This is the season when the weekly Torah portion returns several times to the subject of the Tabernacle the Israelites built after leaving Egypt. Building the Tabernacle was a community project that involved sewing, weaving, and embroidery, among other crafts. I thought this would be a great time to post an excerpt from the introduction … Continue reading
Stripes are not required for a tallit, although they are strongly traditional in some communities. In Ashkenazi Jewish communities –communities that trace their roots to Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages—prayer shawls traditionally have black or blue stripes. The stripes call back to the blue dye used to color one of the tzitzit strings in … Continue reading
Inspired by a quilting class in curved piecing and staring down a sizable fabric stash, Deborah Freedman crafted this tallit featuring the rolling hills around the Old City of Jerusalem. Deborah created the scenes on each of the two ends of the tallit as separate pieces, and then she appliqued the pieces on to the … Continue reading
This bold, modern tallit was created by reader Susan Yaskin as a bat mitzvah gift for her granddaughter. The tallit and matching bag are made from Dupioni silk. An embroidery service created the lettering and Stars of David for the bag. The blue and gold colors and the diagonal stripes give the tallit a modern … Continue reading
A reader recently asked about stripes on a tallit, so I thought the topic would make a good blog post. A tallit, Jewish prayer shawl, does not have to have stripes. You’ll often see tallits with stripes in Ashkenazi communities. In Sephardic Jewish communities, however, the tradition is for the tallit to be plain white. … Continue reading
One of our reader’s, Erez, made our day today by sharing these photos of two beautiful tallitot he made with his son and daughter just in time for his son’s bar mitzvah. They used the instructions we posted for sewing your own tallit and added embroidery to the neckpieces. They were so inspired that they … Continue reading
Sewing enthusiasts who want to try their hand at making Judaica have a new online resource: Sew Jewish’s Maria Bywater just became a teacher at the online learning site Curious.com. The site was launched just last year, and it was named one of Time’s top 50 websites. We’re kind of excited they invited us to … Continue reading
This excerpt from the pomegranate atarah video tutorial focuses on the technique of making machine appliques from silk dupioni fabric. Spoiler alert: Use sheer fusible interfacing to back the appliques, and baste the appliques on to the background fabric before finishing the edges. The video walks you through the steps. Use dupioni silk when you … Continue reading
Add a beautiful silk atarah (neckpiece) to your handmade tallit. We show you how in this video tutorial to accompany the new pomegranate-themed atarah pattern. The tutorial includes lots of details and tips for doing machine applique with silk, so even if you’re a beginning sewing enthusiast you can create a lovely atarah that makes … Continue reading
Our newest addition to the Sew Jewish Shop is a pomegranate-themed atarah (neckpiece) and corner pieces for a tallit. The pattern comes with step-by-step instructions and illustrations as well as lots of tips, so even beginning sewers can get great results. Visit the Sew Jewish Shop for the pomegranate atarah pattern. Maria Bywater is 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
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.files.wordpress.com/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.files.wordpress.com/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
![Free Atarah and Corner Pattern for Your Handmade Tallit [PDF]](https://sewjewish.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/atarah-pattern-pdf.png?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "Free Atarah and Corner Pattern for Your Handmade Tallit [PDF]")
Are you making a tallit? As promised, here is a pattern for an atarah (neck piece) and corner pieces. Earlier, we posted instructions for making a tallit that used a purchased atarah. Now, with this pattern, you can make your own. Neither the atarah nor the corner pieces are strictly necessary for a tallit, but … Continue reading
Update: You’ll now find full instructions for a tallit as well as a tallit bag, kippah, and other projects in the Sew Jewish book, available in paperback from Amazon and in PDF format directly from Sew Jewish. The tallit is the one sewing project (besides the curtains that hung in the Tabernacle and Temple and … Continue reading
This video by Jewish Pathways explains how to tie tzitzit to a tallit better than any other I’ve seen. It’s the one I always refer to: Here are a couple of my own tips: Each time you start a new set of windings, pinch the hanging tzitzit threads together just below the knot. Make the … Continue reading
Sew Jewish 