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One of my first big undertakings in the sacristy was to restore some old alb laces found in a suitcase in the top of a closet. The strips were tiny brown balls and looked nothing like lace. After gently unraveling the dirty bundles, the bobbin lace revealed itself in all its splendor. Old laces may never again be truly white-white, but you can come pretty close with some tender loving care and patience.
Most of the best 19th century bobbin lace came from Brussels, Venice, or England. Some convents began lace schools to teach young women a trade. Bobbin lace is worked on a cushion with fine linen or cotton thread, pins and spindle-like bobbins. Hand-made lace is highly collectible and valuable. Eventually machine-made laces proved cheaper and faster to make, but did not have the gossamer delicacy and airy-ness of handmade.
I first called Katy Kliot at LACIS in Berkely, California (see our links) who suggested using BIZ to clean and brighten the laces. I found that soaking the laces, and changing the water as it became soiled, loosened up most of the dirt and dust. Laces must be handled gently while washing so as not to break the “brides”- or the thin connecting threads which hold together the motifs. Sometimes I slipped a spatula under the laces to turn them. Never wring or twist lace, or lift it up while it is saturated- the weight of the water will snap the threads. This takes patience. When the Biz has been added to warm water, agitate the detergent to a froth with your hands , then lay in the lace for the soakings. I like to use a plastic dish pan for this process. When the rinsing phase is through, lay the lace on a clean white terry towel and gently pat the lace in an up and down motion which will absorb a great deal of the water. Gently press the lace out with your hand on the towel, smoothing the motifs into place. I then place the towel on my picnic table out in the sun where the brightening rays will do wonders for whitening the lace. When completely dry, store in acid -free tissue, as flat as space permits.
Insertion laces are easy to spot, the edges will be perfectly straight on both sides. Alb and surplice hem or sleeve laces usually have one straight edge and one scalloped or irregular patterned edge. Insertion lace was applied to hems of surplices or albs, then the back cloth was cut away to reveal the lace in front. Generally priests, bishops, Masters of Ceremony, and older altar servers wear the insertion style laces, very young servers have hanging lace on their cottas at the hem.
In the photo above I am getting the procession ready. Young Lucas has a stubborn cowlick that won’t lay down! Do you have an Acolyte Matron to assist before services? If there is a large acolyte guild, one or two people dedicated to keeping the vestments tidy and assisting with young members can be a godsend- and a lot of fun. Youngsters often need prompting to wash hands, comb hair, stand up straight, be quiet, and be ready on time. The position of Acolyte Matron is seen often in England for servers and young choirs.
Clergy always appreciates clean, laid-out vestments, ready to put on with no worries. Lace is making a comeback in the new vestment catalogues. Mostly it is detachable and synthetic on albs and easy to launder. In the good old days, nuns loosely stitched lace on so it could be removed for laundering. Now we have snaps and Velcro! All photos above are from Saint John the Evangelist in Newport, December 2000.
Yes- that is Father Douglas Burger from Woonsocket in the photo above, serving at Midnight Mass as Deacon in his dalmatic.
It’s always lovely to receive mail and today I was especially delighted to hear from Pat Ford who has a terrific website called Fiber Figments featuring knitting patterns for the altar and sacristy for hand knitters. http://fiberfigments.com/default.aspx We have featured many crochet patterns (with more to come) but this is something new for those who prefer knitting. I can manage the knitting basics, but am one of those “crochet people”, but I know we have many avid knitters out there. Just look at this!
You will really enjoy seeing the exquisite knitted frontlet which can be seen at this pdf file link from a Georgia church newsletter. http://georgia.anglican.org/images/5publications.pdfs/2009-10ciga.pdf
Any other busy needles out there? Thanks for writing in and sharing your beautiful work, Pat! I have added “Knitting Patterns” to our catagories section.
We had an email about crocheted edgings on three or four corners and here is a pattern which addresses that situation and is also lovely, The Cross & Tudor Rose pattern has been around for awhile and was revived in the late 1960′s when needlecrafts again became popular. Notice how smooth and flat the corners lay using this approach for small linens or large ones. Just left mouse click on the photo and a larger version will open up for you to print out.
Fourth of July weekend is a great time to be out and about at flea markets, yard sales and antique shops. Who says sacristies cannot also be beautiful as well as orderly, neat, and clean? I enjoy finding little treasures when I am out on the antique trail which will add a little something special to the sacristy towel rack and linen drawers. The towel to the left is of a soft 100% cotton, loose weave. These were very popular in all sizes during Victorian-Edwardian times and even into the the 1920′s. Sometimes these are called “birdseye” due to the little tiny dots all over in the pattern, or sometimes hock cloth or huckweave. This fabric is very soft and absorbant and nothing is better for drying glass and silver. Often there is a dainty lace edging made of filet crochet, tatting, or bobbin lace- but more often the larger towels have a hemstitched plain end or fringe. Sometimes they are monogrammed. The more you wash them, the softer and more absorbant they become. Yes, they look best when ironed, but it is a very small price to pay for the look of a gleaming towel bar over your sink, lined with these lovely and durable towels. They also dry quickly after using if stretched out to air on the towelbar. I have tried terrycloth and linen towels and nothing beats these wonderful old vintage white towels. I see them everywhere in the $ 2-$ 8 dollar range-a little more for the larger size. $4 is on average for the hand towel size. And keep an eye out for lace trims (hand made), neat Irish linen tea cloths, linen napkins, damask weave cottons, and other white vintage textiles which can be transformed into amazing credence cloths and lavabo towels! Sometimes the exquisite whitework embroidery, all hand done is a FRACTION of what those expensive catalogues want -and the fabric and work far superior. This can be a fun project for your altar guild this summer-finding little treasures which are useful, practical- and beautiful!
