Keilim 28:6-7

Keilim 28:6

A patch sewn onto a basket conveys one degree of impurity and one degree of unfitness. If the patch is detached, then the basket conveys one degree of impurity and one degree of unfitness but the patch is ritually clean. If it was sewn onto a garment, it conveys two degrees of impurity and one degree of unfitness. If it’s detached, then the garment conveys one degree of impurity and one degree of unfitness while the patch conveys two degrees of impurity and one degree of unfitness. Rabbi Meir says that the same is true of a patch sewn onto sack or leather but Rabbi Shimon declares the patch ritually clean in such cases. Rabbi Yosi says that if the patch is sewn onto leather, it is ritually clean. If it’s sewn onto sack, it remains unclean because sack, like cloth, is a woven material.

Keilim 28:7

Rabbi Shimon says that when Chazal say three fingerbreadths by three fingerbreadths, this does not include the hem. The Sages say it means three fingerbreadths exactly (i.e., including the hem). If a patch was sewn onto a cloth on just one side, it is not considered an attachment. If it was sewn on two sides opposite one another, it is considered an attachment. If it was sewn on in an L shape, Rabbi Akiva says that the garment is unclean (i.e., susceptible to impurity from the patch), while the Sages declare it ritually clean. Rabbi Yehuda said that this only applies to a cloak but when it comes to a shirt, the patch is considered an attachment when sewn from above but not an attachment when sewn from below.