How to Make a Furoshiki Bag

Furoshiki Tutorial: A Simple Bag. Easy Japanese Furoshiki Bag Free Sewing Tutorial.

 Furoshiki can be made from a variety of fabrics, such as silk, cotton, viscose, or nylon. They are square in shape, often decorated with traditional patterns, and measure between 45 and 120 cm on each side.

 Today, I suggest making your own and learning how to tie it in various ways, depending on how you intend to use it.

First, you need to choose the size:
- A small Furoshiki (50 cm) is used for wrapping small items, such as a snack for children.
- A medium Furoshiki (75 cm) is very popular in Japan; it is most commonly used for wrapping small gifts.
- A large Furoshiki (105 cm) is useful for everyday tasks—it can serve as a handbag or backpack, or be used for grocery shopping or carrying bottles.
There are also larger sizes, used for wrapping cushions and duvets before storing them in a closet.

Just as with the size, the fabric you choose will depend on how you intend to use it:
- For large Furoshikis, you should use durable fabrics; cotton and linen work very well.
- For smaller sizes, you can use any fabric you like: silk, synthetic materials, batik, etc.

A quick tip for cutting the fabric to ensure it is as close to a perfect square as possible:
Cut your fabric to a width of 50, 75, or 105 cm (depending on the size you’ve chosen), adding 2 cm if you want a reversible Furoshiki, or 5 cm if you want a non-reversible one.
Take this width and fold the fabric diagonally.
Trim off the excess fabric, and you will end up with four sides of equal length.

Finishing touches:
Here, too, there are several options:

- The one I chose: a reversible furoshiki.
Cut out two identical squares using the technique explained above.
Using a ruler, mark a stitching line 2 cm from the edge on all sides.
Sew the pieces together, right sides facing, leaving a 5 cm opening.
Turn the fabric right-side out and close the opening using an invisible stitch (ladder stitch).
Smooth out the edges and press with an iron so that both layers of fabric lie flat and even.
Finally, topstitch all the way around, 2 mm from the edge, to reinforce your furoshiki.

- A non-reversible furoshiki, finished by hand using a slip stitch (or blind stitch): a more discreet finish.

- A non-reversible furoshiki, finished by machine with a simple hem: a quicker method.

Here are the various techniques for tying your furoshiki:

Hon Tsutsumi (folding two books)

Today, the *furoshiki* has become a genuine fashion and decor accessory, featuring colorful fabrics. It also serves as an eco-friendly alternative, eliminating the need for plastic bags—which are used for an average of only 20 minutes, yet take 400 years to decompose in the natural environment.
With environmental concerns in mind, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment and various Japanese ecological organizations are gradually working to bring the use of the *furoshiki* back into fashion.

A Japanese company had the clever idea of ​​launching a multi-purpose, *furoshiki*-style bag designed to be taken anywhere. The concept is very simple and easy to replicate, provided you have a sewing machine: a reinforcement strip is added along the entire diagonal, and handles are fashioned at the ends.