Eco Friendly Gift Wrapping with a Fabric Wrapping Cloth

Reusable fabric gift wrap is a good solution to a problem that a lot of green minded people face every year. The holidays can be a time of excess, and many people would like to be more green and avoid excessive trash and packaging being sent to landfills. Even if used wrapping paper is recycled, it is a waste of resources to produce and recycle any one-time use product. Consider going green this holiday season with reusable fabric gift wrap.

I like to take living green one step further and use fabric from sheets or tablecloths from garage sales and thrift stores wherever possible, but pretty much any fabric will work for this project. It should probably be washable if you plan to reuse your fabric wraps for a number of years. I also find that fabric that comes from the drier without needing to be ironed is good, as this will help to avoid one more chore during the holidays. It's one thing to be green, but another to have to spend hours pressing your wrapping paper!

The size of these fabric wraps is generally a matter of personal preference and need. Measure the gift you have in mind and go from there. After a few years, you'll have a very large selection of sizes and shapes of reusable fabric gift wrap to choose from.

To make reusable fabric gift wrap, cut two pieces of coordinating fabric the same size, right sides together and sew a half an inch in from the edge, leaving an opening to turn and backstitching securely at the opening. Turn the fabric to the right side, and press all around making a crisp even edge. Fold the edges of the turning opening to the inside, even with the other edges. Topstitch all around a quarter of an inch from the edge, sewing closed the opening as you go. Your reusable gift wrap is now ready to use on holiday presents.

Another quick way to make reusable fabric gift wrap is to lay the pieces of fabric wrong sides together and stitch around the perimeter with a serger. This will finish the edges of the fabric gift wrap and join the two pieces, making the reusable fabric gift wrap reversible. I recommend using a specialty thread in the serger, like something with sparkle, or variegated holiday colors, to make add a little holiday glitz to the reusable gift wrap.

When using the fabric gift wrap to wrap up your holiday presents, there are many methods for fastening and finishing the wrapping. Gathering all the wrap at the top and the gift and tying it with a bow is a simple and attractive choice. They can also be fastened with safety pins (though this is not a good choice for gifts for kids), or the corners of the fabric tied decoratively around the item. Yarn or ribbon is a good choice for tying the reusable fabric gift wrap in place and is very festive looking as well.