll just remove it.

As it happened, we were able to attend worship at our son's church yesterday and since the stole fit the season, he was wearing it. That was fun to see, and it looked great on him, if I do say so myself.

The Stole Project

It's an exciting time in our family! Our son has been called by a church as their pastor, and he will be ordained in the coming weeks. Months ago, we started talking about me making a stole for him. Eventually, he'll need several - in all the colors of the liturgical calendar project I made - as they are worn by clergy in our denomination as a sign of ordination . But to start, we decided on a blue one, which would be for the season of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas. And yes, we realize that the way the timing has gone, he won't be using this stole until the end of this year, but we needed to start somewhere!

My main resource for this first stole was a pattern and instructions by Paula Behrens. James @thequiltingrev had also been gracious in sharing with me about the stoles he'd made for himself. The exterior fabric we chose was Essex Speckle Yarn Dyed in Ocean, with a lining of Kona Regatta. I used Pellon 987F Fusible Fleece on the back of the Essex. I also machine-appliqued a Bethlehem star on one side of the front, backing first with Pellon SF101.

One of the other stoles my son had was a gift from his internship site, and we could tell there were small weights in the bottom corners. So I created a small pocket in each corner of the bottom linings, and inserted a penny in each, before stitching the width closed by hand. 

As a final touch, son asked if I'd stitch one of my A Quilter's Table/name labels onto the lining, so I placed that on the lining of the side opposite the star.

The stole finished 5.25" wide in front, tapering on the shoulders and back; and approximately 50" long on each side from the back neck seam.

This was a really enjoyable and satisfying project, and I anticipate it won't be the last stole I make. Now that I've made one, others shouldn't be daunting.