Monday, February 18, 2013

" Furoshiki"one of my new favorite eco ways!



Whats furoshiki you may ask?
It is the new in way to eco wrap and gift give! 

Originating from Japanese culture where it promotes caring for the environment and reducing waste; Furoshiki is the eco-friendly wrapping cloth. Using techniques similar to origami, it can be used for gift wrapping, grocery shopping or simply as decor. Choose from a wide variety of sizes and designs to complement your lifestyle.   Why furoshiki? It is reusable and multipurpose. Each year billions of plastic bags end up as litter; reusable bags, such as furoshiki can help reduce the impact to our environment. Its versatility allows you to wrap almost anything regardless of its shape or size.

This is a great way of wrapping on a budget.  You can go to a thrift store and grab bulk scarves for 25 cents or sometimes you can get a huge zip lock with like 20 in it for a buck!  Also going to a fabric store and buying sale fabric is a great way to go as well!  Usually after holidays the holiday items and fabric gets reduced in price and that is the time to pounce!  Having a stash for the upcoming year is the way to make this an inexpensive form of wrapping!  I have furoshikied it up myself!  I was gifted a large amount of vintage scarves from a great aunt years ago and when the item fits it gets a swanky furoshiki  wrap! 

Another thing I like to make is totes for veggies and even purses!  You can make great farmers market or gardening bags using furoshiki like pictured above.  The opening is nice and big so your items don’t get squished and it is super cute!  I like using them in the garden as well because you can harvest a ton in a yard of fabric bag!!  If they get the standard garden dirt they can just get thrown in the wash!  My girls love them as well to play with!  They are super cute at the farmers market because they insist on things to fill their little bags like a carrot, apples, and some strawberries here and there!  They feel important when they have a bag full of produce hanging off their wrist…   Although most of it gets eaten right after it hits the bag!  During the holidays of course my favorite thing is to try to reuse for wrapping be it grocery bags or news papers.  But this makes for elegant gifts for those special people that we love so much!  I tell the person that they can reuse the fabric as a hanky or to re wrap for someone else!  Make a bandana or to just use as a pretty square of fabric to lie on a table!  Whatever the case, once you start I am sure you will be hooked!  

 I usually make large bags with one yard of fabric, and wrap small gifts or make small purses with a fat quarter!  Just a little F.Y.I.  But pretty old scarves whatever size work like a charm as well.

Here is a link I love because they really spell out the process nicely for those of you like me that need a couple goes at it.  There is also a video I really dig that helps a ton too! 


Video:

Tread lightly when gift giving, and use other ways to wrap gifts!  This one is so pretty and worth all the trouble!  Please leave pictures, comments, or any questions about your furoshiki adventure!

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