Dear Friends,
Happy Earth Day 2009!
In recent years, we have been rethinking how to be good stewards of the planet God has given us to enjoy and care for. We have been making progress in spreading the word to to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Our planet’s resources are finite, and we need to respect and care for the living and non-living. What we do will effect others both now and in the future. Everything is inter-related and connected.
One such movement that’s been spreading the word is Mottainai, an organization started by Wangari Maathai, winner the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work in Africa and founder of The Green Belt Movement.
Many of us now carry our own bags, or reuse plastic bags, or reuse paper shopping bags when we go shopping. It’s wonderful how far we’ve come, but the old plastic bags and the paper bags will eventually need to go into some landfill that will take many years to decompose. Think about the chemicals that will leach into our water and soil. Think about all the trees that were cut down to make the paper bags!
During this Earth Day, I took a workshop with the Japan America Society of Pennsylvania to learn how to use a furoshiki.
A furoshiki is a square piece of clothe that the Japanese have traditionally used to wrap and carry things. The Chinese, Koreans, and Turks have also used such a cloth to wrap and carry things. Each culture has its own version and related customs.
The Japanese use of the furoshiki dates back to the mid-Edo Period (1603-1868). Bathers used it to carry their clothing to the public baths. It was eventually used by merchants to carry goods. In the 1970’s, it use was abandoned for the plastic bag. Today, there is a resurgence in its use as a special wrapping for gifts, to carry items in place of plastic and paper bags, and as a fashion item. It is convenient. When you’re not using it, you just fold it up and put it in your pocket or purse. It is also versatile. It can become a handbag, a shopping bag, and a wrapping for gifts.
And is good for our planet!
Let’s get some cloth, 75 cm. square is a good size or 105 cm. for a larger bag. Express yourself with the pattern and kind of cloth that appeals to you.
Join me in practicing folding and tying! Let’s start wrapping!!
Next time the cashier asks you, Paper or plastic?
Say, furoshiki !
Copyright 2009 by Nurturing Wisdom
This is really awesome~I’m so happy to visit your blog today! I make shopping bags out of recycled fabric and jeans from the thrift store, but those are time consuming. I sell them locally, but quite frankly, they are not worth my time. 😉
Have you seen the burden cloth?
http://www.geocities.com/burdencloth/
Those remind me of the furoshiki, but less artful! I thought of making a burden cloth for myself for shopping, but now I might make furoshiki instead!
~Wardeh
Hi, Wardeh!
I’m going to check out the burdencloth you suggested.
I like the furoshi, because I can just fold it up and put it in my pocket or purse when I’m not using it. I’ve checked out thrift stores looking for large scarves or curtains that will give me a big square. I’m also thinking of sewing two pieces of the same size fabric together to make it thicker. The second piece doesn’t have to be the same pattern or color. I love the contrast. I think the best cloth to use would be fabric that has a little stretch to it.
What a great way to wrap a gift for someone! The recipient can reuse it. Hopefully the furoshiki will save some trees.
That’s a great idea to look for large scarves or curtains. I have a big collection of thrift store sheets (I use them for drafting patterns and practicing patterns before cutting into good fabric). Those sheets aren’t usually too pretty, but I bet there would be some nice ones.
Also, I like your idea to sew two pieces together for thickness.
You could do a rolled hem on a serger to bind the two together quite simply. The serger hem wouldn’t be traditional, though, would it?
Love, Wardeh
Hi, Wardeh!
Those sheets sound like they’d make great furoshikis.
I was also thinking of having different sizes on hand for any occasion with a different finished or unfinished edge. Gift wrapping can have an edge cut with pinking shears. A more durable one might have a lining and a sewn edge.
Any more thoughts?
I love the idea of having a pinking sheared edge!
This is really awesome. My kids and I are going to experiment with this soon.
Now that I’ve watched the videos fully, I think my sheets aren’t the prettiest choice for this lovely tradition. But I have some nice cottons, etc.
I want to turn in my purse for a furoshiki! I’m glad the video showed how to pronounce it.
Love, Wardeh
Hi, Wardeh!
I too enjoyed watching the You-Tube segments. I love the purses. They”re so beautiful. It looks like a crepe type fabric.
It sounds like you and your children will be having many fun and creative moments.
I know that as soon as I found a gently used scarf at a thrift store, I couldn’t wait to get home to start folding and knotting!
