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Beautifying Churches! High quality fabrics, Vestment Patterns, DIY supplies and Custom Vestments! It must be assembled with love, heart, and soul. Shop today!

Ecclesiastical Sewing—Beautifying Churches around the Globe

A unique inspirational energy is set free when creating something for your faith community. Whether you are making vestments for the clergy or materials for the altar, at Ecclesiastical Sewing, we understand the stirrings to craft something extra-special for your church. We know that specific elements are required for liturgical sewing, depending on each church setting. While such textiles and trims are not readily available in stores or online, the unique materials used for liturgical sewing and embroidery designs can be found at Ecclesiastical Sewing. And we ship worldwide! From Alb to Aragon, Brocade to Brocatelle

We specialize in liturgical fabrics, altar linen fabrics, trims, —even books or digital embroidery designs. We can help you fulfill your needs for church vestments, or altar hangings. Whether it is fine white linen for an alb, or braid and gold thread for embroidery designs, they are all available for you to purchase on our website. We provide everything you need:

Fine fabrics and linens by the yard
Prepared altar linens (basted and ready for hand-hemming)
Machine-embroidered linens
Patterns for hand embroidery designs
Books on the fine art of sewing church linens
Stole kits
Vestments: patterns for Chasubles, stoles, cotta, alb, amice, chasuble, surplice, and more. We have the largest collection of church vestment pattern styles available! Allow Ecclesiastical Sewing to help you create the fine workmanship required in vestments and supplies for church worship settings. Once you browse our vast collection, you won’t need to look anywhere else—except up!

11/06/2026

Surplice or Cotta? Can you tell the difference?

You've probably seen these white garments worn over cassocks by clergy, altar servers, and choir members.

A cotta is actually a shorter type of surplice. So while the two names are often used to describe different styles, you may also hear the shorter garment called a surplice.

The Cotta

A cotta is generally shorter, often with shorter or less full sleeves. It's commonly worn by altar servers, as well as clergy and choir members.

The Surplice

The traditional longer surplice usually has a fuller body and wide sleeves. You'll often see it worn by clergy and choir members.

The length and sleeves are useful clues, although styles can vary from church to church.

If someone asks you to sew a surplice for their parish, it's worth asking which style they have in mind.

For a closer look at how these garments were traditionally made, Lilla B. N. Weston's Vestments and How to Make Them, published in 1914, is a useful reference.

Weston includes separate chapters for the cotta and surplice, with pattern drawings, measurements, and sewing instructions for each.

The photos show some of the vestment patterns and construction details from the book, including how garments were measured and cut more than a hundred years ago.

Does your church use the word cotta, or do you usually hear it called a surplice?

We'd love to hear what your parish calls it!

11/05/2026

"And cardinals have three ranks, Cardinal-Deacon, Cardinal-Priest, and Cardinal-Bishop." True, though nearly every cardinal is already a bishop: since 1962 a man made a cardinal who is not yet a bishop is ordained one, unless the pope excuses him. So the ranks aren't about ordination. They're about Rome.

A thousand years ago the pope was chosen by Rome's own clergy: the bishops of the towns around the city, the priests of its great churches, and the deacons who cared for its poor. Cardinals still get those places.

Cardinal deacons usually run offices in the Vatican. Each is given a deaconry, named for the houses where Rome's deacons fed the poor.

Cardinal priests are most of the College, archbishops who lead dioceses around the world. Each is given a church in Rome, his title.

Cardinal bishops are a handful at the very top, led by the dean. Their titles come from the old dioceses just outside Rome.

How a man becomes each: only the pope makes a cardinal, and he picks the rank. A Vatican official usually starts as a cardinal deacon, an archbishop as a cardinal priest. After ten full years a cardinal deacon may ask to become a cardinal priest. Cardinal bishop works differently: the pope raises a cardinal to it himself, by giving him the title of one of those old dioceses (an Eastern patriarch made a cardinal belongs to it from the start).

The rank still counts: when a pope is elected, the senior cardinal deacon announces him from the balcony of St Peter's: "I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope."

So the pope is still chosen by the clergy of Rome. They just come from all over the world now.

