As any good Church Lady knows, one of the essentials in any sacristy is copious amounts of manly lace, edging the albs, surplices, altar linens, pretty much anything white. The selection at the local Jo-Ann's, however, tends to fall short of, well, manly. If you're a bit of an overachiever, however, the solution is simple: make your own. The Holy Needle offers crochet patterns for very manly lace, as well as embroidery patterns for vestments* and something called Russian Punch embroidery (perhaps for Orthodox Church Ladies?). If you're trying to stock the sacristy, or work on that perfect ordination present, The Holy Needle looks to be a great place to start.
*A personal plea: don't use the cross-stitch patterns on vestments. There's just no way to make cross-stitch look good on men's garments. Really.
What beautiful patterns! I've been thinking about making altar linens for quite a while, but up till now I haven't really been in a parish that would welcome fancy lace things. I'm moving in December, though, somewhere where altar lace would be very welcome, and I'm so excited about making some! This is the true place of women in the service of the Mass: to make the altar a beautiful and sacred space. This is the proper use of our feminine gifts, not to usurp the place of the priest, but to give something that most priests don't have the time or abilities to give.
ReplyDeleteSaint Josemaria Escriva says that the feminine talent is making sacred spaces, i.e. a home to nurture our children and help our family grow in holiness. Thank you for having this blog to encourage women to use this talent in the service of the Church as well.
I really never thought I'd say the words "manly" and "lace" together without a bit of a giggle.
ReplyDeleteThis seminarian is definitely pro-lace. Real men will wear lace, but on the outside...
ReplyDeleteORAREETLABORE
I just sewed a black funeral pall for a traditional Requiem, and it was the most edifying thing! I kept asking my husband if the gold trim was manly enough, etc. I must say, when I got the question from other women at the fabric store -- what are you making with that... Christmas trim -- I thought of evangelizing, but thought the idea of describing a cataphalque to the typical sewing lady was a bit overwhelming. Cheers to you!
ReplyDelete