Decorating & Design
December 15, 2016
Gift Wrap Idea: Pretty Tea Towel
Assistant editor Emily Evans shares a unique way to wrap a magazine subscription.
For me, wrapping is just as much fun as finding the perfect gift. And when the wrapping is a gift in itself, that’s even better! Recently I was inspired by wrapping guru Jane Means’ book Giftwrapped. Jane has a long list of royal and celeb clients and in her new book she demonstrates how to wrap a magazine using a silk scarf — I love this idea as a way of “giving” a 12-month subscription. Here I use a similar technique to wrap a House & Home subscription using a tea towel from Canadian designer Kate Golding.
A magazine subscription is a the ultimate gift that keeps on giving — all year long! It’s also great last-minute gift, but because it will take a month or so for your recipient’s first issue to arrive in the mail, we suggest wrapping a current copy to present as the gift. This DIY project only requires a few materials and is quick and easy to assemble!
You’ll need a magazine, a large tea towel (mine was 22″ x 24″), an elastic band and ribbon.
Place the magazine with the cover facing down. (This ensures the front cover will be visible once rolled.) Roll tightly and secure using an elastic band.
Tie a pretty ribbon over the elastic band. (I found the magazine didn’t stay rolled tight enough using a ribbon alone, so the elastic band helps it stay secure.)
Choose a tea towel your recipient would really like. I love Kate Golding‘s tea towels — the towels are drawn and sewn by hand in Ontario and the designs are inspired by local Prince Edward County motifs, like lilacs, Canadian geese and alpacas. Lay your tea towel facing down in a diamond shape with the rolled magazine in the center.
Fold one corner of the tea towel over the magazine and roll.
Once you’ve rolled the magazine there will be a small corner of the tea towel left. This will be tucked in at the last step.
Fold in the two side corners of the tea towel.
Tie the two corners tightly using a double knot. If you’re using an extra large tea towel you may be able to tie the ends into a bow. Once the ends are tied, tuck in that small corner of the tea towel that was left loose in Step 5.
Wrapping with a pretty tea towel like this means there’s no need to wrap the final product in tissue paper or a gift bag. Voila!
Give the gift of House & Home with a 12-month subscription.