Temari 🧶 Tradition
The Art of Sphere Geometry
A few years back a book hit the JoAnne Fabrics shelves that created a small flurry of sales in white cotton yarn, DMC floss, & silk thread.
Being a University town - the store's shoppers were a regularly replenished variety of ages, ethnicity, & cultures. Although a mere 5% of the student body had ethnic ties to Asis in general (with less than half of that percentage claiming Japan as family heritage) - this crafting art captured everyone. After all, it was the 90s & the rise of Anime & Manda made all things Japanese chic.
Temari are soft, layered, hand sewn, traditional, up-cycled balls decorated with geometric embroidery. This ancient art saw a resurgence in the middle 90s - especially in college towns.
The practice required very few tools, time, & a little patience. The payoff was the dopamine hit of buying yarns & threads required to build the base, (YT videos & blog by DKW) followed by beautiful flosses, perle cottons, & silk for the final designs. Besides - who doesn't love a ball?
Especially ones this stunning.
Today there are many more books, websites, blogs, & video instruction dedicated to this remarkable fiber art. For anybody with a needle & an interest in geometry, this might be your new art project
