Here is my second completed stole.
This stole is in-fact one of an identical pair, made for my sister and brother-in-law. It is made from green silk Dupion, with appliqued grapes and stalks of wheat, symbolising the Eucharist. The stalks of the vine and wheat are highlighted with couched gold Jap thread.
![](https://www.stole-my-heart.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMGP5342-683x1024.jpg)
To give depth to the bunches of grapes two layers of silk are worked together and then cut through to reveal the lighter colour beneath, they are then hand-applied to the stole. The Chi Rho has been directly appliqued on to the stole using my tracing paper technique and worked from the back using zig-zag stitching. It was then turned over and the areas of unwanted fabric cut away to reveal the design. It has been lined on the reverse with a pale green cotton fabric and hand finished.
This stole took approximately 50 hours from design to finished piece, thinking I had finished, it was carefully packed in tissue, ready to be given to my brother-in-law as a gift to celebrate him being ordained 35 years this year. I then got a phone call asking if I would make a green stole for my sister as a gift from him.
So the idea of matching stoles was born !