Monastic Chasuble Pattern for Making Church Vestments

Churches come in all types and sizes. There are the grand Cathedral and Basilicas.

St. Helena Cathedral, Helena, MT

And the humble mission church with everything in between.

St. Ignatius Mission Missoula, MT

With such a wide array of churches where people come together to worship and pray, there comes the need for a variety of church vestments. To help meet that need, Ecclesiastical Sewing is pleased to present the Monastic Chasuble Pattern. The Monastic Chasuble is a wonderful, full chasuble that is both graceful and elegant. It is suited for use in a variety of church settings. In many of the larger traditional cathedrals, altar hangings are no longer used. The chancel is often open with a large altar made from stone as in the above photo.  These vast open spaces are lovely and well suited for using a Monastic Style Chasuble.

The Monastic Chasuble Pattern differs from the Gothic Chasuble Pattern in regards to fullness and width. The Monastic Chasuble is a wide church vestment designed with three sizes of Small, Medium and Large. The Medium size is approximately 72 inches wide and 52 inches long. The Monastic Chasuble pattern also has the center column orphrey bands.* The Chasuble can be made using Silk Dupioni as well as Liturgical Brocade Fabrics. Silk damask fabrics such as St. Nicolas, Truro, Bramfield or Chelsmford would also be suitable for use in making this vestment. St. Nicolas, as a larger scale fabric, would look stunning made with this pattern. The softness of the silk would allow it to fall in elegant folds as the pastor or priest raises his arms in blessing.

The pattern is designed with the Center Front and  Center Back placed on a fold. Where the fabric is not wide enough to accommodate being placed on a fold, a seam allowance may be added. The pattern has neckline facing pieces and can be lined or unlined.

The true beauty of this vestment comes with the imagination of the seamstress or artist making the vestment. With the large surface area of this chasuble, the design possibilities are limitless. The chasuble can have an array of orphrey placements, embroidery designs, color blocking, and the list goes one. One can do curved yoke necklines or v-yoke necklines, and sleeve trims. Let your imagination and the guidance of your pastor or priest assist you with design ideas.

This patterns and the vestments created with it at Ecclesiastical Sewing workrooms and studios are some of my personal favorites, as with the Rose chasuble in the above photo. I love the bold contrasts that can be created with the silk dupioni, including this Violet and black combination.

When selecting your fabric for making this chasuble, be sure to allow extra yardage to accommodate matching patterns and dealing with pattern repeats. The Monastic Chasuble pattern comes with basic instructions suitable for an experienced seamstress.  A more detailed set of instructions will be completed at a future date.

Soli Deo Gloria

*The sleeve bands are not currently available as part of this pattern design. The image shown is a custom vestment from the Ecclesiastical Sewing Website. 

Please visit our website at www.ecclesiasticalsewing.com to see our complete line of church vestment patterns, liturgical fabrics, embroidery emblems, embroidery designs, altar linens and church vestments. You may also contact us through the online webpage to inquire about custom orders or vestments.

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