Temari Ball No. 128 : Autumn Star

This temari ball is a beautiful example of a Japanese folk craft, embroidered with a design of woven stars in glowing rainbow tones over a slate grey base and accented with soft golden metallic threads.Temari is an ancient art, originally Chinese, but introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago and it has remained a cultural mainstay. Temari were originally a toy for a child to play with, crafted by their mother out of cast-off scraps of silk and old kimonos. The scraps of cloth were wrapped in hundreds of yards of thread and then stitched sturdily together, often so firmly that they would bounce! Over time, the stitching became more decorative and beautiful. The introduction of rubber severely hurt the commonplace temari, but elevated it to an art form. Practiced by aristocracy and nobles, temari balls became a very special gift.  In Japanese tradition, a mother would craft a beautiful temari for her daughter on New Year's, a principal holiday in Japan. The designs are varied and beautiful, and often employ brilliant, jewel-like colors and metallic threads, as a wish for the recipient's life to be just as brilliant. These are made in the traditional manner, with scraps of cloth formed into a ball and wrapped in layers upon layers of thread. A three-inch temari may have enough sewing thread to go all the way across a football field - four times!This temari is a bit over four inches across (thirteen and a quarter in diameter) and comes with a twisted thread hanger if you would like to hang it as an ornament. This thread can be snipped if you would like to display the temari more traditionally; on a small pillow, in a jar with other temari or ornaments, or on a candlestick or stand are all beautiful ways to showcase these treasures.The base of the design is slate grey thread, with the interwoven star design stitched on top of that in warm glowing tones from soft gold to plum, edged in deep brown and golden metallic thread. Each temari is perfectly unique, and the one pictured is the one you will be receiving. Any questions or custom requests, let me know!