Make Easy Japanese Gift Wrap From Fabric

2 Materials
$5
5 Minutes
Easy

I long ago stopped using paper gift wrap because I hated how wasteful it was. I found another alternative that is equally (if not more) pretty under the Christmas tree, and it makes wrapping gifts incredibly simple and fast! This alternative is furoshiki, the Japanese method of folding a square of fabric to carry objects and wrap up gifts!


But furoshiki is useful for gifts all year round, not just at Christmas! The recipient of the gift will get the additional gift of a lovely new furoshiki to use in his/her future gift giving.

Take a rectangle of fabric and fold one corner over to make a triangle. Cut along the edge and unfold the fabric to have a square.

If you want, you can leave the square like that, or you can sew along the edges to keep them from fraying.


You can make all different sizes of furoshiki, as well, so that you'll be able to wrap small, medium and large gifts.

There are different ways to wrap up packages with furoshiki, depending on the object and the style you like. But once you have figured out a couple of methods that you like, you will be able to wrap up your gifts in about 15-20 seconds!


For example, roll a long object from one corner to the other. Then tie the ends of the tube together. Easy!

Or put a box in the center, fold opposite corners inwards, then tie the other corners together in the center.


Another nice thing about this technique is that you can easily wrap objects of a strange shape and size.

Aren't those pretty? I much prefer seeing these colorful packages under our Christmas tree than wasteful paper!


Read my blog post about Furoshiki to find out more about ways to wrap items and their original Japanese names and uses!


And hey, if you do everything you can to avoid disposable gift wrap, make sure you check out all the other ideas in my Ecological Gift Wrapping Guide!

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Cucicucicoo: Eco Sewing & Crafting
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Laura Varuola Arthrell Laura Varuola Arthrell on Dec 16, 2020

    Do you ask for the wrapping back to read-use or hope that the recipient doesn’t throw it away and uses it again?

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