Gift Giving Idea: How To Gift Wrap With Fabric

My six year old daughter’s best friend’s birthday is coming up and she loves dolphins. I mean really LOVES dolphins. So one of the first gifts my daughter chose for her is this little dolphin necklace. I think it’s a super cute gift and I know she’ll love it. Plus, how cute is the dolphin necklace box that it came in?

Since it’s not every day a little girl turns six, I decided to make her present extra special by wrapping it up in a hanky.

*Editor’s note: If a handkerchief is not readily available, any other pretty fabric will do. I love the idea of using fabric instead of wrapping paper, because it’s not only affordable but also ecofriendly. The fabric can often be used for years to come.

Since handkerchiefs are bright and colorful they are perfect for wrapping small gifts. Plus after the gift is unwrapped, the hankie can be played with. My daughter actually plays with hankies a lot; for dress up and also as little napkins during “tea time”.

The fabric wrapping technique is called Furoshiki. Furoshiki is a Japanese practice that I learned about when travelling in Japan. The tradition of wrapping or “tsutsumu” is easily seen throughout Japan and has been around for centuries. In Japan, the wrapping of goods implies respects to others and is often more important than the gift itself.

Over the next couple of months, I will dedicate a couple more posts on how to wrap gifts with fabric. I love this tradition and wish it was used more often in the United States.

For this craft or article, you will need a small gift and a ladies’ handkerchief. The handkerchief in this article is 13″ square and the box is approximately 4″ x 4″ x 4″.

There’s a ton of different ways to wrap with fabric but for this article’s purpose, I will be wrapping the same gift in two different ways.

First Furoshiki Method- Yotsu Musubi

The first way is called Yotsu Musubi, aka the 4 tie wrap.

First you iron the handkerchief flat.

Rotate the handkerchief and place the small box in the center.

Take the top and lower corner of the handkerchief and tie it in a knot.

Now take the right and left sides of the handkerchief and tie a knot.

Second Furoshiki Method- Modified Otsukai Tsutsumi

The second way we are going to wrap the box is a modified Otsukai Tsutsumi, aka the basic carrying wrap.

 First you iron the hanky flat.

 Rotate the hanky and place the box in the center of the hanky.

Next fold the top and the bottom of the hanky over to create two small triangles.

Fold the bottom of the hanky up to cover the top of the box.

Now fold over the top of the hanky over to meet in the center.

Now take both ends of the hanky (left and right) and tie it in the center.

Now wasn’t that super easy? Which way is your favorite way to wrap?