If you have used Diana Vandervoort's later books you will have seen her "quilt balls".. and if you have any of the Japanese Temari books you may have some that show "fabric" temari. In reality these inspired by or are another Japanese craft called Kimekomi. 

    "Kimekomi" means to "tuck in" in Japanese.  Cloth, usually made of silk brocade with traditional Japanese design, is glued and tucked into grooves of a doll body, or shperical base.  The base is made of compacted paulownia sawdust mixed with jute fiber and glue, or sometimes carved from wood before the decorating process begins. Kimekomi is not temari, although some designs can appear to be similar in layout. Sometimes the techniuqes are combined into one piece, but they are distinct and separate techniques.

    The origin of kimekomi dolls dates back to the early 18th century.  Tadashige Takahashi, a priest at the Kamo Shrine in Kyoto, the capital of Japan at that time, created a doll body from scraps of willow wood trees and covered it with left over brocades and silk scraps used for the Shrine festivals.  Those dolls were called Kamo dolls.

       Crafts similar to kimekomi have come and gone in popularity, including "quilt balls" that were a popular simple craft not too long ago whereby fabric scraps were tucked into Styrofoam balls to form designs.

Sue H. shares her knowledge and experience with us again....

        "In regards to the non-thread temari, you may have encountered a Kimekomi version of these decorated balls... sort of a patchwork look of brocades, and metallic threads.  If the ball appears to be made of fabric pieces where the edges are "tucked" into groves following geometric patterns around the ball, then most likely it is of the Kimekomi variety. Kimekomi is a (relatively recent) Japanese art form using a foam or wood-fiber base into which are cut thin groves in the desired pattern.  Glue is placed into the groves using various hand-carving wood-working tools.  The fabric is scored, then cut leaving only a few millimeters that are carefully tucked into the grove.  There is a similar Scandinavian version that includes covering the grove with metallic braids and accenting the line intersections with beads and such.  I have studied Kimekomi doll-making for many years.  Please contact me privately, and I'll be glad to share more of the in's and out's of Kimekomi." (webmaster's note - Sue also holds Master Certification in Kimekomi Doll making in Japan....in addition to her Temari Certification.)

        If you are itnerested in more information about Kimekomi dolls here's a link to get you going... http://www.jdollcollector.com/pages/kimekomi.html
And, this site displays great examples of Kimekomi, many of which are based on temari designs that you will recognize: http://www.geocities.com/kimekomi05/

        In my perusing the web I came across a traditional Kimekomi ball that I've added to my collection - it does a fine job of illustrating all the points Sue highlights in her description.