Furoshiki (風呂敷, furoshiki) is a type of traditional Japanese wrapping cloth that were used to carry stuff such as goods or gifts, apart from carrying items, it can help to protect and decorate gift set.
In Japanese, to wrap is called “Tsutsumu,” which comes from the Japanese “Tsutsumashii,” meaning modest.
The furoshiki, which is used to Tsutsumu, signifies the mind of the Japanese people. The ability to gently wrap anything, and when the job is done, becomes one piece of cloth, illimitably close to nothingness. It also coincides with the Buddhist teachings.
In the modern furoshiki, varieties of fabrics such as cotton,silk, rayon, and nylon can be used as wrapping.
Photo credit: kakefuda.co.jp
Furoshiki are often decorated with traditional designs or by shibori. In Malaysia, we can even use our very own “Batik” or you can purchase any kind of cotton material from Kuala Lumpur.
There is no fix size for a furoshiki, the most common sizes are 45 cm (17.7 inch) and 68–72 cm (26.7-28.3 inch).
Although there are still minority of user who still prefer to use furoshiki in Japan, their numbers declined over the years due to heavy production of plastic shopping bags. In recent years, more countries are practicing “No-Plastic bag” day to create more awareness to public by selling recycling or woven bags. Now, we don’t need to purchase those recycling bag that doesn’t match with our dress. We could DIY our very own furoshiki bag by selecting our favourite colors and designs on the fabric.
You can visit these website to learn step by step wrapping Furoshiki Bag technique
http://furoshiki.com/techniques/
http://www.kakefuda.co.jp/wrapping/wrapping_index.html