A box is easy. Four flat sides, two clean ends, done. The trouble starts with everything else: the bottle of wine, the candle, the sweater with no box, the gift that is mostly corners. Here is how to wrap an oddly shaped gift so it still looks neat under the tree.
Before you start
Three small things make every shape easier.
- Measure with string, not your eyes. Wrap a piece of string around the widest part of the gift, add two inches, and cut your paper to that length. Odd shapes always need more paper than you think.
- Use double-sided tape. On a curved surface, tape on top of the paper shows. Tape underneath the edge does not.
- Crease as you go. Run a fingernail along every fold. A sharp crease is what makes a round gift look intentional.
1. Bottles: roll and gather
Lay the bottle on its side along the edge of the paper. Roll it up so the paper overlaps by an inch, and tape the seam with double-sided tape.
At the bottom, fold the paper in toward the center in small pleats, one over the next, all the way around, and tape the last one down. Stand the bottle up. At the top, gather the paper around the neck and twist it gently, or tie it with whatever string you have on hand. Leave a few inches above the top of the bottle so the gather looks full, not tight.
2. Candles, tubes and other cylinders
These wrap like a bottle, but both ends get pleated. Roll the paper around the cylinder and tape the seam. Then, at each end, fold the paper in toward the center in small, even pleats, the way a clock face is divided. Pinch the center and tape it, or cover the center with a small circle of matching paper.
If your paper is striped, roll it so the stripes run the length of the tube. The pleats will fan out from the center like spokes, and that looks far better than stripes wrapping around.
3. Soft gifts: make a pillow
Sweaters, scarves and stuffed animals have no shape to hold paper. Fold the gift as flat and square as you can, wrap it in tissue first to give it edges, then wrap it like a box.
For a gift that will not lie flat, make a pillow pack. Roll the paper into a tube around the gift and tape the seam. Press each open end flat, then fold it in a gentle curve, like the flap of an envelope, and tape it closed. It looks like a pillow box and takes about two minutes.
4. Lumpy or round gifts: the gather
A ball, a mug or a gift that is all bumps is best gathered, not folded. Set the gift in the center of a square of paper. Bring all four corners up over the top and gather the paper together above it, pleating it as you go so the folds fall evenly. Twist or tie the top. The more paper you leave above the gift, the more it looks like a deliberate shape.
5. When in doubt, box it
Some gifts are not worth the fight. A small kitchen tool with sharp ends, a set of loose pieces, anything that will tear the paper. Put it in a plain box, or make a box from a cereal box cut down to size, and wrap that. Nobody will know what was inside until they open it, which is half the point.
Which patterns work best on odd shapes
Curves and pleats crush a pattern into folds, so some prints forgive more than others.
- Small, all-over prints hide pleats and creases best. A polka dot or a small repeat looks neat no matter how many times it is folded.
- Stripes work on cylinders when they run the length of the gift. On a gathered or lumpy gift, they show every crooked line.
- Large motifs belong on boxes. On a bottle, the best part of the print ends up in a pleat.
If you are buying paper for a stack with a few odd shapes in it, pick one small print for the awkward gifts and save the larger patterns for the boxes.
One last trick
Wrap the oddest gift first, while you have patience and plenty of paper. It is much easier to finish a pile with three easy boxes than with the bottle you have been avoiding.
For small prints that handle pleats well, start with our Polka Dot collection. For cylinders and bottles, browse our Stripes.