Monday Project - Bogaji Wraps

Bok Hee Lee, Yellow Wrapping Cloth, 2009.  Linen.

Ever since I found the exhibit on Korean bogaji wraps at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco last summer, I've been planning how I can wrap our Christmas presents this year using fabric that the receiver can use.  If you're not familiar with bogaji, see this past post here.  I love the idea of gift wrap that, depending on the size, can be used as a shawl, scarf, or even linens such as napkins!  Bogaji can be made from most any type of fabric, from embroidered silk to cotton pieced from scraps.  When the fabric is faced with a different fabric, the contrast shows up great when the cloth is tied.  If you silk paint, you can design your own beautiful wraps (and if you haven't silk painted before, but are curious what it's all about, you'll be happy to see what we're working on in January).  I decided to use silky fabric I bought and hemmed - you can also use already hemmed scarves.

Materials:
*1 yard of a silky fabric that has the same design on both sides - make a narrow hem.  See this past post for a tutorial on hemming sheer/silky fabrics.
*ribbon, a string of beads, silk flower, or Christmas decoration

Lotus Wrap:
1.  Lay fabric out on a large flat surface with the turned under hem facing up.

2.  Lay the present to be wrapped diagonally in the center of the fabric.

3.  Lift up two opposite corners and tie in a square knot on top of the present.

4.  Pick up the remaining two corners and repeat.

5.  Add a decoration, if you want!

Two Bottle Wrap:
1.  Lay two bottles of wine about 1/4 of the way in from one corner with their ends about 3 inches apart.

2.  Fold corner over bottles.

3.  Roll fabric around the bottles.

4.  Pull the two ends together while standing the bottles upright.

5.  Tie in a square knot.

6.  Add a decoration!

In Japan, wrapping gifts with fabric is called Furoshiki.  I found this great chart on the Japanese embassy website with a lot of other folding and tying options:

Wednesday I'll have the last of the fabric based gift wrap I came up with this year.

Happy Creating (and present wrapping)!  Deborah