I have to give credit for these cute wraps to my mother. She was the original recycler. She saved every little scrap of fabric, every button, every too-short piece of ribbon, old wooden spools, and she even cut out and saved her favorite parts of old greeting cards. You never know when they might come in handy. So, thanks for instilling the habit, Mom. Here's what I did with MY stash of bits and pieces.

Butterfly Wrap

I gathered up a basket full of fabric scraps and ribbon that had a romantic feel. I didn't use even a quarter of it, but it was nice to have it sitting there as I created.

Next, I wrapped several gift boxes with brown kraft paper (a grocery bag works great) and one with some funky old freezer wrap I can't recall ever buying.

I didn't invent the idea of wrapping a band of burlap or linen as a base for a bow, but I love the simplicity of it, so thanks to whoever DID invent it. I'm borrowing it. First, I measured my box in the direction of the base wrap.

A rustic look is better for this wrapping style, so I free-cut everything. No perfectly straight edges.

I pulled a few threads from either side of the burlap to give the wrap a little fringe.

Double-sided tape on the package adheres the burlap. It will eventually have an additional ribbon wound around it that will help keep it stuck in place.

Next, I cut varying width strips of fabrics, lace, and netting that seem to go together well. I cut the fabric strips using pinking shears.

Tie the bundle up with a piece of twine.

Bunch each bundled end together and clip to a pleasing length with scissors.

Tie a ribbon around the burlap wrap. I used a narrow piece of old velveteen ribbon. I like the color combination of the burlap and the rose-colored ribbon.

Tie a bow and fluff out the bundle. It looks a little like a butterfly to me.

Crazy Strips Wrap

This wrap is mostly made up of fabric scraps and a piece of some kind of odd netting. I'm not sure what that might have been used for in its former life. I wrapped the base with a piece of linen left over from our Heart Happy Apron.

Free-cut strips of fabric and one longer length of fabric to tie it all together. I twisted the fabric tie to add some additional dimension.

Tie together and knot.

Trim ends to random lengths for a nice fit on the package. I trimmed most ends with pinking shears. Fluff.

Secret Pocket Wrap

Insert a gift card or little love note. Your choice. I stuck in a meet-me-for-coffee gift card as a hint-hint to my someone special.

In keeping with my "no straight edges" theme, I free-cut the pocket with pinking shears using the gift card as a guide.

At my sewing machine, I sewed a little scrap of ecru lace to the linen pocket, trimmed the lace along the sides of the pocket, and then sewed the pocket to the base wrap.

To keep the package from being too busy, I made a simple tie using one piece of peach chiffon and a bit of peach netting. Bunch the ends together and trim to a pleasing length. Fluff.

Cute, and it didn't cost a thing (OK, the gift card was $10).

Comments (0)