Fabric wrapped presents

[TheOneWithTwoParties]

I was thinking of getting fabric to wrap presents this year, for the kids and us so we get it back, not distant relatives. Do you do this and how well does it work if you are a bit rubbish at creative stuff?

Has anyone bought kits from Etsy or similar? Do you use pillow cases? How do you make sure things don't slowly unwrap under the tree because you didn't knot them well enough?

I hate wrapping. I used brown paper last year in a bid to be greener but reuse is better than recycle so now I'm thinking a bigger switch might be good.

Wrap with coloured elastic rather than string or ribbon - they stay put much better!

Is it really less if you are buying a kit? I can see if you plan to use the same kit for 10 years.. do you really think you will do that?

A relative wrapped her children's presents in scarves (she had a large collection).

I've used things that added to the gift anyway before e.g. a cushion "wrapped" in a favourite band shirt or a gift set wrapped in a scarf.

This year I've bought a set of upcycled drawstring christmas fabric bags from a local craft charity, i plan to use them for years. I've bought a few rolls of recyclable paper for others but every little helps!

@ChateauMargaux

Is it really less if you are buying a kit? I can see if you plan to use the same kit for 10 years.. do you really think you will do that?

Well yes? The plan would be to use it every year. That's why I said just for the family who actually live in this house. Use it. Pack it away with the rest of the Christmas stuff. Use it again next year.

@jackstini

Wrap with coloured elastic rather than string or ribbon - they stay put much better!

That is a good tip!

That sounds good initially but what are going to do with the fabric?

Unless they have a use for it it will be wasted. Cotton is a very resource intensive crop, so it might be more environmentally unfriendly than simple paper.

Look up Furoshiki wrapping, you can see how the fabric is wrapped and tied.,

I used to use newspaper - looks v nice w ribbons and old cards as tags

I have fabric gift bags from here:
www.jumblebee.co.uk/hertsandcrafts
(craft group selling in aid of charity). I have about 10, some of which are 'Christmassy' and some of which are plainer and also do for birthdays. These are used to wrap Christmas presents and birthday presents for immediate family who then give them back so they are used over and over.

I use the brown paper from inside amazon boxes. With some colourful paper based tape and old Christmas cards cut up as gift labels they look quite festive and reuse something I would otherwise recycle, and without any cost.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon the OP intends to pack the fabric away after Christmas and use it again next year (and the year after etc).

I'm making the same switch as you OP, except I'm planning to attempt to make my own drawstring bags as I have a collection of Christmas fabric (some bought, some donated to me).

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

That sounds good initially but what are going to do with the fabric?

Unless they have a use for it it will be wasted. Cotton is a very resource intensive crop, so it might be more environmentally unfriendly than simple paper.

As I said in the OP, it's for the kids and us so the fabric is not leaving my house and I can reuse it.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

Look up Furoshiki wrapping, you can see how the fabric is wrapped and tied.,

I’d never heard that word before so I googled. WOW!😍

@coachmylife

I used to use newspaper - looks v nice w ribbons and old cards as tags

I love this idea and thought about asking DF to save me some of his papers (have literally never bought a newspaper in my life) until I realised he gets the Daily Fail. Can you imagine seeing that shit on Christmas morning?

But yes, I think paper with beautiful ribbon and tags looks great.

@DanceToTheMusicInMyHead

I use the brown paper from inside amazon boxes. With some colourful paper based tape and old Christmas cards cut up as gift labels they look quite festive and reuse something I would otherwise recycle, and without any cost.

I used a lot of that last year as we had so much. With some Christmas themed paper tape and the cut up cards it worked quite well. Amazon seem to have cut down on packaging though so I don't have as much this year.

Furoshiki wrapping is the best! I tend to buy scarves or tea towels on sale throughout the year for a couple of quid and then wrap friends and families presents in them and they get the scarf or tea towel too as an extra present. Zero waste!

@Iknowitisheresomewhere that's a lovely site, thanks.

Those suggesting newspaper, I could see that looking good but I use all my old newspaper for my various small furry animals. I feel quite satisfied when they pee over a particularly annoying politician's face.

I've done contents of a basket wrapped in Christmassy fabric. The same fabric has now been doing the rounds of my family for a good 10 years on small presents, so I don't feel it's wasteful. There were some bigger bits but they've got derailed into table toppers under decorations, maybe I need to get some more! Ribbon similarly, always use fabric Christmas ribbon which comes and goes around the family.

I tape the fabric with paper recyclable/burnable tape then use the ribbon to tie things more thoroughly.

Toast sent me 2 packs of their fabric wrapping when I purchased from them earlier in the year
I have used these for gift wraps and they are excellent and look lovely
I have also purchased more fabric wraps with a Christmas theme to use for my family….in the hope that I get them back for next year

We have Christmas gift boxes for people who live in our house. We bought them in the sale after Christmas a couple of years ago and reuse them each year. Very easy to use, tie labels to the ribbon, keep well and can be recycled in future decades when they reach the end of the lifecycle. Potential issue is where to store during the year but we have space and managed to get some that came folded flat and can be stored that way.

Fabric gift bags would seem to be the more practical option - rather than buying elastic or ribbons as well as fabric. They eliminate the risk of fabric slipping off the parcels.

I made little baggies out of Christmas cotton fabric over 25 years ago. No sewing machine then, either. I just sat and sewed away on three sides an turned the hem over and threaded a ribbon through.

I made them to fit CD's, books, bottles of wine. Generic sizes. I get them back after they have been opened and use them again the next year. They might need a wash now, thinking about it.

A couple of years later, my DM requested her own collection and both my brothers have since. Honestly, it's the easiest thing in the world to do and so convenient each year.

Just go for it.

@DanceToTheMusicInMyHead

I use the brown paper from inside amazon boxes. With some colourful paper based tape and old Christmas cards cut up as gift labels they look quite festive and reuse something I would otherwise recycle, and without any cost.

I love to use brown paper and then red stamps spelling recipient's name 🎁 and twine with a red berries twisted through

If you want to be more sustainable, don't buy from Amazon. The environmental impact of their servers, the social impact of their poor working practices and the fact that their profits margins are funding pointless adventures into space cannot possibly offset recycling fabric instead of wrapping paper.