Japanese Folded Cloth Bags

When I taught in an international high school, I was intrigued by one Japanese student's lunch bag. A red bandana (or perhaps a square towel), it was folded in a simple way to hold the student's lunch.

I asked him to show me how he did it, and this is what I remember:














(I am using a lovely silk scarf from Argentina to demonstrate the technique, as it is the right size, though I would never use it as a carrier...)

Put the lunch in the middle, then tie two opposite ends firmly together... (The knot I often use is: left over right, right over left... Is this a square knot?!)














Then tie the last two other opposite ends together. (These act as the handle.)














I was reminded of the bandana lunch carrier recently when I saw this Martha Stewart post showing how to make a Picnic Lunch Carrier out of a dish towel.

With my kitchen cupboards full of items I rarely use, I'm always happy to find more than one use for things I already have... like dish towels!

For anyone interested in making a folded purse, here's another idea I found for re-purposing a bandana or scarf.

More discoveries! Here is another video on how to wrap gifts using square cloths. I see it includes the lunch carrier technique I remember plus a few more, including the one (for carrying bottles) shown in the Martha Stewart post... I love it!!

What is Furoshiki cloth made of? I wondered... And discovered it can be silk (like my scarf above) as well as cotton... Furoshiki refers to the art of folding, I guess... A very handy skill!