"Green" reusable gift wrap

I'm again joining in at the Quiltstory blog's "Fabric Tuesday" link party! I decided to write about using reusable fabric instead of wrapping paper.

I grew up far away from extended family, and just have one brother, so a pile of wrapping paper wasn't usually a big deal in our house. But after getting married, and living closer to extended family, I was shocked one year at the piles of wrapping paper that were throw out, some literally minutes after they had been used to wrap the present. Soon after, I made up a bunch of Christmas gift bags, using clearance Christmas fabric I bought after Christmas and started using these bags to wrap presents. My husband especially loves them, as you just pop the present in there, and pull the draw strings. I hate wrapping presents with paper, have never been very good at it, so it's a no-brainer for me as well.

As years went by, I decided it wasn't enough to give a gift bag that may only be used a few times a year, and started giving gifts away wrapped in reusable shopping bags and pillow cases that I make. This was after I had decided to be a stay at home mom and no longer worked outside of the home. It was also after my kids were a bit older and I could leave the sewing machine out without it being sabotaged by little fingers and hands.

Recently I discovered the Japanese art of Furoshiki, or fabric gift wrapping. Think origami, only with fabric instead, and around a present. Here's a fun youtube video that shows how to do it. It's a bit too much like using wrapping paper for my tastes, but it's fascinating to watch, and would be a most excellent way to wrap any gift for a quilter (using some yummy fat quarters or quilt fabric!).

So what are you waiting for? Grab some fabric now for Christmas / Hanukkah and start sewing! If I ever get my project list whittled down, I may try to sell a few on etsy soon!