Obi Embellishments and Details in Temari

手まりの帯飾り

        A few rounds ago in the TalkTemai GITS we had a themed round...the temari made for your partner should be an obi-oriented pattern. While this was taken in stride by some players it elicited a good deal of discussion and questions on the whats and hows. This review will give you an overview of the obi on the temari and how it can be spotlighted for some new approaches to your temari making. We came up was varied designs that spotlighted the obi - and that info will continue to grow as folks add to it.

       But what if you are not working an actual obi-oriented design and just want to dress up the "normal" obi that is part of other temari patterns? Well, we'll work on that here. Please feel free to contribute your thoughts and drop me an email with your ideas.

       Needless to say the traditional approach is to wrap the obi with threads used in stitching the pattern..... but, even experimenting with this just a little bit can add a whole different punch to your final temari. Try using different colors! You'd be amazed at what just doing this will do. Add in some metallics - and I find that no matter what I do, the final round on each side being a metallic wrap just adds a bit of punch. Another quick and easy is to wrap the obi, then use either metallic or regular thread and stitch a zig zag over the obi, using the dividing lines of the temari as your spacing guide. Do either one round, or repeat on the opposite side to create diamond-shaped outlines with the zigzags. Another options is to again use the existing guildlines and stitch long, interlocking or interwoven diamonds - their spacing should be quite short in height so that it doesn't overtake your other design and of course you will be limited in space, but long in width - spanning two or more vertical marking lines.