Design Elements
Restoring the Art of Liturgical Needlecrafts
Apostolate of the Canons regular of St. John Cantius
Vestments Guide
This section is under construction. Stay tuned...
Chasuble Styles
Conical
That’s a lot of fabric! And a bit of a challenge to manage during the Mass. The edges of the cone extend well past the priest’s hands, so the sides must be drawn up and kept in place by keeping the arms bent at all times. A couple of crosses were sometimes embroidered at the optimal locations for hands to exit the fabric. The extra fullness and length form an attractive volume of draping folds. For a longer explanation see this article.
Conical
5th Century
Semi Conical
12th Century
Gothic
Here are some common Gothic Chasubles styles. The Semi Gothic probably looks the most familiar. Notice how large the older Gothics are. The Philip Neri is readily available now and a popular choice for larger priests.
German Gothic
15th Century
Flemish Gothic
15th Century
Philip Neri Gothic
16th Century
Semi Gothic
19th Century
Fiddleback or Roman Chasuble Styles
I wonder why they don’t call these Fiddlefronts. I was also surprised at how many different versions there were. We like the French cross because it opens up a larger embroidery area.
American Fiddleback
16th Century of Roman origins but popularized in America
Italian Fiddleback
16th-17th Centuries
Polish Fiddleback
17th-18th Centuries
Spanish Fiddleback
16th-17th Centuries
French Fiddleback
Solidified in the 19th Century
Chasuble Neck Openings
– There are two questions here:
When do you cut the neck opening?
Do you cut the front separate from the back?
I don’t cut the neck opening until I’m ready to work the neck opening because the neck opening is bias cut and it’s gonna stretch. Why cut it until you’re ready to work on it? The first thing I do is stitch the shoulder seams – all the way across – and press open. The next thing I do is stabilize the outer edge curve – because it’s bias cut. Embroidery and/or orphreys come next.
If you’ve already stitched the shoulder seam all the way across, you mark and cut the neck opening as one piece – a single cut.
We have to have a pattern for this and the pattern is really important! For flat neck chasubles, the neck opening circumference should be 25 – 27 inches. Everyone who makes chasubles has a neck opening shape that is oval and 25 – 27 inches in circumference. This pattern is usually an oval. My pattern is made out of paste board. The pattern should be marked with two lines – the center front/back line and the line of the shoulder seam (which tells you how much of the neck opening shape lies in front of the shoulder seam and how much lies in back).
Now then, here’s what’s REALLY important about your neck opening pattern: The biggest mistake we make with neck openings is cut them too large. We call this ‘the peasant blouse effect’; the neck opening is so large that it might fall off the shoulder at any minute. This mistake happens because the neck shape pattern has been incorrectly drawn.
Do not include the seam allowance depth in your neck opening pattern. If you include the seam allowance on your pattern, sure as God made little green apples, you will cut along that line! The result will be instant ‘peasant blouse effect’. Do you see the problem? On neck openings the cutting line and stitching lines are reversed. The outside edge of your neck opening pattern should be the cutting line. You will stitch 5/8 inch inside of it. It’s as though the seam allowances are ‘built in’. (I have a lot of trouble visualizing this because I’m slightly spatially dyslectic – it makes my mind turn to mush.)
Laying Down Orphreys
– There are two kinds of orphreys: Ready- made and ‘Do It Yourself’.
The ready-mades come with nicely finished edges; all you have to do is stitch each side (both in the same direction) and, voila!
DIY orphreys are cut from a handsome fabric, stitched in place (very straight) and then the raw edges are covered with decorative trim (called ‘galloon’). Both edges of the galloon are stitched (both in the same direction. Do the math: That’s a total of 6 stitched seams.
Six seams, all stitched within a narrow space, is going to cause a phenomenon called ‘take-up’. Every row of stitching ‘takes up’ a tiny bit of length – not much; one seam is not enough to make any difference. The cumulative effect of six seams stitched close together, however, causes a noticeable amount of take-up. Enough to be a problem! Take-up will leave your top and bottom chasuble seam allowances scant. On a frontal, the bottom hem will be scalloped at the orphreys. I see this on the frontals in my Cathedral.
The problem of take-up is avoided by pre-making the orphreys – applying the entire orphrey all at once, using only two rows of stitching. Cut the orphrey fabric and stitch the galloons on the edges (very straight!). Stitch the entire orphrey to the vestment – using only two rows of stitching. (Thank you, Sue Newman!)
A helpful notion in this process is Dritz Temporary Spray Adhesive (a very light spray, please! ‘Tacky; is good. We’re not trying to fuse).