About Doe Martin Stoles

My mother taught me how to sew (on a sewing machine)
when I was ten years old.
For the past thirty years I have done much of my sewing on a
c.a. 1910 Singer treadle sewing machine that my dad bought for me
when I was about fifteen.
I made my first liturgical stole in 1991 as a gift for my husband
when he graduated from seminary.
In 1996 I took some of my stoles to the Montreat Book Store
in Montreat, North Carolina
--a presbyterian retreat center.
The manager of the store at that time happened to be
the maker of the "Moderator's Stole"
--the stole that the moderator of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A wears and
passes on to the next elected moderator each year.
She liked my work and advised me about making some improvements.
I am very grateful to her for her advice and for giving me the opportunity
to sell my stoles.
I am always conscious of producing as little waste as possible while
producing stoles. I will often incorporate what would otherwise be wasted
materials into new designs.
This prompts me to be creative on many different levels which, in turn,
keeps me "on my toes" and my work ever-changing.

I love the spiritual and symbolic aspects of making stoles.
I try to put together designs that are beautiful and meaningful
ever-mindful that they will be used in a worship setting.

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The stoles that I make are individually handcrafted.
I do use sewing machines
but each stole is cut out by hand -- each piece is individually sewn
to the stole body and each stole is sewn to its lining fabric on a
(c.a. 1910) treadle sewing machine.
My stoles are made with a mitred corner at the neck and the
finished size is approximately 4" wide and 48" long
from the inside of the mitred corner.
Generally, I use either cotton or silk fabric for the main body of
the stole and heavy weight faille for the lining.
Appliqué fabrics vary from silks to cottons to velvets
and various others.

Please note that fabrics may vary due to availability.