Storage of Vestments

Storage of Vestments...

I keep all the vestments and pieces in a freezer bag, with the pins through the label. 

White Vestment: Christmas

White Vestment: Christmas...

I wanted to make a special vestment for Christmas. I left the cape back so that I had more room to decorate. 

Resourcefulness...

The cape is a small doily. The vestment is a portion of a table runner I found at a thrift store, which already has lace on the bottom. The sequences are glued on, and the "Joy" is a sticker. The hand holes and neck are lined with gold embroidery thread. This was a task, but it looks nice.

 This is a different design. The vestment is different shape, since the cape is not folded over. I used only half an oval, then I had to insert another section to make sure it fit correctly.

The cape is a small doily which I cut into three pieces to have the wavy ends act as lace down the sides and around the bottom of the back of the cape. The cape is pegged into place with a few stitches. I ironed some of the waves back so that the statue's hands are visible.

Purple Cape: Advent and Lent

Uses Interchangeable Vestment Base (See previous post)

Cut the fabric...

This dark purple fabric is cut to be the same size as the doily that will be the cape. A skinny piece will go in front, under the lace.

I pin the front of the vestment and the cape together to make it stay.

Green Cape: For Ordinary Time

Uses Interchangeable Vestment Base (See previous post)

Cut the fabric...

This dark green fabric is cut to be the same size as the doily that will be the cape. The skinny piece will go in front, under the lace.

I pin the front of the vestment and the cape together to make it stay.

Interchangeable Vestment (Base for White/Green/Purple)

Interchangeable Vestment (Base for White/Green/Purple) 

This is my attempt to make a vestment from scratch. I intentionally left it unfinished. The front collar is elastic, and only sewn on the sides. The front lace is only sewn on the sides at the top, so that a colored strip of fabric can be put under it. This lace was so nice, I didn't need any lace around the hand-holes!

Resourcefulness...

I found a doily to use for a cape. It drapes over the unfinished edges of the vestment and back collar. Colored fabric can be put underneath it. or left white. I put it in place with a pin on each side of the bottom/front of the cape, and then drape it over the statue's head. There is often extra cape in the back, so I sometimes tuck some underneath the statue.

This vestment style is the same as the Original Red, and the Blue, see those posts for more details. This is also nice because I did not have to mess with a lot of lace and figuring which way to sew it.

Blue Vestment: For Marian Feast Days

Making the Blue Vestment for Marian Feast Days...

I started to have everyone look for materials: Liturgically colored fabrics, and lace. 

Resourcefulness... 

This vestment is unique because I found a table runner at the thrift store, which already had the embroidery and lace on it. The vestment came out bigger then the original because I was keeping the curve of the table runner. (note the fold lines, that is to make the cape fold over).

So, all I had to do was cut a matching blue cape and back collar (on above photo), and line the cape, back collar with lace.

On the Inside...

See how it is two halves of an oval. That flap in the middle is for the back collar. Very Simple!

All Finished...

The last thing I do is try the vestment on and position the hand holes. Notice that the left-hand hole is much large and slightly lower than the right-hand hole. This is because of the position of the statue's hands. Once you are sure that the hands will fit properly, line the holes with lace. Then fold and iron the cape into position.

Red: Original Vestment

The Red Vestment came with the Statue...

Six Inches...

The Statue is six inches tall and looks like this without the vestment on. 

The Red Vestment...

 The best way to figure out how to make a vestment seems to be to properly investigate the original. I took apart some stitches and studied it. The span of this vestment is about 10 inches, including the lace.

Some Vocabulary...

Cape - This is the red sides, and around the back. This can be a separate piece, or connected to the vestment.
Vestment - This is the white part, which is under the cape and visible in the front.
Sleeves - This are more like hand-holes on a small statue, covered in lace. The left-hand holds the globe, so the hole has to be considerably larger and slightly lower than the right hand.
Collar - There is a front lacy colar under his chin, and the back collar is sometimes more like a head-rest (the top red fabric with lace)
Alb - is a white undergarment that may have lace on the bottom. For small statues, it is implied by the lace on the bottom of the vestment.

This is what it looks like on the inside...

This vestment has three pieces of fabric: The white vestment, the red cape, with the red collar inner piece. The vestment and cape are half-ovals (which is not pictured here because of some sewing). The head-hole has a slight indentation into the white for the statue's chin. The red goes us into an house shape, that is sewn to the inner red collar piece, and sew the lace so that it sticks out the seam. Lace is sewn down the seam between the red and white to give edging to the cape, making it appear separate. Then sew lace around the bottom edge of the whole oval. The front collar has some folded-down lace. Then try the vestment on the statue to find the position for the hand holes, and round them with lace. Decorations can be added.

Helpful Websites

Here are a variety of websites to get some ideas and do some research pre-vestment-making...

Infant Jesus of Prague
http://www.pragjesu.info/en/robes.htm
(this site has a virtual tour of the Church of Our Lady of Victory in Prague, along with pictures of the original very fancy vestsments)

Catholic Home & Garden

http://www.catholichomeandgarden.com/How_to_Make_Infant_of_Prague_Vestments.htm

(this site is very useful and has lots of patterns)

Y-Catholic

http://y-catholic.blogspot.com/

(a short and simple written explanation about the Infant's vestments and how to make them)

Morgaine Le Fay Antique Textiles and More

http://morgaine-le-fays-textiles.blogspot.com/2010/09/infant-of-prague-robe-made-from-18th.html

(this is more for inspiration, please do not use precious materials unless you know what you are doing and have permission)

Everywhere we go, we see Him

Everywhere we go, we see Him...

Images of the Infant of Prague are often found in Catholic churches, convents, and homes. It seems that Jesus desires to be honored through contemplation of His infancy. He is King, and yet He is so little, so humble. Below the statue it says, "The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you!"

Bringing home the Holy Infant...

After a long trip of clearly being watched and protected by the Holy Infant, it became apparent that He wanted to come home with us. We purchased the statue, which conveniently came with a vestment. He traveled well in the car cup-holder.

Starting to do some Reading...

This small booklet, "The Infant Jesus of Prague" does a pretty good job explaining the history of the original Infant Jesus statue in Prague, and goes through popular devotions, patronages, and prayers. It really comes down a few things:

-The devotion to the Infant of Prague is for everyone

-You can pray to the Infant Jesus on any occasion

-Just as He says, "The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you!"