Sew Your Own Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap and Ditch the Disposable
If you sew you probably have a fabric stash and what a better way to make use of it than to sew reusable gift wrapping. Single use wrapping paper is often not recycleable and tons of it ends up in landfills annually.
1. Furoshiki
One of the easiest ways to wrap a gift in fabric is by simply wrapping it in a square of fabric, like a tea towl or a second hand silk scarf. But using a piece of fabric with a fun print from your stash is another great option. Just finish the edge with a double fold hem and miter the corners for an elegant finish.
For the wrapping itself I suggest looking into furoshiki, the Japanese art of wrapping with cloth. Or look into bojagi, the Korean art of wrapping with cloth.
There are more tips in this blogpost: How to sew a reusable giftwrap - Furoshiki Wrapping Cloth
or dive right into the sewing with the video tutorial:
2. Drawstring Gift Bags
these are a little more work, but they are a great scrap sewing project or stash buster. You can often sew multiple in an hour especially if you batch steps and set up an efficient workspace.
here are three tutorials for drawstring bags that can be sewn with just a sewing machine, no serger needed.
Unlined drawstringbag with french seams
3. Mini tote bags
4. Tsuno Tie Bag
With 7 sizes and a spreadsheet to calculate your own recipe to create custom bags and make the most of the fabric you have on hand.
It's a great project to help reduce your stash and build confidence...I'm not saying it's super easy Where's the fun in that anyway?! There are some fab techniques to tackle (French seam, mitered corners) but there are step-by-step instructions and there is a video sew-along + a few blogposts to complement the instructions.
The Tsuno Tie Bag pattern + spreadsheet is a paid pattern but worth it if you don't like to do the math yourself.
