Ecclesiastical Embroidery by Heather Lewis: Review

Lucy writes: Participants in our Guild of St Clare classes at the Royal School of Needlework will be delighted to hear that our tutor, Heather Lewis, has put some of her wide knowledge of embroidering and making vestments into a book, recently published by The Crowood Press.

 Heather showed us some of the embroidery designs that she created for this book during our class in March 2023 - we've been looking forward to its appearance ever since. I was very pleased to find a copy of this beautiful publication under the Christmas tree, and as I hoped it certainly will be a very helpful resource for us in our work. 

The book proposes ten ecclesiastical embroidery designs, including a variety of crosses suitable for different liturgical seasons. The most ambitious of the designs is the Agnus Dei, but most could be tackled by a novice. 

Heather has a reputation at the Royal School of Needlework as a superb technician, and this is apparent in this book: very careful instructions are given for every stage, including suggestions on creating a suitable embroidery design and making practical decisions about working it. Heather knows her readers, and tailors her advice accordingly: for those needleworkers working on a design together, careful notes made in advance are essential, as well as ensuring adequate supplies of all materials before starting. Templates for her own embroidery designs are included at the back of the book. 

Some of her projects are decidedly contemporary in flavour; traditionalists will love her Floral Christogram, however, beautifully worked on Tudor Rose damask. 

Most useful to Guild of St Clare supporters will be the extremely detailed instructions on making up a stole and a burse at the back of the book, with copious photographs. 

There is a useful list of suppliers at the back of the book, although it's already out of date - FM Church Supplies went into administration two years ago. The weakness of the book is its treatment of the history of vestments, and its references to the liturgy. For an in-depth discussion of these, readers should look elsewhere. 

However, I was interested to learn that one author whom I'm already familiar with, Beryl Dean, was, with Jane Lemon, the founder and figurehead of the contemporary ecclesiastical school of embroidery of the second half of the twentieth century. The Modernist embroidery on contemporary vestments, such as the Cundy Cope and Mitre, worn by Justin Welby on many notable occasions (and familiar, I am sure, to many readers), is firmly in this new tradition.

I highly recommend Ecclesiastical Embroidery to anyone interested in learning to make vestments, and I'll be stocking it in the little Guild of St Clare shop too. Many congratulations and thanks to Heather for this magnificent effort.

The Guild of St Clare at Westminster Cathedral

The monthly Traditional Mass at the Cathedral, in the Lady Chapel (All Souls Day 2024)

Westminster Cathedral, completed in 1903, is one of the outstanding architectural monuments of the Catholic Revival, unrivalled for its choral tradition among Catholic cathedrals the world over, and whose history is inseparably intwined with the struggle for the Traditional Mass. It naturally has a special place in our hearts, and it is with great happiness that we can announce that the Guild has been invited to assist in the care of the vestments and altar furnishings there.

We are therefore hoping to establish a Chapter attached to the Cathedral, which will meet there monthly. There are a great many repairs to undertake, some straightforward and others very complex. The altar frontals in particular, some of them older than the Cathedral itself, need a lot of attention.

If you would like to attend these mending sessions, please email Lucy at guildofstclare@lms.org.uk.

The Cathedral's enormous Sacristy, at the conclusion of the Latin Mass Society's annual Mass in 2021

Learn the embroidery skills of medieval vestment makers

The Guild of St Clare is collaborating with the Royal School of Needlework to provide a special two day course, embroidering a sampler using the medieval techniques of Opus Anglicanum. 

Detail from the Jesse Cope, circa 1310-25

As many Guild of St Clare supporters will know, the High Middle Ages was a golden age for English embroidery, and English embroidery studios executed commissions for wealthy patrons all over Europe, in particular vestments for high-ranking prelates. During the Reformation a great number of these were destroyed here in England, but thanks to the enduring faith of neighbouring countries, many examples have survived, some of which formed a remarkable exhibition at the Victoria & Albert museum in 2016-2017.  This two day course is a unique opportunity to learn the ancient and highly-prized skills of medieval English embroiderers, in the beautiful setting of the RSN's teaching apartments at Hampton Court Palace. 

The tuition will be provided by RSN tutor Jessica Ingram.

The Violet sampler we will be working, designed by our tutor Jessica Ingram

The dates are the 29th-30th March 2025, and the course will run between 10am and 4pm on both days. Tea and coffee are provided; you will need to bring a packed lunch, or you can visit one of Hampton Court Palace's cafes. 

The Guild of St Clare burse making course at the RSN, March 2020

The cost, including the materials, is £329. As this course runs over a weekend, Fr Richard Biggerstaff, parish priest of St Barnabas Church, Molesey, has very kindly agreed to offer a special traditional Mass at 8am on Sunday morning for participants in the course.

For more information please email Lucy on guildofstclare@lms.org.uk, or book through the registration link on the LMS website.

Hampton Court Palace

Autumn Sewing Retreat: report

 Lucy writes: This year's Autumn Sewing Retreat, held at St Joseph's Centre, Ashurst between 8th-10th November, was a huge success, one of the best we've had. The numbers were the highest ever, and I was quite apprehensive about how we would manage, especially as the rooms we use for sewing aren't all that large. However, by deploying the collapsible tables used by the Walsingham Pilgrimage Cooking Team, we managed to provide enough space for everyone. 

