Blue and Grey

Most of my tallitot are shawl-style, and the design is typically appliquéd on the top side. Once in a while I am asked to make a large tallit that is worn in the traditional manner, with the ends flipped over the shoulders. In this case, the color needs to be seen on both sides and the fabric needs to have a good drape and enough weight to stay up.

The fabric I use for these large tallitot is silk noil, also called raw silk. It's not at all slippery, comes in many colors, and looks great with accents of dupioni silk.

This large tallit (42x72 inches) is made of a light grey silk noil, with stripes of two different blues pieced in so that the color shows on both sides. The atarah repeats the two blues, and the white embroidery creates a balance with the tzitzit.

Purple, Green, and Blue

One of the best parts of doing custom work is seeing color combinations that I would never have thought of myself. I put my fabrics out and then watch with fascination what my customers come up with. Here is a very unusual color combination of light green, deep purple, and a striking royal blue. The Bat Mitzvah was very certain that this was what she wanted, and I love it.

Blue and Turquoise

  The color scheme for this blue and turquoise tallit is based on a bag that my customer's grandparents had bought. The Bar Mitzvah boy wanted a tallit that would be as close a match as possible with the bag. After some very careful shopping I found the colors that worked, and here is the result.