Sustainable chic even in your gift wrap

by Nejla Matam-Finn

Every year, especially around Christmas, I am in despair when it comes to wrapping presents. For one I was never the good gift-wrapper. I always find it tedious and oh-so-annoying to do it. But ever since our little one came to our lives, I have joined “the parents club” of being stuck in a room after her bedtime doing the dreaded work of wrapping.

But, wrapping aside, I am more alarmed at seeing the amount of trash that is created once all the gifts are open, and the wrappers thrown out. Thankfully, on a trip to Japan a couple of years ago, I discovered the art of wrapping called Furoshiki. This is where one wraps gifts using fabric. Actually, this method allows you to wrap anything - like a bento box, bottle of wine - in cloth.

So, three Christmas ago, I decided that this was how I was going to wrap all gifts from now on. And, yes, that includes any festivities such as birthdays that I encounter throughout the year.

Not only is it super simple to make any shape of gift look good but, on top of that, you don’t have the guilt of seeing all those wrapping paper that you paid for go straight to the bin the very next morning And I love the fact that my Christmas tree still looks super festive and that my little one is not missing a bit of the unwrapping process. She enjoys it so much that, this year, she asked Santa to make sure all gifts are wrapped Furoshiki style.

What you need?

Any piece of fabric will do. You can either purchase them in different sizes or find some around the house. For example, I keep lots of muslins from when my daughter was newborn and those came super handy when it comes to packing something a bit bulky. For some reason, I also have lots of handkerchiefs, pocket squares that never got used. So, now I am using them to pack the tiniest gift.

The best thing about those pieces of cloth is that I keep them and use them all year round whenever I have a gift to wrap. As a result, I never have to stress about having the right tools (wrapping paper, scotch tape etc..). Plus, many recipients of my gifts are also happy to give me back those fabrics, and some even wanted to learn how wrap with them. Basically, I feel like I have given them a gift that keeps on giving.

Not sure how to do it? Read on for some tips.

How to tie a knot for any furoshiki?

1. Put the left-hand point (B) across and in front of the right-hand point (A).

2. Bring the point of A forward and under B so as to make a simple, neat granny knot, keeping the fabric flat and smooth. Shuffle the ends a little, so that they approximately regain an equal length.

3. Fold end B across the central knot, so that it is horizontal.

4. Fold A vertically down across end B.

5. Push end A under end B and out through the loop to make a smooth, square reef knot.

6. To finish, slightly spread and twist both ends so that they are leaf-shaped. If the fabric is reversible, twist them around so that the reversible side shows uppermost.