Temari: It’s Addictive

I thought I’d write about one of my favorite crafts today – Temari. These are Japanese decorative spheres, covered in wound thread and complex-looking embroidery. I was browsing a bookstore in Japantown about a decade ago when I spotted this book cover, and thought, “Holy Moly – what are those?“. It was all over – I was hooked, and have made Temari ever since.

The earliest Temari were made on balls of wadded-up kimono scraps. More recently, Temari-makers are making balls of wadded-up nylons, or starting with styrofoam balls. The process of winding all that thread isn’t as time-consuming as you might think; I can usually cover an orange-sized ball within about 15 minutes, especially when accompanied by a good movie.

The stitchery part of Temari isn’t hard to learn. I use an amazingly low-tech method involving a strip of paper and some pins to divide the ball into sections, and then the embroidery is a series of simple stitches anchored to these sections. It’s a meditative, but far from mindless, craft. With a little practice, you’ll be turning out amazing Temari like these.

I did not make these – they’re the creations of Barbara Suess, who wrote a great beginner book, Japanese Temari: A Colorful Spin on an Ancient Craft. (Thank you, Barbara, for letting me share!)

I’m really excited about Barbara’s book, because most of the Temari references I’ve found suffer a bit in the production values. This one looks gorgeous. I like my education with a side of eye-candy, you know?

. . . Lest you think Temari are too serious.

You should also check out Barbara’s website for some Temari history and a freakin’ amazing gallery.

Kristin was bitten by the Temari bug, too – check out her cute Temari bag.

And If you’re local, you can take my beginner Temari class in March.