#thanks ezra for calling on me this is exactly My Thing (textile art judaica resource aggregation and networking)

[briochebread]

All right, here's what I got! Some recs from friends, some of my own findings- hopefully it's helpful! 😊

Actual patterns:

Embroidery and Sacred Text: New Designs in Judaic Needlework, by Rachel Braun. original blackwork embroidery patterns for judaica, including hebrew fonts. https://www.rachelbraun.net/embroideryandsacredtext

Chai Studio Boutique: embroidery patterns with calligraphy-like designs. https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChaiStudioBoutique

Debba Works: a couple of intermediate-difficulty counted cross stitch patterns. https://www.etsy.com/shop/debbaworks?section_id=6077966

Sew Marie Studio: these are cross stitch patterns, but some pretty fancy designs. http://sewmarie.weebly.com/shop.html

Historical archives of Jewish textiles:

The Fabric of Jewish Life, from the Jewish Museum in New York. lots of varied examples of embroidery! it only has a few color photos, but even the grayscale photos are really good. book info: https://makor.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01JTS_INST/19dfmbi/alma994981297207706

Embroideries and Fabrics for Synagogue and Home: 5000 Years of Ornamental Needlework, by Lillian S. Freehof. this one seems like it could be really helpful, and there's used copies available online! it has photos and info about designs, symbolism, motifs and techniques. https://archive.org/details/embroideriesfabr0000lill

The Jewish Wardrobe, by Daisy Raccah-Djivre. Lots of photos on mannequins, which is nice to look at but slightly harder to pattern from. book info: https://www.accartbooks.com/us/book/the-jewish-wardrobe/

Ceremonial Synagogue Textiles: From Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Italian Communities, by Bracha Yaniv. More text, but still has some good pictures. book info: https://books.google.com/books/about/Ceremonial_Synagogue_Textiles.html?id=hnJvEAAAQBAJ

The Jewish Museum online archive: they don't have a lot of photos online, but there's a few! https://thejewishmuseum.org/collection/search?collectionArea=Decorative%20Arts

hey does anyone on tumblr know of good judaica embroidery sites? my mom is looking for patterns and doesn't know where to start beyond looking for what major pattern companies produce so if you know of good etsy / indie designers i'd love to know!

for more specific guidance, she vastly prefers counted patterns with more complicated stitching techniques over cross stitch or printed patterns; she does a lot of traditional and historical styles so honestly even if you know about good historical archives of jewish textiles she could probably work with that.