How to Gift Wrap with Yarn Scraps

This take on traditional Japanese-style fabric wrapping, Furoshiki, is a great way to showcase a pretty fabric, plus the wrap can be used again and again. You could also use a silk scarf, fun tea towel or fabric leftover from a project. Add some oversized tassels and you are good to go.

You will need

Fabric – I used a 45 x 45cm square of cotton, but tea towels or scarves work well too. 45 x 45cm and 70 x 70cm are traditional Furoshiki sizes, but you can use any size as long as it's at least twice the surface area of your gift, to give you enough space to wrap.

Scissors

Scrap yarn

Card to wrap your tassel around

Add a special touch to a present using a small wooden hoop and some leftover yarn. Attached using a lark's head knot, the two yarns are then woven in a simple but effective pattern to create a really special finishing touch.

You will need:

Wrapping paper – I used brown kraft paper

Small 2" wooden macrame rings

Scrap yarn in two colours

Masking or low-tack tape

Scissors

Wrap your gift in brown kraft paper, then measure what length yarn you need by wrapping one piece around the widest part of your gift three times. Use this piece as your guide.

Cut 10 lengths of colour 1 and 10 lengths of colour 2, using your first piece as a guide.

If you need a gift to both look and smell gorgeous, dried orange slices are a winner. Thread with pom poms in a complementary colour, such as dark greenish-blue, and place them against white wrapping paper to really make them pop.

You will need:

Wrapping paper – I used A2 white sheets of paper

Dried orange slices

Scrap yarn

Small 3.5cm pom pom maker OR a fork

Yarn needle

Scissors

Tape

Create four to six pom poms using the pom pom maker, or a fork. If using a pom pom maker, start by wrapping yarn around two of the pom pom maker arms until the yarn fits snugly in the semi-circle. Repeat for the other side then close the pom pom maker.

If using a fork, wrap the yarn around the outside of the prongs of the fork about 50 times.

For the fork method, cut a 10cm length of yarn and tie it as tightly as possible around the middle of the wrapped bundle, going through the centre prong of the fork.

On the pom pom maker, cut inside the grove around the outside edge, then tie a 10cm length of yarn tightly through the central groves to secure.

Cut the top and bottom of the fork bundle to release the pom pom. Then trim your pom poms to shape.

Taking your long length of yarn cut earlier, attach a yarn needle to one end, and secure the other end to the back of your gift using tape.

Start to wrap the yarn around your gift, threading a few pom poms and a piece of orange onto your yarn needle each time you wrap over the front of the gift. Repeat this around six times, wrapping without adding a decoration every couple of wraps. When you are happy with how it looks, tape the loose end to the back of the gift and trim any pom pom ties. Adjust a little and enjoy!