My flexible furoshiki bag fabrics

One of the (many) great things about making furoshiki bags is that there are so many beautiful fabrics to choose from and each one gives a slightly different effect. Here are some that we've tried:

2 lightweight cotton fabrics - in this case, one hand screenprinted with one of our own designs - form a reversible furoshiki for a super versatile bag, with twice as many looks. There are more examples of Olivia's creations in our Etsy store.

A single layer of slightly firmer cotton creates a soft summery bag. I love these tied in the style with two loop handles, which can be adjusted to open and close the bag.


Lightweight calico, for an everyday, hardwearing bag. These have been handstamped with our logo.

I'm also planning some calico furoshiki with designs screenprinted in opposite quadrants. This gives a very quick and easy way of changing the look of a furoshiki bag, particularly a drop or purse style one - by just changing the diagonal on which it's folded, a different element of the design becomes visible.

Lightweight furnishing fabrics are also ideal for the metre square furoshiki (as in our Folksy shop) and the ones with larger scale designs are very effective. They also make great picnic tablecloths.


Really any square of fabric can be used as long as it's not too bulky to knot and not so slippery that the knots work themselves loose; a silk scarf or, as suggested by Audrey's Cat, a piece of kimono fabric could make a stunning evening bag.

And here are the links to some bag tying instructions: two handled bag, grocery bag, loop handled bag, ring handled bag, summer purse and the drop bag, plus some ideas on different fabrics to use. Happy wrapping!