Our Temari ball this month features a lovely pinwheel stitch pattern. This type of design reminds me of peering through kaleidoscopes when we were young. Do you remember them??
How we created this pinwheel stitch pattern for our Temari ball
This Temari ball used three different colours, which you can find in our collection:
Historically remnants of old kimonos were formed to create the base of the ball, but today we use styrofoam wrapped with a base of thread. Most of the balls Verna created this year are a base of black metallic. I requested this as I felt the thread colours and designs show up beautifully set against a black background.
Once the ball is wrapped, the design begins. The ball is divided into sections, marked with pins at first. Divisions of 4-16 are standard, with additional pins marking the top, bottom and equator. Guide threads are wrapped from pin to pin and serve as markers for the variegated thread.
Verna designed all the Temari balls using size 8 Perle cotton. The Perle cotton is wound around and between the pins and guide threads to create a geometric design. As the design progresses, the threads are tacked and the pins removed.
You can read more on Barbara Seuss’ website, Japanese Temari.