Now that we’ve been home and tried some furoshiki bags, I have some more thoughts. 😀
My sheets don’t work that well. They’re too stiff and they don’t drape well. Our best furoshiki came from a scarf-like material, just like you were thinking. If you’re going to do two layers, I’d say use the drapey, silky fabric. Are you still thinking of stretchy? I’m not sure these should have stretchy fabric, I’m afraid it make the bag stretched out of shape. But I don’t know for sure~ so you should try it and see.
My kids are delighted beyond delighted with their furoshiki bags, which are just from scraps in my stash. I haven’t found the right fabric for me ~ but I will look for a scarf like you’re doing. Boy, the fabrics in the videos were gorgeous!
I would kind of like to make some really cool ones and sell them instead of the totes I sell, with a little how-to booklet and a link to some internet videos. I would be afraid that people wouldn’t get it, though. What do you think?
Thanks so much for sharing this~ I love the idea of it so much and want to put it into practice in a big way.
Love, Wardeh
P.S. I couldn’t find the green curry paste. 😦
Hi, Wardeh!
This is very exciting. Your children are having so much fun with furoshikis.
You’re definitely thinking in a big way! I must admit, I was thinking along the same lines!!!!
How about having the You-Tube segment run on a laptop at the place where you’ll be selling the furoshikis. That way your customers can watch the video and get an idea of how to fold and knot the cloth. Maybe tape it and have it run continuously. When your customer buys a furoshiki from you, the booklet can be included or it can be for sale. Maybe the booklet can include other ways of using a furoshiki.
I think you’ll need to WOW your customers with some beautiful fabrics. That will be the attraction in addition to its functionality.
What do you think?
Concerning the stretchy fabric, I was thinking of something with a slight give to it, such as crepe. I agree with you that some fabrics would not be appropriate. The bag would lose its shape. Something like spandex would be too stretchy.
I LOVE this idea! Fabulous way to be fashionable while NOT using those horrible plastic bags. So beautiful! Would it be possible to put this link on my blog? My blog is http://fengshuigreen.blogspot.com
Please come for a visit!
Hi, Deborah!
I agree with you. The furoshiki is a beautiful alternative for the plastic bag. Each of us must make a concerted effort to refuse plastic when we shop. In a future post, I will share more about plastics and plastic bags.
[…] good alternative to plastic and paper bags is to start using a furoshiki as the Japanese have done in […]
I’ve been so long in coming back to this!
I love your idea for the laptop running but would not be able to do that. So here’s my idea instead: to get one of those battery-operated digital photo frames that cycles through digital photos. We could create a “video” with pictures, demonstrating each step.
I have only found one scarf at a thrift store that would work for this. 😦 And it was really too small. I think I’m going to have to hit the fabric stores for some really beautiful choices. How is your furoshiki-ing coming?
I agree with you that the fabric will have to be WOW!
Love, Wardeh
Hi, Wardeh!
The digital photo frame sounds great.
I made a furoshiki with a shear curtain that belonged to my mom. I have several panels. They’re rectangular, but I fold the rectangle in half to make a square. It’s not perfectly square but close. Since I’ve folded the rectangle to make the square, I there are now two pockets. I can use the pockets for thin items such as books, magazines, mail, etc. The main pocket is in the center for bigger things. I use it every time I go out. I’ve carried groceries in it also.
Thanks for the link to this post. Have you actually used a furoshiki for a grocery bag? I shop at Whole Foods and usually take my fabric bags with me. I’d much rather use furoshiki, but am wondering if a bagger would know what to do with it.
And just now, I noticed the last comment you posted about using a furoshiki for groceries. But I always have several bags full of groceries. When I get my cloths ready, I’ll try them out at Whole Foods. It will be interesting to see what the bagger says when I hand her/him a furoshiki after having asked me the question, “Did you bring your own bags?”.
Dear Sharon,
I also end up with several bags of groceries when I go food shopping. I’m still using my cloth bags along with my furoshiki. As the cloth bags wear out, I’ll replace them with furoshikis. I have my furoshiki knotted ahead of time, and I usually hand it to the packer. Sometimes I just show the packer I have a bag and help put a few of the groceries into the furoshiki that way it helps the packer understand the furoshiki’s function.
I’m presently using a furoshiki as my all purpose bag for books, a bottle of water, glasses, etc.
Happy knotting!
[…] and reuse the plastic bags for as long as they will last. This will make for a few less plastic bags in our landfills and […]