Green Orchid Japanese Temari Pattern
This is a Level 5 design and is quite difficult. Make sure your ball is perfectly round and marked precisely in a combination 8-division. It's called an 'all-over' design because when you are finished, the stitching will entirely cover the ball. Stitch triangles, squares and trefoils in layers. There is no weaving involved.
Supplies
25 cm circumference ball wrapped in red thread
Anchor perle Cotton #5:
254 - light green
131 - medium blue
130 - light blue
44 - red
Step 1
Mark the ball in a combination 8-division. See Japanese Temari: A Colorful Spin on an Ancient Craft. Use a thin gold metallic thread for marking. It will all be covered up at the end except for a tiny bit showing in the center of each flower.
Step 2
Place guide pins at the mid-points of the long lines on a 6-part triangle. Stitch a triangle around the pins using Anchor 131 (3 rows).
Step 3
With the same thread, stitch blue triangles (3 rows) in each 6-part triangle on the ball. There are 8 of them.
Step 4
With Anchor 254, stitch a square (3 rows) with the points of the square just inside the corners of the triangles. Connect all triangle points to end up with 6 squares around the ball.
Step 5
With Anchor 130, stitch a trefoil centered in each 6-part triangle. The inside stitches are placed near the center and the outside stitches placed just outside the 6-part triangle. Stitch 3 rows. Interlock long points with the other trefoils.
The first round is complete. The trefoil stitching is complete and you will not add rows to your trefoils in the following rounds.
Step 6
Now, it's time to start on the second round. Stitch
3 more rows on all blue triangles. Do not weave under any threads
already on the ball. Just lay them right across in layers.
Then stitch 3 more rows on all green squares. Do not weave.
Step 7
Continue by stitching 3 rows around the triangles and then 3 rows the around squares. End the stitching when the points of the squares reach the trefoil design.
Step 8
Wrap 2 rows green in the center of the empty space.
This space looks like a simple 4 division. Then wrap 3 rows red on either
side of green wraps.