Furoshiki is a square piece of cloth or fabric used for gift wrapping, transporting items, fashion, and home decor. The word refers both to the craft and to the cloth itself, which usually has an elegant, decorative design. Furoshiki has become increasingly popular with cultures around the world as it has transformed the art of gift-giving.
In 2006, Japanese Minister of the Environment Yuriko Koike promoted furoshiki cloth in an effort to increase environmental awareness and reduce the use of plastic. It is during this period that the spread and contemporary practices accelerated in use. Today, it is commonly used by Japanese schoolchildren to carry bento boxes, and by gift-givers around the world as an environmentally-friendly way to wrap gifts.
All that’s needed to tie furoshiki is the cloth itself. Furoshiki cloth comes in a variety of different sizes, with the most common being 45 x 45 centimeters (17 x 17 inches) and 70 x 70 centimeters (28 x 28 inches). The only requirement is that the cloth must be square. For some gifts, the cloth may be as small as the palm of your hand, while other pieces of fabric may be cut as large as the size of a car, depending upon the size of an object you’re wrapping. The gift wrapper can fully customize the look; everything from the pattern of the fabric to its thickness and size can be selected by the gift-giver. In the link below is video of the basic Furoshiki wrapping techniques to help guide you.