11/05/2026

If a cross patch is iron-on, do you still need to sew it?

Some embroidered cross appliqués have an iron-on backing, but that doesn't always mean ironing is all you need.

It's still a good idea to sew around the edges. The backing helps hold the cross in place, but stitching can help keep the edges from lifting later.

So should you iron it on first?

Check the instructions that come with your cross patch. Some are iron-on, some are sew-on, and some can be attached both ways.

If yours is iron-on, make sure your stole fabric can handle the heat. Then follow the instructions that come with the patch.

Use thread that matches the embroidered border and keep your stitches small and close to the edge. That way, they're less likely to show.

Know someone who's just starting to sew church vestments? Share this post with them!

11/04/2026

"Would love to see you do a meanings post of each of these." So we went back to our chart of thirty crosses, read every comment that named a favorite, and counted the likes.

5. The Latin cross, 72 likes. The plain shape most churches use. After the emperor Constantine abolished crucifixion, the cross came out into the open as the sign of the faith.

4. The Celtic cross, 118 likes. The cross with the ring, carved on Ireland's high crosses more than a thousand years ago. Nobody knows for sure where the ring came from. (It was named most often, 72 times; ranked by likes, it comes fourth.)

3. St Peter's cross, 144 likes. Peter asked to be crucified head down, saying he was not worthy to die as his Lord had. It stands for humility.

2. The Orthodox cross, 157 likes. The top bar is the title Pilate set above Christ's head (John 19:19). The slanted bar is the footrest, and tradition says it tilts up toward the thief who repented.

1. The Jerusalem cross, 270 likes. One large cross and four small ones: Christ's five wounds, or Christ and the four Gospels. By the 1200s it was the arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the Franciscans who keep the holy places still carry it as their emblem.

Every one of them points back to one cross, outside Jerusalem, almost 2,000 years ago. Which one is yours?

11/04/2026

Galloon and Orphrey: What's the Difference?

When looking at chasubles, copes, and other church vestments, you may notice decorative bands and trims sewn onto the fabric.

Two terms you'll come across in vestment making are galloon and orphrey.

They are related, but they don't mean exactly the same thing.

GALLOON

Galloon is a narrow decorative trim used along the edges, seams, or decorative sections of church vestments.

It often features woven patterns and may include gold- or silver-colored threads.

Galloon can be used to outline a design, finish an edge, or add decoration to a vestment.

ORPHREY

An orphrey is a decorative band or panel added to a church vestment.

You'll often see orphreys running vertically down the front or back of a chasuble, or decorating the front edges of a cope.

Orphreys may be made from patterned fabric, embroidery, or other decorative materials.

They can be simple or highly detailed.

SO WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Galloon refers to the decorative trim itself.

Orphrey refers to a decorative band or panel that forms part of the vestment's design.

Galloon can be used along the edges of an orphrey, but that doesn't make the two terms interchangeable.

QUICK RECAP

Galloon: A narrow decorative woven trim.

Orphrey: A decorative band or panel on a vestment.

Knowing the difference makes it easier to understand how traditional church vestments are constructed and decorated.

11/03/2026

So they camp in a cross? You asked it under our camp of Israel post, and the Book of Numbers never says so. Here is what it does say.

In the middle stood the tabernacle, the tent where God dwelt among his people, and every tribe camped facing it. The Levites camped closest, so that no wrath would fall on the people, and Moses and Aaron camped at its entrance on the east. The Levites weren't counted with the tribes. Joseph's two sons were, Ephraim and Manasseh, a tribe each, which keeps it twelve.

Judah camped east with Issachar and Zebulun: 186,400 men, the biggest camp, and the first to move. Reuben camped south with Simeon and Gad: 151,450. Ephraim camped west with Manasseh and Benjamin: 108,100, the smallest. Dan camped north with Asher and Naphtali: 157,600, the last to move, guarding the rear. In all, 603,550 (Numbers 2:32).

Draw each camp as long as its count and you get one long arm, two that nearly match and one short one: the cross so many of you noticed.

