Wrapping with Fabric

I'm becoming increasingly interested in using fabric to wrap gifts.  Fabric is recyclable, doesn't require sticky tape, and there are lots of designs to choose from.  People in Japan have been using fabric to wrap gifts for years.  Furoshiki is a traditional square-shaped cloth used to wrap objects of different shapes and sizes, and tied in interesting ways.  I'm not at the furoshiki stage quite yet, but I thought I would see what I could do with some denim/cotton fabric I had lying around.

I started by making a pompom.  I cut a strip of fabric, about 6.5cm wide.

 I then cut some denim tagliatelle of about 1cm in width.

I traced some circles onto cardboard and cut them out.

I put the circles together, then wound the fabric once between the inner and outer circles and tied a knot.

I continued to wind the fabric between the inner and outer circles, joining strips together as I went, until I couldn't get any more fabric through the inner hole. 

I then cut around the circle in between the cardboard and tied a knot in the middle.

I wrapped the gift in a piece of the same fabric in the usual way, fixing the ends with a strip of fabric tied in the centre.  I then tied the pom-pom onto the strip of fabric to complete the look.

The stiffness of the fabric creates a nice pompom and the frayed edges give it a bit of interest.

Using fabric to wrap gifts is win-win.  The recipient can recycle the wrapping, and you reduce your fabric stash giving you room to buy more.

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