Sustainable gift wrapping: how to reuse an old sweater

From eco-friendly bows to Japanese fabric wrapping, Camille Wilkinson shows how to wow friends and family with beautifully wrapped gifts while minimising waste in Gift Wrap Green. Here, Camille shows how to transform an old sweater into fun sustainable gift wrapping.

Transform a favourite sweater that has seen better days into a stylish wrap to make a presentation sleeve for a bottle of wine, or explore one of the variation ideas for more inspiration.

 

What you need

Wine bottle
An old sweater
Scissors
Needle and thread
Ribbon (optional)

1. Insert the bottle into the sleeve of the sweater to measure where to cut. The cuff should start just below the top of your bottle. Mark the bottle length and remove. Cut the sweater sleeve off so that it is at least 3cm (1¼ in) longer than your bottle. (If you would prefer a nice snug fit, use a child’s jumper, but do make sure the sleeve is long enough.)
2. Thread the needle with a double thickness of thread and run it through the loose loops at the cut end of the sweater sleeve. Pull gently to gather and tie off.
3. You can leave the cuff end as it is, fold or roll it, or tie it with a ribbon.

VARIATIONS

To make a gift bag

Cut the sleeve to the desired length, turn it inside out and sew straight across the raw end. Turn through to the right side and finish off with a ribbon to close.

To make a woollen belly band

Neatly cut off the ribbed waist of a child’s jumper and slide it onto your wrapped box. You are looking for a snug fit, and if using an adult sweater, this could be achieved by using the cuff.

Find more ideas on sustainable gift wrapping in Camille’s book Gift Wrap Green – out now!

Photographs by Michael Wicks.