How to get into making vestments?

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discerning_4

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I’m really into sewing and, if I say so myself, skilled at it, as well as embroidery. I’m planning on becoming a nun, and I know that many make vestments to generate income. It’s summer break for me now and I’d like to help with my parish and it’s the only thing I can really think of (save for VBS, which isn’t exactly appealing.) Anyone here know how to start making vestments? I’m fully clueless
 
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I think it’s a fantastic idea. I’m in my final year of Diaconate formation and have been looking at vestments from all over. An old Pastor and close friend gave me an alb that was his and handmade in Colombia. It’s an amazing piece of work that was obviously done with skilled and caring hands. There is no comparison when compared to the stuff I can buy from the big Catholic companies that market clerical attire. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor and your continuing discernment to religious life.
God bless!
 
Depending upon where you are in the world, the costs for the material needed to make vestments or other items needed for celebrating Mass, are often higher than buying the item from for example Poland. In my parish we buy everything from Poland and India as we have a lot of parishioners from those countries. The fabric needed for making an alb costs about 2-3 times more where I live than buying the already sewn alb from Poland. One man donates all the hosts needed. (He buys 3000 smaller hosts and three rolls of the larger size for the priest for less than half the price for one roll of the larger size if bought here. Total cost is less than having a simple lunch at a restaurant.)

The really big problem is having people pay for hand made/one of a kind items. Sometimes covering the costs for the materials is possible but not the work hours put in unless you want to work for a dollar/hour? before taxes. I think people have gotten used to being able to buy clothes so cheap and not understanding how much work that goes into making an item. And also not appreciating good quality materials compared to the cheaper polyester fiber.

It also seems like priests favour the single layer lighter weight polyester vestments compared to heavily decorated and lined vestments.

How about starting with making new lavabo and purificators if your parish or one near needs them while you search for good patterns and fabrics for vestments.
 
Do not miss this website. You will learn so much:


You may also want to make altar linens: purificators, corporals, palls. Parishes wear out their purificators far more frequently than their chasubles. When they’re made by someone with the skills, it is far more economical for a parish to have someone make them rather than buy them.

Ask around at the local parishes about methods used to clean linens, too. (Almy has a very good pamphlet: http://www.almy.com/UI/Hotspots/Docs/linencare.pdf, but it skips how to handle the water from the first rinse as a sacramental.) If you’re willing to give the people who regularly do it some weeks off in the summer, they might be extremely appreciative. Some parishes have plenty of people willing to do it, but in my experience most of them have just enough or have too few. Doing it takes some patience, especially if the faithful partake of the Precious Blood, because some kinds of lipstick are so hard to remove. The chances are that if you pick up the skill needed to care for altar linens, you’ll find you’ll be put to good use over the course of your lifetime.
 
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