With Thanksgiving and Christmas quickly approaching, the push for a more sustainable way of living trending in the news, and many gift-givers having to budget their money, however folks can reduce their costs and carbon footprints during the holiday season is information well used. One of the easiest and most affordable ways to reduce both in a creative way is by incorporating a little furoskiki into the mix. A great alternative to wrapping with store bought gift wrap, this traditional Japanese method of wrapping gifts throughout the year is one that even children can share in.
First known as hirazutsumi (flat folded bundle) and then as tsutsumi (package), the art of wrapping with fabric would eventually be given the name furoshiki by Minoro Takohama around 1935 or 1936 to describe a type of Japanese wrapping cloth not only modernized to describe gift wrapping, but traditionally used to transport clothes, gifts, or other goods. Cut into a single rectangular or square piece of fabric, furoshiki can take on a life of its own depending on the fabrics, prints, and creative styles chosen to make the wrapping of birthday and holiday gifts or even wine bottles extra cool!
What Can I Use to Make Furoshiki Gift Wraps?
With textile waste measuring by the tons in our landfills and the need for more Earth-Stewards in demand, if you aren’t a seamstress with a stash of fabulous fabric rems to choose from, there are lots of resourceful ways to find furoshiki wrap fabric for use that may even be around your house. From unused cloth napkins and decorative tea towels, to beautiful scarves and embroidered handkerchiefs, recycling for furoshiki gift wrapping keeps the fabric out of the trash and places it into welcoming hands for re-purposed use.
Choosing the Right Fabric Type
Thin fabric won’t be sturdy enough to hold the items, and if it’s too see-through it can reveal what’s inside. The ideal fabric is sturdy and thick enough to protect the objects, but not so thick that it’s difficult to tie the ends. To that end, decorative, assorted dress, and cotton novelty fabrics work great. For extra thickness and durability, a liner can be sewn on the inside if desired or if it is a cotton/cotton blend, try spray starching the material for added stiffness.
Now that I have the fabric, How do I make Fursohiki gift wraps?
STEP 1: Once your chosen your fabric(s), you’re going to want to cut it at least 2-3x the size of the item you are wrapping and finish the edges ( with pinking shears or over-stitch machine). Pinking will give a nice finish to NON-fraying fibers while the overstitch machine will prevent fraying from fabric that does. If neither are available, simply fold over the edges of the fabric and glue them closed in a neat fashion.
STEP 2: There are many different ways to fold the furoshiki way. Here are a few quick and easy ways to wrap common gift shapes:
A) Wrapping boxes, books or flat items
- Lay your chosen cloth with the pretty side facing down.
- Place the object diagonally in the center of the cloth.
- If the object is rectangular, then draw up the corners of the fabric on either side of the longest edges of the item. Make sure the fabric is tight and tie the two opposite corners together once.
- Do the same with the other two corners but tie it twice so it knots. If the object being wrapped is square, then it doesn’t matter which opposite corners are tied together first.
furoshiki for flat surfaced gifts.
B) Wrapping round or cylinder shaped items
- Lay the cloth out in a diamond shape on a flat surface and place the object upright in the middle.
- Gather the top and bottom corners together and tie them securely in a knot on top of the object.
- Take the two remaining corners and wrap them around the bottle so that they cross over the back and end at the front. Make sure the fabric stays tight while wrapping. Tie the two ends in a knot.
- If a handle is desired, then tie another knot with the loose ends at the top of the bottle. To do this, twist the ends a little and tie a small knot with the very ends of the fabric.
furoshiki for rounded gifts.
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