When the obi isn't an obi.... We had a question on TalkTemari from someone who was always ending up with on obi that was not equidistant from her north and south poles. Among the replies the constant theme was this signals that the mari is out of round. Sue H replied with a great list of hints to that.... here you go.

"Out-of-line Obi lines are a sure sign that your ball is out-of-round. Too many times, we take winding the ball for granted when in fact, it is a difficult skill to master.  Like so many Japanese crafts, the base - boring parts are the most important. (webmaster's note - this isn't only in Japanese crafts or skills - it goes fro just about anything, you have to walk before you can run).

There are many tricks and hints in dealing with out-of-round...
  a.. try rolling your mari against a firm surface - such as a table or wall...
  b.. when making a mari, use VERY thin yarn such as machine yarn, fingering yarn, or baby yarn as the "layer" just under the thread layer... (thicker yarns can be used as the core, or as a beginning layer to help build bulk)
  c.. when winding, keep your ball moving in ALL directions... do not allow lumps to form...
  d.. make sure you use enough thread in the thread layer... too little thread may leave your ball (especially one with a squishy base) a bit out-of-round... 
  e.. try not to wind your mari too tightly nor too loosely... if you are a bit stressed - avoid winding mari, unless you like tight ones... if you enjoy winding while watching TV, avoid suspense type programs - that tension will get translated into your winding....
  f.. if your mari remains stubborn, choose a pattern for it that will not be as noticeable if the obi is not quite even...
  g.. worse comes to worse... un-wind, and start again!

Practice, practice, practice!  Make LOTS of mari.  try different yarns, threads, and base materials.  See what works best for you!  The more mari you make, the more likely you will be able to create truly round mari. After nearly 10 years of mari-making, I will honestly say that I am still struggling with creating non-out-of-round mari. Above all - do not get angry, frustrated, or give-up.  This is the nature of the beast - and ultimately what differentiates the "master" craftsman from the "student". Good luck with your mari-making!
Sue H.

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Further thoughts:  - when I began making temari I started out using styro balls - and resisted for quite a while (especially for me) diving in to make my own mari bases thinking cripes - I can't start with a round ball and KEEP it round, how can I make one from scratch and have it turn out round? Well- surprise, surprise. I will never forget taking that first plastic grocery bag and having it come out a nice round ball. There are laws of physics that will defend why -but, given that you are keeping even tension on the yarn and thead when you wrap -nature will actually HELP you make a round ball. It actually is easier to get a round mari making your own rather than trying to keep a solild base round as you wrap.  Here are more hints on wrapping...

We had some other hints and tips too - more so with stitching than prepping, since obviously it's the patterns using simple divisions working from pole to obi that this becomes a problem with (like kiku or spindles).  One trick I learned early on, when you are stitching say a kiku/chrysanthemum - and you need to place pins between the pole and obi for stitch markers.... measure whatever distance you need UP from the OBI rather than DOWN from the POLE - this way, if the obi is a little off from center, it will be absorbed into the pattern and unless things are grossly out of whack will never be seen.
And of course, when you are marking the mari be sure to tack the obi in place well - before you remove the marking pins so that things don't shift as you handle the ball in the making.

From Kathleen: I, too, have completed ten temari, and my obi lines almost never lie exactly in the middle between designs I work from the poles toward the obi. I have come to the conclusion that my stiching is still a little uneven in terms of spacing between each round. Even a fraction of an inch when multiplied by 25 rounds can result in almost a half inch difference by the time both ends meet at the obi. And, while round maris are certainly the goal, having a truly round mari doesn't impact whether you can make the North and South pattern exactly alike.  If this is the problem that you are describing, then you might try something I've been trying when doing this type of design (spindles, kikus, rose gardens). Once I have the North half design finished,
using a tape measure, I place a few pins in the southern half, and push them all the way in, to show me where I must "end up" for each color round in order to exactly duplicate the other half. Does this make sense? It's my "map", so I use map pins.

From Carol Ann - I may not do my obi in the proper manner but...I do my obi, first then work on the rest of the design. This works great for me and I am sure my north and south sides are even in my kikus. I often show my students when I teach to do the obi first. For some reason they get the hang of
doing a nice obi this way. It is easier to figure out and then when this is done they have a much nice time finishing. It kinda of 'breaks the ice' when putting in that first stitch.

From Delores - I have found that if I work a few rounds from N pole then switch to the S pole and do the same # of rounds I seem to get better consistency. Some days I just stitch tighter / looser than I do other days and can make a difference in the outcome of the pattern.