Tartan Inspired Giftwrap - Pimp that Bottle!

Jane Means is quite simply the gift wrapping queen of the world and we were lucky enough to meet her at a show in London and realised we just had to find an excuse to bring her up to Scotland and introduce her to the land of tartan. Over the next few months we will be writing a series of gift wrapping guides full of bright ideas to help you make your gifts look very Scottish. All of the ideas work really well in plain colours, stripes, spots and other patterns so don't be put off if you are allergic to tartan, find any old fabric remnants and ribbon scraps or order up a few little pieces, get your crafty head on and prepare to be inspired.

We all take a bottle to our friends or relatives when we go round for supper but sometimes it looks a little lonely, or too simple, or the label is a bit scratched or it's a rubbish bottle of wine and you want to hide it. While we are sure you would only take the very finest wine round to your friends we also know there are ways of making it look extra special. Add a little personal touch and feel proud to hand over your gift. Our version is of course in tartan but you can use any fabrics to create the effect.

When wrapping awkward shapes such as bottles, go for flexible wrapping such as fabric as it will mould around the gift much easier. In this project Jane used the Caledonia Tartanwith some coloured tissue and ribbon.

1. Cut your fabric roughly the same size as the sheets of tissue. You can fray the edges to give some extra detailing.

2. Place the fabric on the table first then pop a couple of sheets of tissue on top (landscape)

3. Starting with the shortest side start pulling up all of the layers in to the bottle

4. It is easier to swap hands half way and do this in two halves

Yes we do realise this should have been a lovely bottle of whisky but we are a bit girly and do love a glass of Prosecco here in the office. No wonder Jane travelled by train!

5. Keep pulling in all those layers

Aren't Jane's nails lovely! She spent most of the day rubbing in expensive hand cream to keep them perfect for the camera. Jane also co-hosts a show on Create and Craft on a Saturday morning so of course we packed her off with some tartan flowers to use on TV after she visited us ....more on how to make those later!

6. Secure with ribbon and tie a bow

You could always use plain colours and tie with a tartan ribbon if you want to keep your fabric cost down or you don't want quite such a tartan effect!

Ta-da! One beautifully gift wrapped bottle. Now who wouldn't be proud to take this to a party? My favourite thing about this gift wrap is that the recipient now has a beautiful piece of fabric which can be can used again or to make a brooch, decorations or all sorts of other things. Proper eco-friendly sustainable gift wrap!

Have you tried gift wrapping with tartan? Send us your pictures as we would love to see. We have shared a few of our attempts on Instagram and Facebook for you.