In Trudie Strobel’s colorful embroidered artwork “Marriage,” a wedding chuppah sits between two large and impressive columns. The columns are Jachin and Boaz, the pillars that flanked the entrance to the Temple in ancient Israel. The arrangement emphasizes the strength of Jewish heritage and turns a moment in time into a celebration of Jewish continuity, … Continue reading
Deborah Katchko-Gray is a professional cantor and accomplished needle artist. When she’s not weaving melodies with her voice she’s weaving embroidery thread, creating Judaica with a technique called Swedish weaving. Swedish weaving is a type of embroidery in which the stitches are worked on the surface of the fabric. Rather than the needle passing to … Continue reading
Here’s a huge thanks to all the Jewish authors and the publishers who bring Jewish books to life. To mark this year’s Jewish Book Month, I’ve gathered a group of Jewish book recommendations for your bookshelf (and kitchen shelf). Most of the selections are new this year, but for the Jewish sewing and needle craft … Continue reading
This month, when so many students are going back to school, seems like the perfect time to highlight Rachel Braun’s book, Embroidery and Sacred Text: New Designs in Judaic Needlework, in which Rachel draws on principles of mathematics to develop needlework designs that explore Jewish spirituality. Rachel teaches high school math and statistics, and she’s … Continue reading
Get Stitch-a-hedron! in paperback (Amazon) or PDF (Etsy). Stitch-a-hedron! the latest book by Cathy Perlmutter, is just plain fun. Or maybe that should be fun with planes, as in flat surfaces. All the projects in the book are based on polyhedrons, three-dimensional shapes made from flat surfaces. Combine six squares and eight hexagons, for example, … Continue reading
As we roll into the holiday season, here are some book recommendatins for the Jewish sewists in your life — and for your own wish list! Full disclosure, the Amazon and IndieBound links are affiliate links, and they’re books I bought for my own shelf. There’s plenty here to inspire and keep a sewist busy … Continue reading
The Sew Jewish book is now available in paperback! Yeah! After the PDF version came out, so many readers asked about getting a physical book, especially to give as gifts, that I plunged in to figure out how to make it happen. I’m so grateful for everyone’s interest and support. The paperback version is now … Continue reading
The images in illuminated Jewish manuscripts are like the embroidery and applique designs on hand-sewn Judaica; they decorate and inspire. And they feed the creative Jewish soul. Illuminated manuscripts are books that are decorated with images. The earliest examples we have are from the Middle Ages, when books were written by hand. These early illuminated … Continue reading
For your Friday diversion: two videos about the new play The Cutting of the Cloth, currently premiering at the Southwark Playhouse in London. The play’s setting: 1953 London, where a Jewish tailor of bespoke, hand-sewn suits confronts change in the form of a successful new competitor with a sewing machine. The production is by Two’s … Continue reading
Adam Mendelsohn talks to Sew Jewish about Jews and the garment industry, his problem with the Tiger Mom, and history’s lessons for people who want to turn sewing skills into paying careers. The Rag Race: How Jews Sewed Their Way to Success in America and the British Empire By Adam D. Mendelsohn Amazon.com | Indiebound … Continue reading
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