Experiments in Furoshiki

One of my interests is in Textile art. This means that I have substantial stocks of vintage, art, or crafted fabrics from different projects in the past. These have been in need of a good home.

I have been interested in Furoshiki - the Japanese art of tying simple fabric pieces to make versatile bags or reusable gift wrapping. This year the lockdown has given me the time I need to begin to explore the possibilities, and the conversations I have had with Nigel Evans from Roots Larder shows me that Furoshiki may have a role to play in helping us avoid plastic, and even the waste of paper that is a normal part of Christmas.

In Japan Furoshiki is a standard way of wrapping gifts. If you search on You tube you will find endless examples of different ways of tying the fabrics, from the very simple, to beautifully crafted knots and bows.

The Japanese methods generally involve nothing but the piece of fabric, which is knotted to enclose the gift. It often includes a sprig of a fresh twig or flower to complete the package.

In Japan it is the normal procedure that the cloth is returned to the giver - for reuse, but of course you can make the cloth a part of the present.

Because I am working with the supplies of cloth that I have I am not keeping entirely to the single piece of fabric. Sometimes I am combining several different fabrics, and as some of my fabrics are stiffer than conventional furoshiki fabrics I am sometimes providing a fabric tie to make it easier to neatly finish the wrapping without distorting the fabric.

I am at the early stages of this experiment - but here are some examples of what I have made so far. Most of these are large enough to wrap 4 large jars, but of course the whole thing about furoshiks is its flexibility!

If people like the idea I have plenty more fabric to work with!