Sue Tackles An Enormous Sewing Project (And It’s Fantastic!)

Sewist’s Name: Sue Young from Newburgh, New York

Type of Project: Church Bell

Pattern: Original Design

Featured Date: 01-24-24

Hi, I’m Sue. I made this fabric bell which measures approximately 8 feet across and 6 feet high for my church. In the “olden days” a large bell was created every year using live evergreen boughs and was hung in the sanctuary. Then in more recent times the parishioners created a bell using artificial greens to replace and simplify the process.  This bell lasted for many years but eventually it deteriorated and had to be discarded. So I made this one using fabric. It has 15 double sided elongated triangle shaped panels that each five pockets sewn into them. The structure is given to the bell using PVC pipes that go through these pockets, each one a specific size to give the bell its shape.  The clapper is made using foam circles on a wooden circle base, and covered with Christmas ornaments. The entire structure is then attached to a long chain, which is connected to the hoist that we have installed in the ceiling of the church.  Our sanctuary is huge and this large bell just fills the space appropriately.  

In March of 2020 just before the shut down of the world for the COVID pandemic, the church had a fire in the fellowship hall of the church where this fabric bell was stored. It’s was small miracle that the bell survived because the entire hall interior was burned. All it needed was washing and a new bow. Even the PVC structure would’ve been OK but I replaced it so that it can be taken apart and stored in much less room than it took storing it as one piece.

I am Sue Young from Newburgh, NY where I have owned my own business for over 40 years, Design by Sue, where I do graphic design, printing, website design, signs and displays, and a lot of other creative jobs.  I have been sewing since I learned in Home Economics class in seventh grade, many, many years ago.   I enjoy solving problems and love having the ability to sew the solution to many of these problems.

Sue Young

Remember, if you want to submit YOUR project to Sew & Tell, all you have to do is send an email! Read more about how to enter here.

Want to see past Sew & Tell features? Click here!