BS”D ChinuchAtHome.info is pleased to present a new series on how to inspect shatnez in your home by doing it yourself (DIY) as a doable science project. Follow this series by subscribing to our upcoming posts.
Checking for Shatnez involves identifying fabric fibers, which in itself is a doable elementary school science project, even though it is also part of being a forensic science investigator in crime scene investigations or a high school student, seamstress, or future fashion designer studying textiles.
In this new series, we will discover the following topics:
- Meaning of Shatnez and its Halachic ramifications
- How to setup your own home Shatnez lab
- How to use a Monocular Compound Student Microscope
- How to Acquire Fabric Fiber Specimens
- How to Identify Fabric Fibers
- Where to look for Shatnez in clothing
Introduction
To describe what Shatnez is, we point you to this article on Aish.com, written by Rabbi Shraga Simmons.
Or you can view the following videos on Shaatnez:
Shatnez Animation from Dan Roth on Vimeo.
Thanks to the effort of one man, Reb Yosef Rosenberger, a”h, the idea of checking for shaatnez for the masses began.
Shatnez – Rosenberger from Dan Roth on Vimeo.
You too can set up your own Shaatnez lab in your home, by learning how to do it here.
Setup a Home Shatnez Lab
The materials that you need to set up your own home Shatnez lab include the following:
- Monocular Compound Student Microscope, preferable with a camera eyepiece for display on a computer (laptop,desktop,etc.)
- Microscope Slides and Covers
- Fabric Fiber Samples
- Tweezers and Seam Ripper
- Water
A high-powered Student Microscope to be used for Shatnez can be obtained these days at the price of a department store sewing machine. You can purchase the monocular compound student microscope separately and camera separately or pick a model that comes with a camera.
Amscope Monocular Compound Student Microscope, model m120c-2l-pb10
Amscope Monocular Compound Student Microscope with 1.3 MP (Mega Pixel) Camera Eyepiece with USB
Amscope Monocular Compound Student Microscope with 2 MP Camera Eyepiece and USB
Amscope Monocular Compound Student Microscope with 3 MP Camera Eyepiece and USB
The choice of cameras includes 1.3, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, and up to 10.0 MP (megapixel) resolution. You decide the quality that you like based on your budget and preference.
For this tutorial, we utilize an affordable Monocular Compound Student Microscope from Amscope with a 2-Megapixel Camera eyepiece.
This model microscope comes with it 5 prepared slides and 5 blank slides. You will need slide covers for the blank slides, sold separately. We suggest purchasing additional blank slides with covers if you would like to preserve your specimens.
50 blank slides with covers
We will continue with the next segment of our series, b’ezras Hashem, on how to use the Monocular Compound Student Microscope.
well done!