Cloth decides almost everything about a vestment: how it hangs, how it reads from the back of a nave, how heavy it is in August, and how it looks after fifteen years of Sundays. The specimens above cover each cloth we work in. What follows is the part that applies to all of them.
Weight and drape, before anything else
Two garments in the same colour and the same cut can look nothing alike because of weight. A heavy cloth falls in few, deep folds and reads as substantial; a light one falls in many shallow ones and moves. Neither is better. A Gothic chasuble is designed around a cloth with enough weight to fall from the shoulders in a full sweep, and made up in something light it looks limp. A conical chasuble in a heavy brocade, worn by someone slight, becomes an unmanageable amount of fabric.
When you are choosing, ask two questions: how does it need to hang, and how long will it be worn for? A cloth that photographs beautifully and is unbearable through a three-hour Easter Vigil is a bad choice however good it looks.
Linings
The lining is not a detail. It carries the weight of the outer cloth, decides whether the garment slips on over a cassock, and is usually the first thing to fail. We line in taffeta or a good satin-back lining as standard, and we will interline where a cloth needs body it does not have on its own.
A contrast lining in the liturgical colour — red under a black requiem chasuble, gold under white — is a small expense and a considerable pleasure. Ask for it.
Orphreys, galloon and braid
The orphrey is the band — the Y, the pillar, the cross — that carries the ornament of a chasuble or cope. Galloon and braid are the woven trims that edge it. This is where the eye goes first, and where the difference between a considered garment and a plain one is made.
Our braids run from simple woven galloon to substantial metallic-thread work. As a rule: the busier the ground cloth, the plainer the braid should be, and the plainer the cloth, the more the braid can do.
Embroidery threads
Machine embroidery uses fine rayon or polyester threads and is precise, repeatable and comparatively inexpensive. Hand embroidery uses stranded silks, goldwork threads and couched metallic work, and has a physical depth machine work cannot reach — it sits above the cloth rather than in it.
We will always tell you which method a garment uses. We will never describe machine work as hand work.
Colour under church lighting
Churches are lit by warm tungsten, cool fluorescent, daylight through coloured glass, or some combination that changes through the day. The same violet chasuble can read blue under one and almost brown under another.
Two practical consequences. First, judge a swatch in the building it will be worn in, not at a desk. Second, if a garment must match vestments you already own, send us a photograph taken in that church and, ideally, a small piece of the existing cloth — a hem allowance or a spare maniple is usually enough.
Which cloth for which garment
| Garment | Usual choice | Also works |
|---|---|---|
| Chasuble | Brocade or damask | Silk blend; wool for a Lenten array |
| Cope | Brocade | Damask, velvet for the hood |
| Dalmatic | Matching the chasuble | — |
| Stole | Matching the chasuble | Crepe for everyday use |
| Cassock | Wool or wool blend | Tropical wool in heat |
| Alb and cassock-alb | Polyester crepe | Linen or linen blend |
| Surplice and cotta | Cotton or crepe | Linen |
| Clergy shirt | Cotton or cotton blend | — |
| Habit | Wool or wool blend | To the rule of the community |
| Frontal and burse set | Brocade or velvet | Damask |
Swatches
We will send swatches of anything you are choosing between before you commit, and for a full set we recommend it without reservation. Write to sales@theclergycouture.com with the cloths and colours you are considering and the garment they are for.
Related reading: caring for vestments, the liturgical colour guide, a glossary of vestments.