There were 25 participants (including our chaplain, Fr Stephen Morrison OPraem and our server). Four of the retreatants were children, and it was very edifying to see them joining in wholeheartedly with the vestment mending. Two babies also accompanied their mothers. 

We dealt with a wide variety of repairs including replacing braid on a beautiful goldwork chasuble belonging to Fr Gabriel Diaz, re-attaching the hood to a black Cope belonging to the LMS, fixing the clasps on the morse of a second black Cope, putting a new orphrey into a green chasuble of Fr Vipers' of St Mary Moorfields, re-lining some pieces from a really fabulous gold lamé High Mass set, and replacing the front panel on a white chasuble belonging to the Guild of St Clare. We also had a number of new things to make, such as kneeler covers for Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, a curtain and valance for the shrine of St Edmund at Withermarsh Green, and various small pieces for Low Mass sets.

Fr Stephen gave us three spiritual conferences concerning the Sequences, of which for the traditional Latin rite there are five left, the Dies Irae from the Requiem, and Lauda Sion from Corpus Christi, Veni Sancte Spiritus from Pentecost and the Victimae paschali laudes for Easter, as well as the Stabat Mater. In the Premonstratensian Rite, however, the Christmas one, Laetabundus, has also been retained, and Fr Stephen illustrated his reflections on it with a beautiful rendering of some of the chant. This was an unusual but very helpful way of exploring a part of the liturgy that we rarely see, and I was very struck by the remarkably devotional yet simultaneously catechetical nature of these beautiful prayers.

The liturgical highlight of the weekend was Compline in front of the Blessed Sacrament exposed, followed by Benediction. We were fortunate to have the use of a lovely red and gold Cope, property of the LMS, for the occasion; we repaired this Cope at our first ever Sewing Retreat in 2017 and it was wonderful to see it in use in this setting.

Our next Retreat is on 21-23 February at the same venue (St Joseph's Centre, Ashurst) and online registration is now open. Early booking is recommended to be sure of your place.

Recovering Opus Anglicanum

 

Ancilla writes: When I first started getting into vestment embroidery Opus Anglicanum, translated to ‘English Work’, was very much on my radar. The V&A Exhibition ‘Opus Anglicanum: Masterpieces of English Medieval Embroidery’ was about the same time so there was much hype around this ancient needle work.

The Opus Anglicanum Exhibition at the V& A Museum, London

 A decade passed from this first interest when Guild Mistress, Lucy Shaw, kindly enrolled us onto the 2 Day RSN course ‘Introduction to Opus Anglicanum’ conducted by Jessica Ingram. I was very interested and excited.

Our sampler kit

This medieval embroidery has a unique style to it, think illuminated manuscripts like the St Albans Psalters, and Tutor Jessica had designed a sample for us with a Violet flower to this style.

Jessica's completed sampler

We began with the flower itself using silk threads to block shade the colours in using a split stitch. Then the really cool bit: underside couching. This way of using gold threads maximises all its glittering potential with minimal waste. I ended up wasting alot more than your medieval embroiderer would have but it really is a stunning way to use gold threads. There is a wonderful rhythm you can get into when sewing which I am sure would be very good for inserting prayers.  

Lucy's sampler

 

The sample also included the technique of Or Nue using silver threads and stem stitch in silk. I found the classes to be a really good taster and it left me wanting more.

RSN tutor Jessica Ingram

My hope is that we can reclaim this technique and style back for God, His Church and Britain. May Our Lady of Walsingham and St Clare help us in this endeavour!

The Virgin Mary embroidering, detail from a manuscript illumination from the Klosterneuburger Evangelienwerk

Happy Feast of St Clare!

In honour of our great heavenly Patron, all our Sewing Kits are available today at a 20% discount from the Latin Mass Society shop.

The Memorare Tote Bag, the latest addition to our range of kits

Buona festa! - e buoni acquisti!

Winners of the Annual Sponsorship Scheme

I'm delighted to announce that we have made our annual Sponsorship Award to the Royal School of Needlework Certificate Course. This scheme provides 50% of the fees to the successful candidates, enabling them to pursue at their own pace this prestigious and rigorous qualification. 

This year we were able to make several awards, and of a strong field of candidates we chose three, whose natural gifts and commitment to the Guild of St Clare's charitable objects very much impressed the panel.

Julija Bigataite is a regular supporter of both the Sewing Retreat and the vestment mending workshops at St Mary Moorfields. She has mended several chasubles belonging to the Latin Mass Society to a very high standard.

Maya Breen is a home educator and member of the Guild of St Clare Birmingham & Black Country Chapter.

Gerrie Serpell is the leader of the East Kent Chapter, and has made and mended several vestments alongside her more pressing duties as a home educating mother of many sons.

The Guild of St Clare is already greatly enriched by the contribution each of these candidates makes, and we are very happy to be able to give them the opportunity to improve their skills and increase their knowledge of traditional hand embroidery. Many congratulations and thanks to all three!

We will be inviting applications for next year's Sponsorship Award in late spring next year.