Wrapagami author, designer and illustrator Jenn Playford is a maven of fabric gift wrapping. I recently caught up with the Vancouver Island resident, who is the founder of Furochic, to talk fashionable fabrics.

How did you discover fabric gift wrap? I have always had a passion for textiles and have been an illustrator for many years. Creating my line of fabric gift wrap printed with my original patterns allowed me to combine my two passions. I have also always used fabric as a unique way to wrap my gifts and would cringe at the idea of how temporary and wasteful paper gift wrap is.

Through my online research to see if anyone else was selling fabric gift wrap, I discovered furoshiki, the traditional Japanese wrapping cloth which has been part of their culture for hundreds of years. My book features many of the traditional Japanese wrapping techniques.

How can a novice get into fabric gift wrap? Using fabric to wrap gifts is very easy, in fact it is much easier than wrapping with paper. The wraps should always be square and placed on a diagonal. The easiest wrapping technique is to place the gift in the center of the wrap and take the two opposite corners together and tie a square knot over the center of the gift. You then take the remaining two corners and tie another square knot. This will form a bow on top of the gift.

What is your current favorite way to wrap a gift? I love to embellish my gifts with butterflies, silk flowers and accessories that I can clip or pin onto the fabric. I like to chose the fabric color and embellishment to reflect the occasion and personality of the recipient. For the holidays, I like to weave the fabric corners through the loop of an ornament before I finish tying my square knot which will hold it in place and make the gift look special.

My favorite wrapping technique right now is the Pocket Wrap where you form a pocket on the front of the gift to fill with another gift or a greeting card. It is very easy to do, but looks impressive! One of the pleasures of wrapping with fabric is watching the recipients response as they realize they get to keep the gift wrap as part of the gift.