Japanese Thread Balls and Yarn Balls
What to do with your leftovers from knitting and sewing projects? Don't throw them away! Keep a large glass jar or vase near your work area and toss in the fiber bits. The colorful jar will soon become a fun decoration that reminds you of your past projects.
To make a Japanese thread ball, gather up all the bits and stuff them into an old sock cut off at the ankle. Mold it into a rough ball shape and wrap with your leftover yarn. Wind the yarn this way and that, trying to keep threads randomly wound on the temari ball. As you go, take a break from wrapping now and then to roll the yarn ball around in the palms of your hands to make it round. Add about 2 ounces (about 30 yards) of thick, soft yarn. Colors don't matter! All of this will be hidden under the thread wrap which you'll add next.
Turn your yarn ball into a Japanese thread ball. Ok, now, color does matter. Choose sewing thread for the base color of the Japanese thread ball. If you have more than one spool - great! Begin covering your yarn ball with thread by using up to 4 or 5 spools of thread at once. Let's don't beat around the bush here; let's get this yarn ball covered! When you can see no more of the yarn, switch to wrapping with a single thread. Cover your thread ball with this single thread wrap until the top layer looks evenly covered and has a randomly wound, smooth look.
Japanese temari are hand toys made from yarn and thread - congratulations! You did it!
