The Furoshiki Way

Discovering the Japanese tradition of Furoshiki wrapping has been so inspiring for me. Furoshiki (pronounced like this) is a square piece of cloth used to wrap gifts or transport items, and it also refers to the craft of using decorative cloths to present gifts instead of using traditional paper gift wrap.

The concept of furoshiki originated in Japan in 710 B.C. as a way to wrap precious objects and treasures found in Japanese temples. The practice evolved to be a means of wrapping bundles of clothing, particularly in bathhouses where visitors would wrap their kimonos in furoshiki cloth while they bathed so their clothing was easily identifiable and not mistaken for someone else’s. It was common for individuals to stand on these cloths like a bath mat while they dried off after bathing, which is where the translation of furoshiki comes from. (bath = “furo”, spread = “shiki”).

This close-up of an image from a Japanese book of poems shows a woman using furoshiki to transport food items.

Source: Picture Book of Kyoka Poems: Mountains Upon Mountains 1804 via The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Japanese culture continued to perfect the art of furoshiki and mastered many different methods of wrapping furoshiki to beautifully and artfully present packages and gifts. The practice of furoshiki has been embraced and practiced globally by many different cultures. Many people are especially fond of this wrapping style because of the sustainable and environmentally friendly impact of furoshiki cloth. These cloths are re-usable, versatile, and many Americans have completely ditched traditional paper gift wrap in favor of furoshiki. Wrapping with furoshiki is virtually zero-waste, and it does not require tape or ribbon.

There are countless videos on YouTube sharing tutorials on furoshiki wrapping methods, and even more companies are beginning to manufacture and sell a wide variety of furoshiki cloth. I could spend hours browsing furoshiki options on Etsy! Stores like Anthropologie are now carrying lines of furoshiki, and other companies like Wrappr are focusing their business mission on producing furoshiki wraps with original artwork - and even offer subscription boxes of their beautiful designs.

In addition to typical paper gift wrap services, I am delighted to offer furoshiki cloth wrapping services at Bow and Bestow. One of my favorite things about furoshiki wrapping is that the cloth can be multi-purpose. I love coming up with a useful fabric gift that can be incorporated as the gift wrapping cloth. Tea towels, cloth napkins, bandanas, scarves (and more!) can all be used as furoshiki. Pictured below are a few examples of gifts I have wrapped that are inspired by furoshiki: I used a buffalo check welcome mat to wrap a house warming gift, a swaddle blanket to wrap a baby shower gift, and a linen table cloth to wrap a birthday present. The options are boundless, and I love that the wrapping itself as a use beyond the moment of gifting.

Here are some examples of our furoshiki work:

If you have any gifting occasion coming up, consider exploring furoshiki as a sustainable gift wrap option. If you’re not feeling quite brave enough to try it yourself, I’d love to wrap for you. Our furoshiki cloth wrap pricing is $10 plus the cost of the item used to wrap your gift item. It’s a gift wrapped in a gift!