If you’re like me, it’s easier to take time away from your cell phone if it’s out of sight. Hence, the cell phone sleeping bag, especially useful for tucking your phone away for Shabbat and Jewish festivals. As far as my internet research can tell, the idea of a sleeping bag for your cell phone … Continue reading
Here’s a nifty way to add stripes to a zippered tallit bag. I recently created this tallit bag of heavy gabardine for a client, and added stripes of blue Dupioni silk to match the corner pieces that were on the tallit (I wish I had a photo of the tallit to show you, but alas, … Continue reading
You’ll find a new video tutorial for finishing machine appliques on the Sew Jewish YouTube channel. It’s a sewing topic I’ve covered in earlier project videos, but I figured that if I made a video dedicated to the topic, I could refer to it in future project videos — and making shorter project videos is … Continue reading
What makes a sewing project Jewish? I’m continually turning this question over in my mind. Hebrew phrases or Jewish symbols mark a project as Jewish, but what if you don’t use them? How do you give the object you’re designing a Jewish identity or imbue it with a Jewish idea? That was the question I … Continue reading
The slip stitch is a great way to sew a seam closed invisibly from the right side (outside) of a project. It’s a great hand sewing stitch to have in your repertoire. I’ve been using the slip stitch a lot lately, so I thought now would be a good time to share the technique: Start … Continue reading
I honed my skills in the home economics school of sewing, which is mostly about sewing clothes and choosing threads to match your fabric. But last year I took my first quilting class [at The Happy Quilter in Valley Cottage, New York – since closed] and learned the virtues of working with neutral colored threads. … Continue reading
A huge thanks to Dr. Carol Gerson for sharing photos and details of this button-closure tallit bag she designed to accompany a hand-made tallit for a bar mitzvah boy. Making the tallit was a family project, with the bar mitzvah boy choosing the design elements, Dad on the sewing machine, and Mom helping out, too. … Continue reading
We finally posted an About page. Here’s an excerpt: …My design philosophy is to use simple techniques and quality materials and to craft items that will last a long time. In large measure, I want things to last because I see sewing as an important part of building a sustainable future for my family and … Continue reading
![A Bucket Hat Pattern for Sun and Synagogue [Free and Ready to Print!]](https://sewjewish.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/summer-hat-fit-for-synagogue.png?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "A Bucket Hat Pattern for Sun and Synagogue [Free and Ready to Print!]")
Does the sunny weather put you in the mood for a new summer hat like it does us? Then we have a free printable pattern for you. This hat looks super cute in the summer sun, and it’s also synagogue worthy when you sew it up in a classically formal print like a chintzy floral … Continue reading
When Erika and Adam married earlier this month in romantic San Juan Capistrano, they wed under a chuppah that the groom’s mom, Marla, created from an heirloom lace tablecloth once belonging to Adam’s grandmother. Marla shared photos and details on our sister site, Backyard Huppah. It’s so lovely, we thought you’d like to see it, … Continue reading
Nick Thorpe suggests that maybe the solution to feeling unsatisfied with material things is to love our things even more: If Western consumer culture sometimes resembles a bulimic binge in which we taste and then spew back things that never quite nourish us, the ascetic, anorexic alternative of rejecting materialism altogether will leave us equally … Continue reading
Tim Wu draws attention to the role of DIY in expressing our humanity: Convenience technologies supposedly free us to focus on what matters, but sometimes the part that matters is what gets eliminated. Everyone knows that it is easier to drive to the top of a mountain than to hike; the views may be the … Continue reading
I’m pretty excited to open the new Sew Jewish Shop with this pattern for an atarah and corner pieces for a tallit featuring a Jerusalem cityscape. The pattern is called King David’s Jerusalem, and it includes step-by-step instructions and illustrations for you to make your own atarah and corner pieces for a tallit. For details, … Continue reading
To all you Supermoms out there, we know you’re busy saving the world 365. And with Purim coming up, you’re going to make sure everyone else has a costume before you think about your own. So to make things a little easier on you this holiday, we’re sharing my Supermom costume idea from a few … Continue reading
This Shabbat most synagogues will read the Torah portion Tetzaveh, in which God tells Moses what clothes the priests should wear when serving in the Temple — a hat, trousers, tunic, and belt, and additional garments for the High Priest — and also how to make them. But the Torah doesn’t say who sewed them. … Continue reading
In my last two posts I mentioned that you can use the eyelet setting on many models of computerized sewing and embroidery machines to quickly create reinforced holes for the tzitzit strings on your tallis (tallit, tallith, prayer shawl). I thought you might like to see that magic in action. Here are two videos that … Continue reading
![Here’s an Easy Way to Sew Tzitzit Holes in Your Tallit [Video]](https://sewjewish.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/jerusalem-corner-hexagon-with-pattern.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "Here’s an Easy Way to Sew Tzitzit Holes in Your Tallit [Video]")
When you’re sewing a tallit, making holes in the corners for the tzitzit strings can be tricky if your sewing machine can’t make eyelet circles automatically. We’ve come to the rescue with a technique you can use with any sewing machine. This video explains. It’s full of details and tips, so even beginning sewists can … Continue reading
![To Easily Sew a Neat Tzitzit Hole on Your Tallit, Don’t Make a Circle, Make a Hexagon [Free Printable Pattern]](https://sewjewish.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/sew-hexagon-tallis-hole.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "To Easily Sew a Neat Tzitzit Hole on Your Tallit, Don’t Make a Circle, Make a Hexagon [Free Printable Pattern]")
Update: You’ll find a video version of these instructions here. If your sewing machine has a setting that automatically creates nice, circular eyelets, that’s a great way to make reinforced holes for the tzitzit on the corners of your tallit (tallis, tallith). But if your sewing machine doesn’t have that capability, making neat circles using … Continue reading
