The brief for this stole and it’s identical partner (husband & wife team) was the traditional symbols of the eucharist, wheat and grapes and the Chi Rho symbol. The design includes vine leaves, bunches of grapes and stalks of golden wheat twining around the Chi Rho on one side and grapes and wheat on the other.
The grapes are worked separately using two layers of silk, a lilac & dark purple. The detailing of each grape is done using free machine stitching and then small areas of highlighting are cut through to reveal the lighter colour underneath. The heads of wheat are worked as applique patches, machine sewn and then cut out. The grapes and heads of wheat were then added to the surface of the stole. The Chi Rho symbol, vine and wheat leaves were machine appliqued directly to the stole surface. The finishing details of the vine tendrils are hand couched gold 3ply twist thread.
