I’m so excited – this is the second year that I’ve wrapped our Christmas presents in fabric!!
(If you have no idea what i’m talking about here’s last years post)
Now that this is my second year, i thought I might share some tips for those who might want to do the same.
What supplies do you need? It’s pretty simple really – you’ll need some cute Christmas fabric, ribbons for wrapping up and optional masking tape or washi tape to help with your wrapping. That’s it :) I got my fabric from JoAnns fabric just before last Christmas while they were having their Christmas sales. This is a great time to stock up as so much of it is on sale. Size wise, my pieces range between just over 1m wide by 1m long to up to 3m long. I have about 15 different pieces, and the same amount of ribbon. The great thing about this is that it really doesn’t mater if they match – if you stick with a colour palette they will all co-ordinate no matter the pattern. I decided to stick with the classic green, red and gold.
I’ve had a lot of questions about how to wrap neatly with fabric. Lets be honest, you really can’t get it as perfectly neat and slimline as with paper. But I also don’t think it really matters in this case. You would not believe how many compliments i’ve received on how nice our Christmas presents look. I think the cuteness and quirkiness of the fabric+ribbons really compensates for any lack in finesse if you know what i mean. It also survived the mom’s group critique (which is pretty much the harshest critique your home will ever come under hehehe)
With respect to size of fabric – i don’t cut the fabric down, ever. My pieces range between just over 1m wide by 1m long to up to 3m long. If i have small presents i just tend to fold the fabric till its the right size, or i use a few drawstring bags i’ve made. The reason i don’t cut my pieces down for small presents is that if i keep doing that over the years, i won’t be able to wrap my presents anymore! i’ll just have a pile of scraps :) which kind of defeats the purpose of reusing the fabric.
I wouldn’t really suggest doing this for anyone who isn’t in your immediate family. Just because you want to wrap your presents with fabric doesn’t mean someone else with appreciate that you were trying to be sustainable and cute. You’ll probably just be hurt by either their confused facial expression or the fact that they just threw your pretty fabric in the trash. Though i’m wrapping with fabric for my immediate family (chris and the kids and i), i’ll still be using paper for the grandparents, aunts and uncles etc.
I’ve had some queries on cost – i’m not 100% on this, but i think i spent close to $100 on fabric and ribbons last year. I know that sounds like a lot. But i don’t plan on ever buying wrapping paper for our family again, i’m done. Also, i’d rather spend more on something i’ll reuse than a little on something thats just going into land fill. but thats me :)
My favourite part! Once Christmas is over, clean up is easy! Fold up the fabric, roll up the ribbons, pack it away and you’re ready for next year! No trash bags – whoop whooop!
I hope that helps!! Please let me know if you have any more questions – I’m still loving this idea and i’m so excited to keep doing this for years to come!
