Renewing a Torah Mantle

Laura Lee asked me if I could repair the lining to the Erie Torah cover, which was ripped from much loving wear and tear. Before repair Upon inspection it seemed the thing to do was to replace the lining, but this required disassembling the whole cover into the original pieces, and that in turn provided the opportunity to repair other damage to the cover, which could not be done with the lining in place: Before the repairs Disassembly Repair of decorations Replacing the lining Reassembly (Reminiscent of  Mr. Blanding Builds His Dream House ) One problem I did not address was the frayed openings to the mantle head (where the velvet is stapled directly to the head board).  I think the best thing to do here is to purchase wooden rings that are made for edging these openings. frayed cutout edges on repaired mantle

Here's the new mantle, finished version: And here's the wimple:

We've decided to go with a light coloured background fabric.   Here is the palette of contrasting colours (still missing a few): Here's a close up of the grain of the background: And here is the design cut out and pieced:

Here is a rough version of the design we have settled on for the new cover. It is entirely abstract, with no explicit Jewish symbols, but evokes rising light, which we think is appropriate.  Suzanne developed the design, inspired by a series of early water colours by Georgia OKeefe.  It would be rich colours on a dark background (probably navy) or a light ground . The pattern would wrap around the front and sides of the torah.  Here is an approximation of the whole design, before the panel is wrapped around the frame: Susan's approximation of Suzanne's design on a dark background Here is a sketch of the front view: Suzanne's design On a light background:

Here's how I made a mock-up of the top piece of the mantle (to go on wood head board once we have one).  In the final version, the board will be fabric covered on both sides, with a short band around the circumference that has a velcro strip for attaching the decorative panel. I made a cardboard stand-in for the wood (half the board), then cut out two pieces of quilted fabric the same size, and whip stitched to both sides of the board: I then cut out a piece of the outer fabric the size of the board + seam allowance, marking 2-1/2" circle cutout.  I cut a piece of facing to line the cut-out, and sewed along the cutting line: I trimmed out the center, and clipped the seam, then turned facing to the inside: facing turned to the inside right side I then cut a band roughly the circumference of the board, folded it lengthwise and sewed along the seam allowance.  This will be the part that will have the velcro to attach the decorative panel: ...

I've done some more research and learned some vocabulary. The scroll cover is also called a torah MANTLE, and the oblong-oval board at the top from which the cover is suspended is called the HEAD of the mantle. Here is one I found online  for $20. I also found out that in many cases the cover is attached to the HEAD by velcro.