Balaam saw the camp from above. The king of Moab hired him to curse Israel. He looked down, saw them camped by their tribes, and blessed them instead: "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!" (Numbers 24:5)

Count them for yourself in Numbers 2.

11/03/2026

A Fabric Can Be Both Damask and Jacquard. Here's Why.

Damask describes a type of patterned fabric. Jacquard refers to the weaving system used to make it.

That's why one fabric can have both names.

If you're learning about church fabrics used for chasubles, stoles, and other vestments, here are three terms worth knowing.

DAMASK

Damask gets its pattern from the way the threads are woven together, not from printing.

Some areas reflect more light than others, making the design appear lighter or darker depending on the angle.

Traditional damask is also reversible. The pattern appears on both sides, with the lighter and darker areas usually reversed.

BROCADE

Traditional brocade uses extra threads woven into the fabric to create decorative patterns such as flowers, leaves, and crosses.

These designs can look slightly raised, and some brocades use gold- or silver-colored threads.

Unlike embroidery, which is stitched onto finished fabric, brocade patterns are created during weaving.

JACQUARD

Jacquard isn't a type of fabric or fiber. It's a weaving system that controls which threads are lifted to create detailed designs.

Both damask and brocade can be made using a Jacquard loom.

ONE MORE THING TO KNOW

These names don't tell you what fibers the fabric contains.

Damask, for example, isn't always silk. It can also be made from cotton, polyester, viscose, or a blend.

QUICK RECAP

Damask: Patterns created through different ways of weaving threads.

Brocade: Decorative patterns traditionally created with extra threads.

Jacquard: A weaving system used to create detailed designs.

So when you see "Jacquard damask," both names can be correct. One describes the fabric's pattern, while the other describes how it was woven.

11/02/2026

Why did Saint Peter do that? 91 of you liked that question under our cross chart. Here is the answer.

Tradition says Peter was crucified in Rome under Nero, head down, and that he asked for it. Origen wrote it down in the third century. Saint Jerome, at the end of the fourth, gave the reason: Peter said he was not worthy to be crucified the same way as his Lord.

So his cross is turned over. For Christians it has always meant humility, and with two crossed keys it is still his sign in church heraldry.

The satanic meaning is modern. In the 19th century occult and anti-Christian movements took it up, an 1891 French novel put inverted crosses on the vestments of a Black Mass, and horror films did the rest.

Which cross should we explain next?

11/02/2026

Do churches still wear black vestments on All Souls' Day?

Some parishes use black vestments as a sign of mourning and remembrance. Others use violet, reflecting the solemnity of the day and the Church's prayers for the faithful departed.

And in many churches, these vestments are brought out only for a few solemn occasions throughout the year.

That's what makes these vestments so meaningful. From the rich brocade fabrics to the carefully sewn details, each piece reflects the care and craftsmanship that go into making garments for worship.

Just look at this black vestment set made for Saint Joseph's Church in Crosby, Minnesota. The Philip Neri–style chasuble, matching dalmatic, stoles, burse, and veil show how every piece comes together to create a complete set for this sacred occasion.

It's meaningful to see parishes continuing these traditions as they gather to pray for and remember those who have gone before us.

Does your parish use black or violet vestments for All Souls' Day? We'd love to hear about your parish's tradition.

11/01/2026

All Saints' Day, Sunday, celebrates the dead who have reached heaven. All Souls' Day, Monday, November 2, is for the ones still on their way.

The Church calls that last stretch purgatory: a final cleansing before heaven, entirely different from the punishment of the damned (Catechism 1030 and 1031). And it believes our prayers help them (Catechism 1032).

About a thousand years ago, Saint Odilo, the abbot of Cluny in France, set the day after All Saints aside for every faithful soul since the world began. The custom spread from his monasteries to the whole Church. In Poland, whole cemeteries still glow with candles on these two days.

So on Monday, light one for yours. Whose name will you say?

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Baxter, MN
56425

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4pm
Tuesday	9am - 4pm
Wednesday	9am - 4pm
Thursday	9am - 4pm

Website

http://www.ecclesiasticalsewing.com/, https://linktr.ee/ecclesiasticalsewing

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