How to Make a Stole

Step 1. Decide what color stole you want to make. This will depend on the timeof the church year or event you are making the stole for. If it is an ordination stole, you will want a red stole. If not, you will want to pick the color of stole that goes with the same season of the church year.

Below is a list of colors and their season or festivals.

Then borrow that stole, or make the pattern on the spot. If the person is out of town, or will be in the permanent Diaconate, you definitely need to borrow a stole to copy the shape (Ed. Note: or you can buy a Byzantine Deacon’s Stole Pattern from the Diocese of California Sewing Room at 1055 Taylor Street, San Francisco, CA 94108). Silk stoles for celebrants, ordinands, ministers and clergy Weaving together vibrant colours with beautiful simplicity I create silk stoles for ordination and ceremonial occasions. I hold a small stock of ordination stoles, clergy stoles and general ceremonial stoles and I also make bespoke stoles working with the client to produce something.

White Stoles

White is for All Saint's Day,
Christmas,
Easter, and
any day remembering a non-martyred saint.

Green Stoles

Green is for the seasons of
Epiphany, and
Pentecost

Red Stoles

Red stoles are for
Reformation Day,
Pentecost Day, and

Any day remembering a martyred Saint.

Purple Stoles

Purple is the color for the penitential seasons of
Lent, and sometimes
Advent depending on your church.

Black Stoles

The Black stole is used solely on
Good Friday.

Step 2: Decide what design you want on your stole

You can put almost anything that would give glory to God on your stole, however, you may want to chose a design that would remind God's people what season of the church year they are in. For example, a Lenten stole could have a crown of thorns or nails. An Easter stole might have a Victorious Lamb or a butterfly to remind us of the resurrection. A red stole might have a dove and flames. You can chose any of our designs or supply your own. If you have an idea simply give us a call or send us an email.

Step 3 : Embroider your Stole

This is the part of stole making that takes the longest, but to me is the most rewarding. You can use any stitch that you want, but Sheri and I recommend using stitches that you feel comfortable with. My favorites are the popcorn stitch and the split stitch.
If you are new to embroidery, try checking out a book at the library or finding someone in your family or at church to teach you a few stitches. When I first started, I had a scrap piece of fabric that I practiced my stitches on before I began on my husband's stoles.

Step 4 : Wash and pin flat to dry if needed.

No matter how careful you may be, sometimes things just get on your stole while you are embroidering it. in my home the culprits either have four legs or are very short. There is usually no reason to panic if the area surrounding your embroidery is a bit dirty. if you find you need to wash your stole at this stage, simply wash it gently by hand using regular laundry detergent. Next lay it on a large bath towel and roll it up like a jelly roll to dry it just a bit. Then you will need to pin it flat. I use my cardboard cutting board and pull and stretch the fabric so that there is no more puckering around the embroidery. Then I leave it in a room where no sticky fingers or curious canines have access to dry.

Step 5 : Lay front and back pieces of stole right sides together.

If the satin is wrinkly, you may want to iron it first.

Step 6 : Pin front and back pieces together

I usually have the pins running along the length of the fabric, but if you want to put them perpendicular, that would be OK as well.

Step 7 : Baste Front and back pieces together

This step may sound unnecessary, but it is very important. The satin backing likes to shift when it is sewn. If you omit this step, you may have a bunched up back to your stole.
Besides, basting is easy. Just use any old thread (don't worry, you won't see it) and using big stitches sew the pieces together.

Step 8 : Cut neck piece

Lay the paper pattern on the top of one of the stole sides. Pin it down and carefully cut around the black line. Be sure you do not cut the bottom of the pattern. I did that once to my husband's white stole. I cried.

Step 9 : Sew right and left back sides together

Sew right and left front sides together. Press the seams flat.
One helpful hint with sewing the two satin pieces together is to put a pin further down the stole to keep the material further down from shifting. See the picture below.

Step 10 : Embroider cross on back of neck if desired

There are many ways to transfer designs, but I use this method. Print out a copy of our Crosses for Neck and cut out the cross you would like to use. Then punch holes in on outline of the cross. Pin the cross to the neck where you would like to embroider the cross. Use a pen to mark the holes and connect the dots. You can also use transfer paper.

Step 11 : Pin and baste front and back of neck together. ( see step 7)

Step 12 : Sew Stole

Using your sewing machine sew all the way around the stole leaving about a 3-4 inch hole for turning.

Step 13 : Snip around neck

Before you turn the stole inside out, it helps to make little snips all around the curved part of the neck. Be sure not to cut the seam. Also, snip the corners off the bottom

Step 14 : Turn stole right side out

This may be one of my favorite parts. It's like Christmas! Just push the inside part outside through the hole you left. To get a nice sharp corner, you may want to buy or borrow a turning tool. They are not very expensive, and I think the difference is worth it.

Step 15 : Press stole

Be careful with the temperature. The fabric is polyester, so you do not want to do any fabric melting. I find it easiest to press the opening you used for turning the stole at this time. Simply turn the fabric so it is even and press. When you get to the next step you will thank me.

Step 16 : Blink stitch opening for turning closed

The blind stitch involves wiggling your needle back and forth inside where the seam would have been if you had sewn it with the machine. .

If you need help at any step, please let us know. We would love to help you. You can call us at Sheri (281)725-4466 ; Gretchen (847)526-7711or email us

Special Stoles for Visiting the Sick, Baptisms, Weddings and Confessional Teaching the ‘Set-Back’ Method of Construction Various Patterns and Sizes

Please notice that I am separating ‘Stoles’ from ‘Vestments’. That’s an odd thing for me to do because stoles are vestments! There are two reasons I did this.

First, because stoles are the BASIC vestment. Christian denominations that don’t use any other vestments, use stoles. In denominations that use a wide range of vestments, stoles are the most frequently used vestment. They’re used with a cassock or cassock-alb, chasubles, dalmatics, surplices, copes and mitres and, as well, are used by themselves. If you’re gonna make vestments, you gotta know how to make stoles!

Second, because sto

Clergy Stole Patterns