Shaun’s tallit, Stage 1

Often, I will describe myself as a schmatta girl. Occasionally, I will have a client that is also a schmatta girl (or boy). Shaun is is a schmatta girl. Fabric has meaning and tells a story. Shaun loves to layer shades of red. Her tallit will have reddish stripes with text calligraphed onto them. The base of the tallit is a silk/hemp blend. The fabric has a vintage feel, like a fancy dress from the late 1940’s with a cottony wrong side and a smooth satiny face. I could imagine a dinner dress made in this fabric.

Yesterday, I lay down the first layer of dye. I plan to layer several layers of thin dye to get a deep maroony red. because the dye will be applied unevenly the finished fabric will have an iridescent look. I know, so far this looks pink. Give me a few more passes with the dyes and it will be a rich off-red. I plan to keep deepening the color until I’m happy with the results.