Protecting and Preserving Temari

手まりの保護、保存、クリーニング

                While we all hope that our Temari collections stay safe and dry anc clean - we all also know that there are times when they don't . While we don't yet have any help for the perennial problem of the kitten and cat that takes a liking to your mari (they seem to be irresistable, not surprisingly), the Talkt Temari gang ahs come up with some intriguing ideas to help - or get - Temari clean and "pure" again.....

        Obviously protecting from mishaps is the best way to approach things - storing and displaying your Temari in ways that keep the safe and protected is more effective that trying to repair the damage afterwards. Keeping them in a dry environment, out of direct sunlight or strong light that can cause fading, and covered to protect them from accumulating dust will help. There are many ways to do this, limited only by your imagination... some quick suggestions are the plastic or glass boxes available in craft or collector supply shops, model cases or domes..... enclosed shelves or bookcases.... or, the large bubble bowls with a piece of glass or plexiglass cut to place over the top.

        Another suggestion comes from Doris: " O.K.,Ginny at your suggestion I will give the spray I use on my Temari. I have nothing to do with the company of either of these sprays. No it is not Scothguard--but I used that in the past for other things.The spray is:VECTRA apparel spray--by Vectra Enterprises, Inc.761-C Miami Circle Atlanta,GA 3024--1-800-241-4880 and another one I have(but not tried yet) is CRAFTGARD--Fibergard Chemical Corp. P.O. Box 24005 Hilton Head S.C. 29925 --the second one I bought at Michaels Craft store and I think that one was on one of Alene's craft shows. Please follow all the prcautions on the can. I put a gold or silver thread (if used for an ornament) on the ball,clip it to a clothes hanger with a clothes pin and spray(OUTSIDE)--leave for a few minutes and bring it in to dry--follow directions--the one says leave for 6 to 12 hours before touching. You MUST first make a test spray of all the threads you use on the temari on a piece of white cardboard to test for color fastness. It was fun to see the water just run off when I tested it!! On the Vectra it says protects against grease,wine,water and other tough stains--so we can eat a hamburgher,drink our wine(of course not too much as we have to keep our hands steady) and it won't hurt our temari:>)". When Doris mentioned that she was using a protective spry I questioned if it was Scotchguard - which is what I have used on a few temari that I know are going to uses less than protected.

        Next up is what happens when a Temari gets wet. You may think that this is way out of reach - but trust us, the topic has come up on the discussion list more than once. Collected from thoughts there are these suggestions - most of them indeed trial tested (not to mention ingenious):

From Gail:If you will wrap it securely in some white muslin, or other white cloth, you should be able to toss it right in the dryer with regular clothes. The cloth wrapping will keep the threads from coming out of place, and that would be your main problem. You can use a safety pin or a cloth tie to hold the cloth in place. (webmaster's note - if your mari base is stryofoam or plastic, be very careful about the temperature of the dryer heat.)
From Gina: at Wal-Mart you can find some stuff called "damp-rid." It's a bucket of silica type crystals that absorbs water that you use under leaky sinks and stuff.. an idea is to get a bucket of the stuff, and put it inside a closed box with the ball. theoretically, it should leach the water out through the air without water or heat damage to the ball... (webmaster's note - I have dried other fragile things with this stuff, just rig a little rack to sit the temari on so that it is not directly on the crystals).
From Lynn: If you have an "air only" cycle on your dryer, try that. Or dry for a few minutes on a low setting. That should help get it to dry sooner. If it's
wool, the worst that can happen is that it will felt. Hope this helps.
From Carol Ann: Wrap it in a towel and squeeze it really hard (without denting it)...or if you have one of those sweater racks you put in the dryer to keep things flat you could put in on that or if it is color fast then place it in the dryer with some towels.I dont see it falling apart but even if it did what do you have to lose?
From Jeni: You could try putting it in a pillow case and whirling it around like you are getting ready to throw a lasso. Kind of a manual "spin cycle". That might get a lot of the water out so it might dry a little faster.

        Now - all that being said, depending on the threads used, some temari will accept a gentle surface washup - depending on how desperate your situation is, only you can make the decision to try. Those made with mostly cotton pearl of floss will probably do well - corded nylons also. However, those made with more specialty fibers, like metallics or silk - you may want to leave it a little dirty, rather than risking the loss of it overall.