I am glad to see the Lesage book on Amazon.com for under 5 dollars these days. It is actually volume 114 of The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism, section 10 under The Worship of the Church and is translated from the French, published by Hawthorn Books, NY. 1960. This was one of the first books I found when beginning the study of vestments and church furnishings, and is a very useful little volume of 152 pages. Topics included cover information on thuribles, altars, sacred vessels, candlesticks, the font, church bells, vestments and much more. Although some of the material covered applies to Roman Catholic usage, the book is well worth having for the history behind many of the vestments and vessels also used in the Episcopal church. The only negative about this publication may be that there are no diagrams or photographs.
Chances are most altar guild members have heard of the late Beryl Dean (1911-2001) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/beryl-dean-729136.html who was the last word in contemporary design in embroidery and vestment-making in the 1950′s-80′s and whose many books on ecclesiastical embroidery line book shelves around the world. Her work reflected the times, and was fresh and innovative, if not just a bit difficult to follow if you were at home alone trying to follow her directions and diagrams!
But it is the late Elizabeth ” Betty” Hoare 1915-2001 whose praise I loudly sing, for her exceptional effort in rescuing amazing embroidery and church textiles from pre-1840, Victorian, and Edwardian periods from sacristies all around England. Thanks to Betty, examples of remarkable work can now be seen at the Liverpool Cathedral Embroidery Gallery http://www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/content/Visiting/EmbroideryGallery.aspx
I often refer to her company, Watts and Co. of Tufton Street (in the shadow of Westminster Abbey, London) as one of the “Three Sacred W’s”- Wippel, Wareham and Watts!! The Warham Guild, alas is no more- but all three companies produced some of the best quality vestments anywhere, and Watts and Wippell are happily still on the job! In fact, both London stores are cheek and jowl side by side on Tufton Street today in London and a must-see stop if you ever find yourself near Big Ben, St. Margaret’s or Westminster Abbey.
A wonderful trade paperback book on the Liverpool Cathedral collection is also available with many colored photos which are simply breath-taking.
For many years Betty trudged in all weathers across the United Kingdom, rescuing piles of magnificent but unwanted ecclesiastical textiles at a time when these things had fallen out of favor. Many churches literally threw piles of things into Betty’s arms just to make room for the NEW stuff. Imagine THAT! Liverpool Cathedral, recognizing the importance of what Betty had saved, offered gallery space to display some of her treasures. Beautiful fragments and motifs were photographed to make Christmas and greeting cards which you can purchase on the Cathedral website (I had to buy an extra suitcase to stuff full of them on my last trip to Watts).
We owe so much to these women, and also to the many devoted conservationists of historical textiles, many who remain nameless and behind the scenes, as well as convent nuns who produced remarkable work for the altar in centuries past. But one name all altar guild workers can give thanks for and remember- Betty Hoare. Bless you Betty- for all you have done for us now and future generations!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1359636/Elizabeth-Hoare.html
This pattern makes a nice insertion on fair linen ends or cottas and surplices. Right click your mouse to save the image below to your computer for printing out. The pattern directions will come out clear and readable. The date on this pattern is 1955.
I am delighted to promote the studios of Details in Design of Williamsburg, Virginia. After so many years of depending upon Mary Moore linens through the Almy company, I believe the quality of the linens of Details in Design is superior, and the service is spectacular. Not only can linen be ordered by the yard in Belgian or fine Irish linen, but the studio offers restoration and repair for old fair linens, workshops, needlework classes, and many other wonderful services for church altar guilds. You will enjoy exploring their website at www.communionlinens.com Please call for additional workshops not listed on the card above at 1-800-905-9556 Their catalogue is a MUST HAVE for every sacristy and features useful laundry tips and linen history.
The exquisite piece of linen thread bobbin lace to the left was created by hand sometime around 1690-1700 and might be called Baroque- even Rococo. This is a monstrance or benediction veil. What’s the difference between a monstrance and an ostensorium? Not much. Monstrance comes from the verb monstrare, “to show clearly”. You can see the word monstrance in the English word “demonstrate“.
Ostendere also means “to show” and the word as applied to the vessel used for exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is interchangeable with monstrance. A popular form this 
sacred vessel takes is a solar burst at the top of a vertical upright support, with many rays emanating from the central point, the place which contains the round luna, or lunette. This is a double glass or crystal lens set in a cylinder which contains a large priest host which has been consecrated. The lunette is easily removable, and usually each monstrance must have its luna custom-fitted. Monstrances and ostensoria (plural form) are made of the most precious materials affordable, and nearly always at the least gold-plated or sterling silver. Precious or semi-precious jewels are sometimes seen embedded around the lunette or in the base. When not in use, the lunette with the wafer inside may repose in a standing pyx inside the tabernacle. As the monstrance is waiting on the credence table or sacristy prior to the service, it must be covered with a white veil. Silk or handmade lace is preferred. It should completely cover the monstrance all around. 
