Alb. Chasuble. Stole. Dalmatic. Amice.
Even devout Catholics may not recognize these terms for the vestments, or outer garments, worn by Catholic priests.
But Liz Ann Tolberd has become an expert in them thanks to a request she received from her son, Father Jon Tolberd. Prior to graduating from seminary, he asked his mother if she would make his ordination vestments.
You could say he had faith in her ability, even if she’d never attempted anything like them before.
“Throughout my childhood, she was crafty,” he said, “I knew she could sew. It’s really special to me if she could make them and means a lot to her as well.”
Liz says she took to heart the well-known Bible verse Philippians 4:13 — “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” — and figured it out over the next year.
Tolberd said the women in her family have always sewed. She also had a semester of fashion merchandising before deciding on a career in medical management. She earned degrees in Life Science from Kansas State University and Health Information Management from the University of Kansas.
She taught her daughters, Ellie and Olivia, to sew but didn’t do much with the skill as she raised her family and worked full time for Kansas Orthopaedic Center for more than 30 years.
To get started on her son’s request, Tolberd reached out to Maggie Sieve, a St. Louis woman whose business, Sew Divine, has been making vestments for Catholic priests since 2017. Sieve, who also teaches the craft, invited Tolberd to visit for some on-the-job training. She spent long weekends doing just that. Sieve called Tolberd “a very talented seamstress.”
Sieve also got help from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, a religious community in Gower, Mo., whose members make vestments sold around the world.
Tolberd’s first efforts on her own included a chasuble, the primary outermost garment worn during mass; a cope, a highly decorated mantle or cape on special occasions; and an alb, a long white linen garment worn under the chasuble.
After finishing her son’s vestments, Tolberd found herself sewing nights and weekends. When she retired from the orthopedic center two years ago, she began sewing full time.
“I loved the feeling of accomplishment … the feeling of creativity,” she said.
To date, she’s created or modified vestments for clergy from Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Wyoming, including 29 chasuables, 20 albs, eight Dalmatics (a T-shaped tunic), two copes and numerous amices. “I frequently tell people they should go to Liz,” said Father Jon, who was ordained in 2020 and is chaplain at St. Mary’s Colgan Catholic Schools in Pittsburg, Kan.
“It’s nice to have that personal touch (with the vestments my mother makes),” he said. “Vestments are like a part of the priest’s wedding band.”
Tolberd said it gives her a good feeling “to see (the clergy) wearing and enjoying them in worship.”
“I do it because I enjoy it,” Tolberd said, “not for the money. Priests don’t have money. God led me there. He leads you in different ways.”
Contact Beth Bower at beth@goodlifeguy.com.
