Dotterel

What it does

Dotterel designs temari, the Japanese embroidered thread balls. Pick a ball and a division, add layers of stitching, and see the finished ball in 3D before you take a needle to it. Then follow the steps, with true-size measuring strips and the thread you need for each colour.

Divide the ball

• Simple divisions from 3 to 32 sections with the equator.
• Combination divisions C8 (squares and triangles) and C10 (pentagons and triangles).
• Your ball. Circumference in millimetres or inches, thread width, the mari colour and a gold or silver guide thread.

Stitch in layers

• Obi bands wrapped round the ball along any guide line.
• Kiku chrysanthemums, uwagake or shitagake, on every pole or centre.
• Chidori zigzags between two circles.
• Masu shapes: squares, triangles and pentagons growing round each centre, woven with their neighbours.
• Stars and spirals: stars whose points sit on the guide lines, spirals from pole to pole.
• Colours and symmetry. Each layer has its own colour bands and rounds, and the symmetry follows the division by itself. Reorder, duplicate and hide layers, change the division and the layers adapt, and undo any change. Eighteen thread colours with their own names, gold and silver among them, and six sample balls to start from.

Make it

• Make mode. Step by step: wrap, pin the poles, mark the division, then each layer and each colour, with the current round bright on the ball and the earlier ones faded. On an Android phone the volume keys turn the steps.
• Measuring strips. Every distance for your ball's size, printed at true size with a 100 mm check line.
• Thread estimate. Metres per colour, with a margin.
• Pattern PDF. On A4 or Letter: two views of the ball, thread per colour, the strips and every step with a picture.
• Picture. The ball at 2400 pixels, with a transparent background if you like.

Share it

A picture card and a short turntable video of your ball, and your design as a .dotterel file to open on another device.

Free, and one purchase

Free: simple divisions up to 12 sections, obi and kiku layers, the 3D view, picture export, the picture card and three saved designs.

Dotterel Unlock, bought once for USD 9.99 (or your local price), adds C8 and C10 and divisions up to 32, chidori, masu, star and spiral layers, Make mode, the pattern PDF with measuring strips, the turntable video and unlimited designs. No subscription, no ads.

Private

No account, no tracking, no network. Your designs stay on your device, in files you can export and share yourself.