Furoshiki... Japanese Fabric Folding... Very Green!

I am making a larger effort to be GREEN! We replaced many of our light bulbs with compact fluorescents, bought a share in a local Organic Co-op farm, and bought reusable groccery bags for a start. In my research of crafty greenness... I have discovered Furoshiki... or Japanese Fabric Folding as a green way to wrap gifts and transport items.

You can find basic instructions on Furoshiki HERE... and if you do a Google Image search for Furoshiki Wrapping you can see some amazing examples of the results.

As I understand this art form, traditional fabrics and cloths of a typical size are used. But I think it'd be cool to try some vintage dishtowels, hankies or even bandannas. Imagine wrapping a cookbook in a vintage embroidered dishtowel for a gift, a small jewelry box in a vintage hankie... or a baby gift in handmade flannel receiving blanket! Cuteness! I think I will also try to make some large cloths to carry as emergency totes. They'd be convenient to carry as they'd be so small... and I think I could fashion some out of fabric remnants edged in bias tape.... stay tuned!