Handmade Holidays: Wrapping Gifts using Furoshiki

The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists!

If you want to have a totally handmade holiday, now is the time to get started. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be posting about recycled gifts and giftwrap you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale!

There are lots of ecofriendly gift wrap options out there if you’re feeling the traditional, paper wrapping thing. If you want to branch out a bit, though, you might try wrapping some gifts this year using the traditional Japanese method furoshiki. Here’s how!

• » See also: Earth Love’n Paper Products Perfect for the Holidays
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Rather than paper that gets tossed after a single use, furoshiki involves wrapping gifts in beautiful cloth that can be used over and over again! The Japanese Ministry of the Environment has a great visual guide showing how to wrap all sorts of gift items.

For a little more detail on the various methods, check out this great video demonstration:

Pretty awesome, right? You can really use any pretty piece of fabric as long as it’s big enough. If you want to get fancy, though, check out these organic cotton gift wraps by Chewing the Cud!

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by liron

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