Torah Cover Project

The Torah Cover Project

 Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the Jewish New Year and commemorates the anniversary of the creation of the world.  Yom Kippur begins Tuesday night. These are the 2 holiest days of the Jewish calendar. During this time the covers for the torahs are changed.  These covers or mantles are traditionally plain (ish)- white/ivory/cream colored. As with many Jewish traditions, there are many different explanations for this.

 

My project for the summer was to make 2 covers for my synagogue,

Temple Sholom in Broomall, PA. 

This is what they look like.

 

They are relatively identical except for the front panels. 

One depicts a shofar and the other the "Book of Life".  The shofar is a ram's horn that is blown and sounds like a trumpet, several times during the High Holidays.  On Rosh Hashanah, God is said to inscribe the fate of every person for the upcoming year in the Book of Life.

 

Silk dupioni was used to make the covers. 

 Each top section was quilted with pomegranates. 

Then I quilted the background and appliqued the motifs for each cover.

 

 

 

The covers were then constructed like a quilt with a final dimension of 47" Wx 27"H.

 

 

 

They are then attached to the top of the cover or shoulder like a wrap around skirt

 with the flap in the back..

 

 

In the past the cover was attached to the shoulder 

encasing the wood inbetween layers of fabric and attaching the "quilt".

 

This time I tried  a very unique approach.   I used tops that were custom made of cherry for me by a very skilled local woodworker.

 

 

Then I used Velcro (c)to attach the cover to the wooden top.

 

These covers are only used for about 3 weeks and then stored the rest of the year.  The Velcro method of attachment makes storage and cleaning so much easier.

 

I made fabric slipcovers to store the wooden tops

 

 

and provided Temple Sholom with an acid free archival box for storage.

 

As we say in Hebrew, L'Shana Tova -

May you have a sweet and happy New Year.

 

 

Torah Cover #2 "Flames"

The body of Torah Cover #1, Pomegranates,  has been completed.  It will  now be set aside to await the other 2 covers.  When the bodies of all 3 torah covers are completed, I will then construct all of the covers at the same time, assembly line style.  This is my plan, since it is quite challenging to construct the actual Torah cover with the wood insert.  My goal is to do it in the tidiest, most elegant manner so that no raw edges can be seen - either inside or out.  Constructing 3 at a time will help me with this ever evolving technique.  It is always on my mind that I am creating these Toah covers to last for many, many years and I must do my best work with longevity as a prime consideration. 

Time to start Torah Cover #2. The theme - FLAMES.  There is a recurrence of the  appearance of flames throughout the history of the Jewish people.  From Moses and the burning bush to the eternal flame to the death camps during WW II.  It's a concept that needs to be celebrated and mourned, and definitely contemplated.  Flames can represent destruction, purification, joy and holiness. 

The initial design concept on paper: 

This time, I used an overhead projector to enlarge the design to full size.  After enlarging it, I still had to make adjustments.  I used this pattern to make the actual pattern pieces from the freezer paper. 

It was fun to collect the fabrics for the flame.  I was looking for colors that ranged from red to yellow.  Some of the silk dupioni I already had.  Some I bought on Fabric Row in Philly and some of the fabric I bought on my most recent shopping trip to NYC.  I was looking for fabric that glowed.

 As  a quilter, one of the most enjoyable aspect  of quilting is developing a working palette.  We call it a stash and it involves accumulating fabric.  Sometimes it is for a specific project - like for my Torah cover.  Sometimes, it is just accumulating fabric because we like it.   Here are some of my silks for "Flames". ( I can't explain it, but the colors are not that accurate. )

I dyed the background of the white silk dupioni using the same technique that I used for the Pomegranate Torah cover.  This time I used various combinations of yellow and red dye.  After dyeing the fabric, I layered it with the batting (I used the same Warm Blend again).  I quilted this before adding the appliques.  By doing the quilting before the addition of the appliques, I was able to stitch the horizontal quilting lines without them being interrupted by the applique.  This method results in a more fluid line and also there are less loose threads to tie off.

I used freezer paper to make the pattern pieces.  Instead of fusing down the pieces, I turned under the edges, ironed the seam allowance to the waxy side of the freezer paper  and planned on using  a machine blanket stitch.  Below is the freezer paper pattern , to be cut apart, with a snippet of the assigned silk color.

The flame pattern pieces were positioned on the Torah cover pattern.  And then the  inevitable.happens.  Even though I had lots of choices for fabric, I just couldn't find the  right one for the central flame.

So what's a girl to do?   DYE!  I hand dyed a piece of fabric using the same silk dyes that I used for the background.  .  Can you see the bit of gradation from the top to the bottom?  This was perfect. This central flame's subtle change in color,  blended with the change in color of the flames.

I used many different  rayon threads for the quilting to match the different colors of silk dupioni.
Here's a close-up. The sheen of the thread really complimented the sheen of the silk.  This looks so rich and vibrant.

And the completed piece waiting to be made into a Torah cover.

From Paper To Fabric

The first step in preparing the fabric for the Pomegranate torah cover is to prepare the background.  My idea is to use a subtle sky-like background, instead of the plain white dupioni silk.  A subtle sky would enhance the feeling of a pomegranate tree.  To achieve this, I decided to hand dye the silk with special dyes developed for silk.  I used a combination of blues and red.  First the silk was dampened so that the dye would flow and and the colors would blend.  The dye was brushed on with sponge brushes.  After drying, I was very pleased with the result.  I love that the rough slubs of the silk, which is my favorite part of the dupioni, came out darker.

 The curly vines were then cut out of the green silk dupioni from the pattern that was previously prepared.  The silk was first stabilized with a fusible interfacing to give it body and keep it fom fraying.  It was ironed onto the background fabric with a fusible web, that is like a heat activated glue.  It then took 2 days to stitch down all of the vines with a machine blanket stitch.  I used a rayon thread for the stitching, because I like the resulting sheen.

The next step was to prepare and attach the pomegranates and leaves.  I used a combination of silk dupioni and a silk/cotton fabric that I hand dyed for the outside of the pomegranate.  The inside is white silk.  The number of pomegranates used was 7 to symbolize the seven species representative of Israel's fertility as mentioned in the bible.  The blanket stitch was done using gold metallic thread.

The next step in preparing the torah cove is the quilting.  Several decisions have to be made before proceeding with this step.  The first one is to pick the batting.  This is the layer of the quilt that will determine how puffy it will be and its drapability.  The next decision is the type/color of thread and the final decision and the most difficult to choose is the quilting design.  I chose to use "Wam and Natual" batting - a blend that is 80% cotton and 20% polyester to give the cover a little stiffness and body once it is quilted.  I chose a blue rayon variegated thread for quilting and an overall pebble pattern fo the quilt design.  I chose this quilting design to epesent the seeds and the flesh inside the pomegranate.

So I layered the top on the batting and pinned it in place so that it didn't shift while I was quilting, and started stitching.  And stitching, and stitching.  It reminded me of a mulch pile.  Have you ever had multiple yards of mulch delivered? You bring over wheelbarrow and wheelbarrow full of mulch to your beds.  And the pile never seems to get smaller.   It seems like the mulch will last forever.  That's what it was like quilting.  It took me 3 entire days to cover this entire piece with "pomegranate seeds".  But it was certainly worth the effort.

The next step is to hand stitch the "inside" of the poms with some veins and seeds and then turn this piece into an actual torah cover.  Stay tuned.