I came across this stained glass pattern while going through the Grammar of Ornament, in a section entitles ‘Mediaeval’ and with clips of panels from stained glass windows from around Europe. This panel caught my eye and I decided to try and find out more about it.

The caption on the page said it came from St Thomas, Strasbourg. A search for images of the stained glass from that church brought me to a site called the Rose Window, featuring a database of stained glass window photos – and yes, this Church features. You can find what I think is the panel in window N3 on this site. Though the photos are a little grainy, it looks to me as though the patterns are slightly different between this and the illustrated version. 

A wee note on the wikipedia page for this Church mentions that original stained glass featuring saints was destroyed – and on first reading, I thought that might have meant that this is what replaced it, but it seems that the saints were on the lower windows, and the botanical designs are the higher ones. 

This was the only illustration from that church in the reference that I used, but I can see from the photos I found that each window has multiple designs and I’d love to spend some more time investigating them!

A few years ago I helped a craftsman restore a stained glass window pane and I can appreciate how much work goes into creating these. It was fun to have a go at making stained glass, but I did get lots of cuts due to my inexperience!

If you’re a Community tier member, check below for your monthly downloadable files so that you can paint this pattern. The ‘print and paint’ options, with feint grey lines, show the outline of each shape so that you can add your own flourishes. The traceable files have a few extra guiding lines – but still just show the big shapes. These you can print out and trace to your final paper or sketchbook. Either use carbon paper to transfer or scribble all over the back of your printout with a soft pencil and use that to transfer the line. You’ll also find a link to the forum where you can share your work with us, ask any questions and get support.

For Pattern Makers, you’ll find two videos: One drawing video and one painting. You’ll also see my supply list for this project including all the colours I used.

For Pattern Lovers, the live zoom will take place on Saturday 29th November. If you’re not able to join live, revisit a couple of days aftwerwards to find the recording of this session. In the live video this month, I plan to use another geometric and botanical stained glass panel as inspiration for a drawing.