I am ALL about fabric gift wrap! And having just been through the holiday gift opening, I’m going to highlight some of my favorite things about using fabric, instead of paper:
–It’s SO easy to wrap with fabric bags!
–No need to shop for wrapping paper every year.
–No need to store bulky, awkward wrapping paper rolls and tape.
–SO much better for the environment! (especially when using upcycled cloth)
–WAY less mess! (Can’t emphasize this enough.)
–SO easy and compact to store
–Looks quaint, creative, and homey
For me, using fabric gift wrap has been a gradual process, and I think that’s important to remember. It’s awesome if you can make/purchase a whole stash of fabric gift wrap/bags all at once and dive in, but that wasn’t the case for me. It started with small fabric gift bags people had used to gift me presents. Then, I sewed a few of them one year. And a few the next. This year, I finally had the time to round out our stash quite a bit, which is probably why I’m on a fabric gift wrap mission right now. It was so amazing to not deal with paper or tissue paper. Not only for the mess factor, but for my environmentalist-self as well. My heart sinks whenever I see piles of wrapping paper.
I also think this would be an awesome fundraiser for a school. What a fun project to teach kids basic sewing (these bags can be very simple), to teach them and their families about reducing and reusing, and to help them get started on that journey.
I highly recommend giving fabric wrap a try, even if it’s only a little bit at a time. Keep your eyes out for fabric bags throughout the year, and collect them with your gift wrapping supplies. If you do sew, even if you’re a beginner, sewing fabric gift bags is EASY. As with any project, you can make things more complicated if you’d like, but the basic idea is an easy one. Collect fabric bits, old sheets, even old tee-shirts to use for sewing a simple bag. My favorite fabric gift bag to make is a drawstring bag, but I don’t always find the time to make these. Making fold-over bags for gift wrap is super easy, but sometimes I just sew a simple bag shape and tie a ribbon around the top. Some people will even just use a piece fabric cloth to wrap with and use fancy folding methods. These are beautiful to see, but the process is something I don’t have the patience to master right now.
Whichever method you use, I highly, highly recommend the switch!
**St. Nick comes to pick up some of our fabric bags at the beginning of December to take to Santa for that year’s gifts.**
ALL our holiday wrap in one small, little stack!
Other alternatives to wrapping paper:
Magazine Gift Wrap
Food Box Gift Bags
Upcycled Paper Stockings