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Articles from June 2013

Uneven margins . . . “extra” aida cloth . . . embroidery hoops

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Lisa asked: I finished my first row and realized that the margin at the left side is wider than the margin at right side. Since I counted carefully, I’m assuming I may have turned the fabric the wrong direction. Is it possible to cut off and finish that seam? I also noticed that there are several inches extra at the bottom of the fabric. Can it be adjusted when pieced together?

Would it help to have the top and bottom marked on the fabric before the kits are sent out?

A: The first row is the most difficult, and hopefully stitching will flow more easily after this.

Yes, there is some extra space at the left side and there may be some at the bottom depending how long your portion is. The canvas is cut as a square to accommodate 13 lines of text, which is the longest portion I gauged. Your “extra” bottom space is for your creative treatment, if you decide to do that. But note that there is a precise “picture plane” boundary, indicated by the orange dashed line on your template.

Although your suggestion of marking the 4 corners is a good one, I really couldn’t do that with complete precision on unstitched aida cloth that is subject to the vagaries of humidity and tension. That is the reason why positioning the first line accurately is so crucial.

Don’t cut away any “extra” cloth. We’ll deal with it at the assembly stage.

Correcting mistakes . . . even starting again

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Several people have broached this subject. They realized, usually within the first line of stitching, that something was not right.

They also worried that taking out their mistakes would ruin the aida cloth.

By all means start again. Craftspeople do that often.

A primary goal of the project is a word-perfect version of the text. The aida cloth is very sturdy, and will definitely withstand “un-sewing”. Just be careful not to rip the fabric. You may wish to begin your text again on a fresher surface by turning the cloth 180• Don’t cut away any cloth, since it will be all be used in assembling the scroll; however, process markings are often part of finished works of art.

You will hopefully be much happier when you know you have it right, and the project will definitely benefit from your care.

Cautionary hint: All of the stitchers who encountered problems realized that they had not followed the printed template accurately. They missed the correct letter height, didn’t extend letters as drafted, thought that all spaces between letters or words were the same. Please follow the template exactly; every square on the diagram has meaning, as does your every stitch.

Stitching G-d’s name(s)

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tetragrammaton
G-d’s name

Some participants have expressed concern about the propriety of stitching the Tetragrammaton or others of God’s names.

This response comes from Izzy Pludwinski, our resident Sofer STaM:
“The prohibition is against erasing God’s name – not in writing it. . . There is no problem in writing God’s name if done with a purpose. When one writes God’s name when writing STaM one says “This Name I am writing for the sanctity of the Divine Name (Shem Hashem).
שם זה אני כותב לשם קדושת השם
In STaM if one does not say it then the object ( mezuza, tfillin or Sefer Torah) would be invalid. In stitching there is no object to invalidate, but one should have the proper intention.”

The halachic prohibition is against destroying holy objects that contain any of God’s specified names. That is the reason for consigning such items to a geniza, and ultimately burial in sanctified ground.

Stitchers who want to do a 4-verse section that does not contain any sacred names can make that request in their registration application.

Borders

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Yola asked: Do the borders have to be cross stitched or can another stitch be used; for example a Smyrna stitch?

A: Borders provide an opportunity for individual expression. So long as you observe the guidelines for borders regarding colours, size, positioning; and your embroidery does not distort the surface or tension of the aida cloth, other stitches may be used.
See the BORDERS ALERT! page in the Design and Technique section.