Evening star., 1932-08-14


of prayer for all people" In November 1929,
another banner added through the gen.
eroSity of an out-of town friend Miss Louisa
Edwina Keasbey OF Morristown, N j.. who de-
signed. made and presented a representation
of SITS. Peter and Paul in satin and needlework
to the Cathedral.
A there can be no change in the designs
" for church embroidery since the very es-
sence of its charm and worth is its perpetual
ton of the ancient church Symbols the goal
striven for by the Mackrile work rooms Is
more and more skill in plying the needle. As
her business grew, Miss Mackrille had opened
two work rooms in Spitalsfeld, Bishops Gate.
England, where the skilled labor necessary to
carry out her designs could be obtained. This
town is a famous weaving center, where the
linens for the royal family have been made for
generations. The Princess May of Teck. now
the consort of King George the Fifth of Great
Britain had many of her trousseau items made
there During her last trip there in 1926. Miss
Mackrile unearthed bit of geonealogy that
made her feel even closer to this old town.
The first Mackrille to venture into England
had crossed from Flanders 800 years ago TO
teach weaving to the Ango-Saxons
Her own father was an English gentleman.
William r. Mackrille, who while visiting In
Georgetown. D. c., during the Civil War days,
married Miss Mary Victoria Evans Hayden, q
descendant of Mayf1ower stock, and remained
in this city until his death.
The myriads of stitches which have gone
into the making of the church embroideries
at the Cathedral can trace their lineage back
to the primitive days of worship in the East
before women were allowed to make anything
for the temples and men did the sewing. Some
of the designs and symbols used by this WASH
ington woman for the Cathedral were hidden
in the catacombs of Rome by the early Chris
tians; others were brought from the Phoeni-
ria hv Of m for
years through the church tradition to orna-
ment the altars of of the worlds
youngest nations.
Miss Mackrille has invented stitch in gold
embroidery that has never been duplicated
so far is known. It is a reproduction of
the hand illumination used to beautify old
Bibles and be done only by some one with
an eye able to define in thread perfect circles
without the aid of compass. The red, white
and blue color usage chosen by the Cathedral
for its own, goes back to the oldest combination
known to civilized religions. They were the
colors of the old Jewish church and were
taken over by the Western church. They were
used exclusively until two or three hundred
years before the Reformation when Roman in
duenceS, evidenced by rising use of purple
and green, began to be felt At the time
Great Britain wanted a flag, the Archbishop
of Canterbury and the officials of the navy
were invited to select the eolors for this ensign
and they named the church colors Thus it
is said that the American flag is a reminder
of the days when church and state were one
because it carries the red, white and blue of
the mother country, changing only its design
and arrangements.
Fairy-like linens sometimes SO sheer that
10 yards of it may be compressed into walnut
shell, are used for the altar requirements at
the Cathedral. The pattern frequently used
for the embroidery centering these cloths is
that of a graceful shaft of wheat Symbolizing
n IA
symbolizing the blood in the holy communion.
These cloths always finished with an u-
broken hem that crumbs of the bread may
fall to the floor and thereby make sacrilege.
Embroidery on these linens must be absolutely
fiat so that the chalice be not tipped over by
coming in contact with heavy padding or large
stitching. 1t is the cardinal requirement of
the workers in the linen work rooms of Miss
Mackrille that they be able to put 27 stitches
to every inch in all heninling. Thread for this
linen work is brought from France and runs
gamut of sizes from 120 to 200 in fnenesS.
England makes the hand-woven silks Of
brilliant hues, the lustrous cloth of gold and
the thick fringes used for the altar dossals, as
the long curtains hanging at the rear of the
holy table the altars are called. The yard
age, well the thread used for these. is
spun directly from the cocoon skeins brought
from Japan and is never mixed with any
other material save its own kind in the weav-
ing of the damasks. Sometimes the thread Is so
fine that it numbers F-F-103 and requires
number 13 needle to convey it in and out of
the fabric. single thread OF this extremely
fine strand is hardly perceptible to the human
eye when suspended in the air. The gold
thread which brings so much light to the affairs
as it CLEANS from the chalice veil and burse
Ga pocket for keeping the communion linens),
is made from the genuine metal hammered to
exceeding thinness and wrapped around paper
spirals for safe keeping This thread will
never tarnish
On many of the Cathedral vestments the
leaf of the Glastonbury thorn is embroidered.
1t is most appropriate, as this bush grows in the
Cathedral Close from cutting from the parent
plant in England. The lettering on the church
insignia is of the fourteenth century embel-
had In irncta xriAI, inA~i