Home-made Talis Katan

I had the occasion to make a talis katan for a Bar Mitzvah boy recently. A talis katan is a four-cornered garment worn by Jewish men and boys in order to fulfill the commandment to attach tzitzis (fringes) onto its corners as in verses Bamidbar (Numbers) 15:37-40.

37. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

38. Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them that they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations, and they shall affix a thread of sky blue [wool] on the fringe of each corner.

39. This shall be fringes for you, and when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord to perform them, and you shall not wander after your hearts and after your eyes after which you are going astray.

40. So that you shall remember and perform all My commandments and you shall be holy to your God.

 Today, we are not able to attach a thread of techeiles (sky blue wool) because we are unable to produce this type of thread from its original source. The majority of Jewry do not follow the minority opinion of the current generation that the source of techeiles is a snail Murex Trunculus.

There are halachos (laws) detailing the construction of the four-cornered garment and the tzitzis. After learning from my Orthodox Rabbi, I felt comfortable making this garment according to halacha. The minimum size of such a garment has to be 18 inches by 18 inches in dimension for a Jewish man over bar mitzvah, according to the ruling of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, zt"l.

The minimum size talit katan that should be worn by anyone over bar mitzvah age depends upon which Rabbinical authority you follow, as shown in this chart. If you are uncertain which of these opinions to follow, consult your Rabbi.

Hazon Ish                                                 24" x 24" (60 x 60 cm)
Rav Chaim Naeh                                      20" x 20" (50 x 50 cm)
Rav Moshe Feinstein l'hatchila, preferred  22" x 22" (55 x 55 cm)
Rav Moshe Feinstein b'di'avad, minimal    18" x 18" (45 x 45 cm)

source: HaSofer.com

Young boys under bar mitzvah age can be trained to wear talis katan as well, whose size fit their smaller bodies.

The fabric for the talis katan has to be wool (preferably) or another natural material (silk, linen, cotton).  Polyester is synthetic and shouldn't be used on a talis katan, as ruled by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, zt"l, even though you will find polyester and polyester-cotton blend talis katan being sold in the stores today. Those who do not go by Rabbi Feinstein's ruling have their own halachic authority to go by.

According to halacha, wool is considered the fabric of choice for either a tallit gadol (prayer shawl) or a tallit katan, but cotton is also permitted. Both the Vilna Gaon and the Chazon Ish purportedly wore a tzitzit garment (known as “arba kanfot” or “tallit katan) made of cotton. Many Chassidim, who typically wear the tallit katan on top of their shirt, choose synthetic fabric because they do not wrinkle like cotton, but Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ruled that only woven fabrics – wool, cotton, linen, silk – are viewed as real garments according to halacha. He argues that in this regard a tallit katan made of synthetic fabrics that are not woven would be considered akin to leather, which is explicitly exempt from the obligation of tzitzits.

Source: Ben's Talis Shop

Tying the tzitzis string is a mitzvah that according to my Rabbi can be done even by a woman, but preferably by a man. Tzitzis string can be purchased commercially from kosher sources. The following video is a great tutorial on how to do this.

I examined an existing commercial talis katan to see how it is sewn, and I noticed that the hem along the edges are sewn with a thicker embroidery thread using a narrow-rolled hem, made on a serger.  The corners are reinforced with a square patch that contain a small hole to insert the tzitzis. I fabricated a copy of this style of talis katan with a custom size, 18" by 20" for the Bar Mitzvah boy.  This is what I produced.