Benny's tallit done---wings and all

Normally I am pretty good about posting about works in progress as they are progressing.

I had spent so much time unpicking the messy substrate under the embroidered wings that the actual construction of the tallit took place around and between breaks from the mad cooking rush that is Passover.

One of the really beautiful things about a woven tallit is how the stripes n the right and wrong sides of the tallit interact with one another when the tallit is worn. That dynamic interplay of stripes is as satisfying as a really lovely chord progression.

Years ago when I first began constructing tallitot I used to create the stripes out of hemmed units of fabric that I then sewed together. I got that stripe interaction using that method. My main concern was sturdiness. While those tallitot WERE sturdy, they lacked in flowy drape--because the seams were bulky.

Lately, I have been constructing tallitot slightly differently stitching the stripe elements to both the right and the wrong side of the tallit. The stitching used to attach the elements on either side of the tallit becomes a decorative element.

The checkerboard stripe was machine embroidered. You can see the checkerboard embroidery on the reverse of the tallit.

The pinot are black velvet with a row of checkerboard stitching in gold.

Here is the reverse of that section of the tallit with the checkerboard stitching showing up stitched onto the silk.

And now for the neurosis corner of this post. As I post these photos here I see that they don't really do this tallit justice. It is much better in real life.

My husband has been concerned through this whole process that this tallit would look too much like a Swan Lake tattoo tallit. I think that I have avoided that pitfall. Yes, these are wings but hopefully, this tallit won't bring up memories of Black Swan.

With this tallit completed I can work on other projects---including this one.

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sarah in nyc

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