How to use upcycling for Christmas gifts
Tired of throwing away garbage bags full of torn gift wrap after the holidays? Why not sew some tissue wrapping?
A solution that’s both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly, and can be reused once the festivities are over.
What is upcyling?
Upcycling is a variant of recycling. The idea is to give a second life to fabrics, by cutting up old jackets, shirts and T-shirts that no longer fit or are worn out.
We can also look at household linen: sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths, napkins… This art of recycling is a good way of using clothes that are not in good enough condition to be given away.
For your Christmas wrapping, you can also use all your fabric scraps left over from sewing. If the pieces are too small, you can assemble them together using the patchwork technique.
Decorate your fabrics
To give your upcycled fabrics a more festive touch, why not customize them? If you’re using old white sheets, it’s possible to dye them green or red using store-bought dye or natural techniques using fruit or vegetables.
You can also apply textile glitter paint and use stencils representing Santa Claus, snowflakes and holly…
And if you’ve got the time and patience, you can also add a little embroidery with shiny thread. You can choose simple shapes like little stars or candy canes.
Sewing furoshiki
Furoshiki is a Japanese fabric-folding technique used to transport all sorts of things: fruit and vegetables, bottles… But also to wrap gifts.
This square of fabric that you tie around an object made its appearance in France a few years ago with the zero-waste trend. It’s an attractive and environmentally-friendly alternative to single-use gift wrap.
You can either collect the furoshiki once the gift has been given (you’ll have plenty of fabric!). Or give it to the person who will use it in turn. Once customized, it can add a truly unique and original touch.
Once your gift is wrapped, you can easily slip a sprig of holly under the bow. Or a dried flower. Or a little tag with a note…
Sewing a furoshiki couldn’t be simpler: just cut out a square or rectangle of fabric (you can adapt it to each gift). Then hem each side half a centimetre.
If you want to save time, you can also simply overcast with a sewing machine to prevent the fabric from fraying. You can use a shiny or contrasting thread for a more aesthetic finish.
Beware, however, that folding furoshiki is more complicated if you have a soft or complex-shaped object to wrap. This is the best solution for books, records, boxed jewelry…
Reusable pouches
For all other objects or food gifts, you can sew small pouches closed with a cord.
Here again, you can use a shiny thread as a reminder of Christmas. Or decorate with a little sprig of holly, sew a decorative patch or add embroidery. Or an appliqué with the person’s first name, or a message in glitter paint… It all depends on how much time you have and what you want.
If you want to recover and reuse the pouches, it’s best to keep it simple and use a plain fabric.
To sew pretty gift bags for Christmas, you can follow Miss Cactus’ patterns. The first are closed with ribbons and are deep enough to hold bulky gifts. The second are tied at the top with a small tie and are perfect for smaller items.
Use them if you want to reuse your pouches as bulk bags or storage once the festive period is over.
How do you wrap your presents this Christmas? Are you intoupcycling?
