Furoshiki, the Japanese art of wrapping with cloth, is the perfect method of gift wrap for holidays and birthdays. Not only is it gorgeous, but it serves as a gift in itself since it can be reused by the recipient! Here’s some different methods of creating this homemade and reusable “wrapping paper” using fabric.

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What is Furoshiki?

Furoshiki is a type of traditional Japanese wrapping cloth used for wrapping just about anything from gifts to snacks.

I was recently introduced to the art of Furoshiki by one of our good friends when she presented a gift to me wrapped in beautiful cloth. The fabric was simply tied around the gift- no string or tape involved. I absolutely loved the idea of reusable gift wrap and have since used the same piece of fabric to package other things. (Just last week I wrapped Lucy’s school snack up in it and stuck it in her backpack. And I’m sure eventually the wrapping cloth will be used on a gift and presented to someone else!)

I loved the idea of Furoshiki so much that I knew we’d be doing some related projects with it during the holiday season. Here’s a few options for creating your own Furoshiki. (This post contains affiliate links.)

How to Make and Use Reusable Wrapping “Paper”

Paint a Bandana

This is a really fun method for both kids and adults! Buy some solid colored bandanas to use for your fabric. The edges are already finished so there’s no sewing involved! All you’ll need to do is decorate the bandanas.

Before decorating your bandana, be sure to protect your work area with newspaper, and place some wax paper under the bandana so the paint doesn’t stick to it once it dries.

To make our design, we first used stencil brushes to stencil green fern leaves all over the bandana using green acrylic paint.

Once the paint had dried, we used cotton swabs to dab colorful dots all the over the ferns, turning them into Christmas trees! (The paint in a few of the bottles was a bit thick so I watered it down a bit to prevent it from cracking once it dried.)

Here’s how it looked finished.

Although we decorated with stencils, you could also just paint directly onto the fabric using a brush. Another option is to use these fabric pastels by Pentel. You simply color on the fabric and then iron the design to set it. The kids would love coloring their own fabric gift wrap!

The only drawback to the bandana method is the fabric tends to be very lightweight so colored packages can be seen through the light colors, but, it’s perfect for wrapping all those little white boxes!

Marble Fabric

Marbled fabric looks absolutely gorgeous and would make for some beautiful fabric gift wrap. It takes a bit of time to set up the project, but the results are well worth it. Be sure to check out our post on marbling fabric!

Sew Your Own Wrapping Cloth

If you enjoy sewing, one of the simplest methods to make your own wrapping cloth is to buy some fabric in a design you like, cut it into a square, and finish the edges (just like how I made our reusable cloth napkins for the kids’ lunches). That’s basically it! You’ll just want to keep in mind what size square you will need for your gift, and be sure the fabric is opaque enough that your gift won’t be visible through it.

How to Tie Your Package

Wrapping the gift is easy. Just place your fabric onto a flat surface with the pretty side down. Put your gift in the center. Grab two opposite corners and knot them over the gift. Do the same with the remaining two ties. You’re done!

More Furoshiki Resources

The book Wrapping with Fabric explains more about the history of Furoshiki and gives all kinds of different wrapping techniques.
Chewing the Cud makes all kinds of fabrics for wrapping. I love this blue and white one!