Furoshiki

The furoshiki is one cloth with a hundred uses. It wraps a gift so the wrapping is part of the present, it carries a bottle of sake by two knots, it ties a bento box, it folds into a bag, it becomes a scarf, a table runner, a wall hanging. Japan has used it for a thousand years and named it for the bathhouse floor, where it was spread to stand on while dressing. Eighteen here, all 50 by 145 centimetres, the long format, printed with cranes in flight, koi, the seigaiha wave in violet or rainbow, temari balls and rabbits, cherry blossom on pink, and this page is about what the long cloth does that a square one cannot, and how to tie the three knots that cover most of it.

Why the long one

Furoshiki come square, for parcels, and long, for everything else. The 50 by 145 cloth wraps a bottle with the two ends tied over the neck, wraps a bento or a book with the ends tied on top, and ties round the neck as a scarf or lies down a table as a runner; it also rolls into a headband and folds into a small bag with two knots. The square is better for a large box; the long one is the shape you use every week. All eighteen are the same size, so the choice is the print. The knot bag is a furoshiki with the handles sewn in; the noren is what the same printed cloth does in a doorway.

Eighteen prints

Peacocks in green and violet with plum blossom on pale pink. Cherry blossom massed edge to edge on red, or large on pale pink, or with small blue flowers on lilac, or in diagonal bands of deep rose. Koi in white and brown among gold waves and maple leaves on red. Rolling waves in fine gold line on black. Peonies and a peacock in gold line on mottled navy. White cranes over chrysanthemums on beige, over three blues on navy, and with bamboo in gold line on navy. Swirling gold clouds on deep red; small clouds in gold and white on bright blue. The seigaiha overlapping wave in violet and wine, in the six colours of the rainbow, in red and coral, in pale blue and navy, each scale outlined in gold. And temari thread balls in dozens of patterns with white rabbits among them on red, which is the one for a child.

The three knots

The bottle wrap: stand the bottle in the middle, bring the two long ends up, cross them once at the neck, tie once above it, then tie the ends together again to make a handle. The book wrap: lay the object in the centre, fold the short sides over it, bring the long ends up and tie them in a square knot on top. The bag: fold the cloth in half lengthwise, tie the two corners at each end together, and the two knots become handles. A square knot, ma-musubi, is the only knot you need: right over left, then left over right, and it holds and unties clean.

Care

Printed polyester: wash cold, hang to dry, iron cool if you want it flat for the table. It does not fray and it does not shrink. Made to Japanese designs in Asia, and every page says so.

Furoshiki: the questions we are asked

What size is a furoshiki?

Ours are 50 by 145 cm, the long format, which wraps a bottle, a bento or a book and works as a scarf or runner. A square one is for large boxes.

How do I wrap a bottle?

Bottle in the middle, both ends up, cross at the neck, tie once, then tie the ends together for a handle. Thirty seconds.

Can I use it as a scarf?

Yes; 145 cm is a scarf length, and the seigaiha and crane prints are the ones worn that way.

Is it cotton?

Printed polyester, which holds the colour and washes cold. Each page says so.