a small job that turned into a bigger job

Usually when I post about work I take photos all along the way and then take you, my dear readers, along the journey. Well, I failed as a blogger this times so please forgive me.

Our dear friends Art and Kathy are both pretty big deals in the Jewish world and they both are serious collectors of American antiques. Kathy died a few years back. But at some point, perhaps in the 1970s Kathy made a bargello tallit bag for Art with a matching t'fillin bag. Kathy's bargello needlepoint was inspired by the needlework done by American women in the 18th century to replicate expensive Jacquard tapestry work. I am not going to talk about Kathy's deliberate choice to use old American needlecrafts to create Jewish ritual objects but I will leave you to write that little essay in your own head

During a visit with Art this summer he pulled out his t'fillin bag and asked me to repair it. We spoke for a bit about how fond Kathy and I were of one another. We also spoke about our shared love of making hand crafts. Kathy's beautiful needlework was intact but the Ultrasuede that was also used in the construction of the bag had seen better days.

It had gotten pilled and matted and had even ripped in several places. Oddly enough the silk lining was in perfect shape.

It took a bit of mulling to figure out exactly how to fix the bag. Kathy had done the needlework and had asked someone else to construct the bag itself.

There was a line of Ultrasuede covered upholstery piping above the needlework. It was to difficult to undo, so I covered it with blue grosgrain ribbon.

I had a remnant of blue velvet that I used for the outside of the bag. Attaching the silk lining to the velvet was much more of a todo than I had anticipated.

I hadn't realized until I had already finished the bag construction that the original had a buttonhole for a draw string.

After a bit of muttering and cursing and some suggestions from my husband I created an eyelet. I made some cording out of blue silk and some sewing and embroidery threads. I no longer remember where I learned to make cording but it is one of those skills that I learned as a child.

Threading the cording through the channel that I had created with two rows of topstitching was something of a challenge. It only took three tries and three different tools. Stitching the cording to a plastic bodkin did the trick.

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