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| Swaddling Bands from LDS.org |
No, swaddling bands are not diapers, nor are they strips of rag fabric. Swaddling bands are carefully made strips of fabric, preferably linen, cut into five inch wide strips, these strips are then sown together to reach between 15 and 18 feet. They are carefully made and most importantly, they are carefully embroidered.
Twice now, we have been in an area production of The Savior of the World, a musical production about the family life of Mary and Joseph as they prepared to become the earthly parents of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It has been a wonderful experience to be a part of these production. In it, Mary must learn and make a set of swaddling bands to be used during her marriage ceremony and later in which she will wrap her new born children.
The Jews used these strips of fabric to list the genealogies of the couple who were marrying, signifying that the two families would become one and that any children born to this couple, could be identified because of the bands that indicate family relationships.
One of my tasks in our local production of the LDS Church's The Savior of the World, was to make the prop swaddling bands*. I had to make two identical sets of bands and a third that was partially completed for the scene in which Mary struggles to understand the value of such a complex task. Thus, among my peers, I am known as the maker of swaddling bands, which is why my Relief Society president asked me to take up the effort one more time.
The thing about swaddling bands that makes them a true challenge is that the underside of the the bands are to look as perfect as the topside. Each stitch must be carefully planned and executed to produce a beautiful result. Anciently, when a young woman was betrothed, she was required to spend a year preparing her swaddling bands. This effort was to remind her that her character as a wife and a mother in Israel was to be like that of her bands, beautiful both on the outside and on the inside. For that full year, a young woman contemplated her integrity, knowing that God would inspect her life at it's conclusion in much the same way as her own mother would inspect the bands she had prepared.
I will now spend the next couple of months contemplating my own integrity. Will one little mistake really show? If I make a big error, will people condemn me because they would have just as many imperfections as me? Will Heavenly Father look at my imperfections in a careless way? Or, will his integrity require him to be thorough and honest with me, if he were to judge my character today?
One of the words in our motto is integrity. For me, at least, now is a good time to inspect the works of my life and judge for myself whether they are equally as good on the inside as on the outside. Are there things that must be undone; are there things to still be made right?
* lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,7244-1,00.html Swaddling Bands While the groom built their new home, the bride also made preparations, including the embroidery of the swaddling bands with which the couple’s hands would be wrapped under the wedding canopy. Later these bands would also be used to secure blankets or swaddling clothes around the couple’s infant children. The symbols on the bands often indicated family history.11 Mary was from the tribe of Judah, so she may have used symbols common to that lineage such as a lion, a lamb, or a tree of life. As a descendant of David, she was also entitled to use the royal colors of blue and white. The symbolic significance of swaddling bands was so important that the embroidery on each side of the swaddling bands had to match exactly, with “right” and “wrong” sides indistinguishable. This symbolized the complete harmony of inner and outward life.12
This is fascinating! I came upon your blog post by research on google. Our stake is also putting on this musical and I am in charge of costumes. I will prepare a set of these also, though they may not be as lovely and handmade as I am sure yours are
ReplyDeleteJulie, thanks for your input! When I made the bands for the Production, I looked at the pictures from the cast production and made a large repeating pattern. We used a cream colored knight fabric and embroidered the pattern on with a blue yarn. This made the image easy for the audience to see and it made the bands flexible and easy to use on stage. The bands I made for my ward were based on a surviving set of bands that are in a museum in Europe. The writing was in Hebrew an the images were very large. This set was about 17 feet in length. I used a soft white linen and royal blue embroidery floss. To give it variety, I looked for some simple graphic designs to add to the panels for additional variety in color and shape. Each image applied to the Jewish Culture. I embroidered the bands with the Hebrew spellings for the names of the great patriarchs and their wives who would have been in the Savior's pedigree charts. Good luck. Keep an eye out, I might post a picture of these bands in the next few days. Thanks for your interest.
DeleteI love my IPad, but sometimes it can be a challenge to type on. Please note that the fabric I used for the production was knit, not knight!
Deletewe are doing this production as well. is there a way to borrow yours? we are located in tremonton utah and our show goes up in a month.
DeleteI am sorry, that would not be possible. There are three sets of bands and they are packed away with all the costumes and sets for our previous productions.
DeleteI had a couple of young women in our ward help me make these. I drew the designs on to the knit fabric and did the full length piece with a simple chain stitch. The partial sets were done by the girls. One had about three feet of embroidery for the scene when Mary expresses her frustration with the project. The third set was also partial with embroidery on both ends. This one was sewn around a doll that served for the new born baby Jesus.
Don't be a fraud to ask the young woman. This is a great integrity project. Good luck!
Did you just make the designs up or were they based on some historical protocol?
DeleteFor the play, I enlarged the pictures from the play and drew a design from them. I used stencils to piece together the pattern
DeleteA friend of mine has been in the Salt Lake City production and she said that their prop bands are actually painted, not embroidered. I had to embroider mine because our director gave me a knitted fabric which was unsuitable for painting.
DeleteThis is so fascinating and I have been trying to learn more about the specifics on what was included and how. Is there anyway you could share some of your knowledge with me? I am particularly interested in the genealogy and how to make them. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteEmily
e.g.miller10 (at) gmail (dot) com
When I made a set for the ward to see, I went to the fabric store and purchased real linen. I then cut it into stripes which I sewed together end to end. This kept the cost down. I got some Hebrew letter stencils from a children's book published by Dover. These are surprisingly easy to find. You find them with the Dover sticker books at major bookstores.
ReplyDeleteI then looked up the names of the major patriarchs on line and many have the Hebrew spelling on the post. Others had to be googled. Eve actually comes out as Eva, when written in Hebrew. In the time of the Savior, they spoke Aramaic (Spelling?) so to be really acurate to his time would have been difficult.for me to recreate.
The pictures were fairly easy. For Adam and Eve, it was a Kabalah Tree of Life, for Abraham it was a shape called the seed of life
I discovered the book, "Beloved Bridegroom" by Donna B. Nielsen, and the play, "The Savior of the World", in searching for information for the Nativity program in our Ward. I am excited to now find your site. Please post a picture of the swaddling bands you made, and specifically the pictures and edging you used. I live in Muncie, IN, and many of the resources you have out West are not found here. Thanks for any help you can give.
ReplyDelete