The lace veil pictured above is 24 x 28 inches although each monstrance will 
have its own height measurements. Monstrances are sometimes constructed to look like miniature cathedrals, with Gothic spires and saints, or as a cross.
A corporal is generally spread on the center of the altar fair linen to receive the monstrance. I have seen some really beautiful benediction corporals in the state of Rhode Island. The white work with Eucharistic embroidery is worked on the finest batiste or fine linen. The corporal is of a generous size, and the burse used to carry it to the altar is sometimes slightly larger than the usual burse, and is always white, or white and gold. The monstrance will be handled with the humeral veil, once the Sacrament has been placed inside. Pockets are often provided at each end of the humeral veil for the hands to slip in. Several churches in the diocese have services of Benediction and observe Corpus Christi with a procession using the monstrance and baldicchino or canopy.
Coming from a Meth
odist background, I must confess to being very intrigued with the textiles and metalware of the Church. Spending my high school years in a Roman Catholic convent school probably had something to do with fostering an interest in All Things Liturgical. I came right in on the heels of Vatican II, but our nuns were a little slow getting around to the little changes, so I still vividly recall having to wear a little lace veil to Mass (which was in Latin), and seeing all of the textiles from maniples to ciborium veils which were used prior to 1969. In some Episcopal churches, even today, many of these veils, and other textiles may still be seen. The most familiar, of course, is the frontal which covers the altar. Frontals or frontlets are 
usually in the color of the feast of the day, or liturgical season. They are, in a sense, a veil for the altar. Many churches in our diocese still use the vested chalice which employs a silk chalice veil, usually matching the vestments of the day.
At one time, the patronesses of the parish, who traveled extensively, collected fine linen and lace, often in the form of handkerchiefs, from Italy or Belgium- and donated these items to the sacristy to be used as ciborium veils. Whenever the Blessed Sacrament was transported from the high altar to a chapel altar or elsewhere, a beautiful white linen and lace veil was draped over the ciborium, the sanctus bells were rung, and everyone in the church stopped their work and genuflected when the ciborium passed by. Machine lace was NEVER allowed-only handmade. I have seen several of these ciborium veils with a buttonhole in the center to fit over the ciborium lid cross in Episcopal churches in the diocese when I visit sacristies. Altars which still use a tabernacle situated in the center of an altar retable or gradine will use a pair of 
tabernacle veils (or curtains) -often in silk the color of the paraments for the day. These are usually fringed, handsomely embroidered, and suspended on a brass rod. Many from the 1800-1900′s have small ivory rings at the top which thread over the rod. Cylindrical tabernacles have a sort of canopy arrangement. Inside the tabernacle (or aumbry) there is often a pair of fine linen veils or curtains. These are sometimes trimmed with fine handmade lace. At St. John’s church we always launder these on 
Good Friday when the tabernacle is empty and open. I recall the nuns (training we young sacristans) emphatically scolding us that only the priest or deacon should be opening the tabernacle and handling consecrated elements.
Tomorrow- humeral veils, gremial veils- and baldicchinos! I guarantee a bishop will be most impressed if you happen to have a gremial veil in your sacristy! 
A question in our mailbox today: The name of the painting at the top of the page is Christ Carrying the Cross by Giovanni Bellini, painted sometime around 1505-1510. Bellini was a leading light of the Venetian school and came from a family of artists. This small painting may be found in the collection of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The unique Venetian palace home of the Boston socialite houses a priceless exhibition of art, many items of religious subjects. Mrs. Gardner was the altar guild directress for the Church of the Advent on Brimmer Street. Belle Gardner was not only a patron of the arts, and a collector, but a mentor and benefactress to many up and coming 
artists of her time. (1840-1924).
In her many travels abroad she purchased works of art and linens and laces for her church. There is a particularly beautiful lace frontlet which is still in use on special occasions. There is a wonderful story about Mrs. Gardner, herself a devout lady, who on Good Friday, dressed from head to toe in black and heavily veiled, washing the three chancel steps going up to the high altar at The Advent on her knees. Of course her maid knelt alongside, holding the sterling silver basin!
Upon her death in 1924, her palace home in the fens was left to the public of Boston on the condition that nothing would ever be altered, removed, added to or changed in her home. This work of Bellini still stands over a small desk and her wish that a little vase of white flowers always rest beneath it is honored still. She is still fondly recalled at the Church of the Advent. Both the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and The Church of the Advent should be visited when in Boston. The Advent http://www.theadvent.org/ has many exquisite fittings, artwork, chapel and high altars and a magnificent reredos. The weekly and festival displays of church flowers are second to none.
From the booklet of Saint Veronica’s Guild, 1921 and just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day, here are the familiar rosette and fan pattern which was a popular edging for albs and surplices for so many years.
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