Resources for Ecclesiastical Symbols

Coming up with Designs for Ecclesiastical Embroidery is sometimes a challenge.  Many of us have the ability to sew, applique, embroider, or do other types of hand work to execute an Ecclesiastical Design, but we do not want to create the original design.  Short of having a resident artist as a person friend or family member, what does one do to come up with Ecclesiastical Embroidery Designs or church embroidery patterns?

There are a few websites out there that might be of some help.  One site to check out is Christian Symbols.

The site has a book for sale that explains the history and significance behind many familiar, and some not so familiar Christian Symbols.  Also on the site are some PDF download files with Cross and Monogram Symbols.

The symbol designs are very simple outlines of shapes and designs.  If you do download the Cross and Monogram Symbol PDF files, please be sure to honor the author’s copyright statement, as the designs are being offered for free.

Over on Project Canterbury, there is a nice little book available on-line entitled Embroidery for Church Guilds.

The online book, Embroidery for Church Guilds by Sara Woodward, 1896, has some very simple designs with brief instructions as to color and making up. There is nothing fancy in the little booklet. It is very simple, and, as always, it is fun to step back in time to read these precious treasures from another generation.

Taking a turn in the opposite direction, for those interested in more complex designs, there is a wonderful collection of Catholic Black and White Line Art being archived at Corpus Christi Watershed.

Doing a search for Catholic Line Art in Images will also produce a wealth of beautiful Catholic Religious Line Art.

The background on the line art, along with information on the origin of the Catholic Line Art Designs can be found  on the Corpus Christi Watershed Project. The designs were found in the Archives of Benedictine Abbey. It took a great deal of effort for the designs to be archived and preserved for use by artisans and church members interested in art history.

The designs cover a wide range of topics and are wonderfully complex with rich symbolism. The artists knew their history when it came to using symbols.  Sometimes complex is good. Too often today, we are only interested in simple things, and do not take the time to really look at something and study it, or to think about the meaning of things like symbols.  For example, one might wonder, what was the artist trying to convey with the symbols selected for use in a design? Understanding the symbolism and how that meaning is conveyed through the use of line and design is a wonderful teaching tool as well being a design of great beauty.

The Catholic Line Art Designs are reminiscent of the complexity found is some of the early Opus Anglicanum Embroidery Designs which featured many architectural motifs as well a figures and complex, detailed backgrounds.

Of course, to translate any of the Catholic Line Art Designs for use as needlework would take a great deal of time and effort.

Executing a design like this would be a work of a lifetime!  What a challenge that would be. Although the designs are complex, breaking a design down and selecting an element as design inspiration for an Ecclesiastical Embroidery project or design would be exciting, too.  It just takes a little time and creativity.  So, do any of these resources inspire you to take on an Ecclesiastical Sewing or Embroidery Project?

Solo Dei Gloria

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