How to Wrap Odd-Shaped Gifts: Soft, Round and Awkward Items

Learning how to wrap odd shaped gifts starts with letting go of the box method. Flat sheets of paper want to fold around flat faces and square edges, so a ball, a tube or a soft sweater will fight you at every corner if you treat it like a box.

The good news is that a few gentler techniques, built on gathering, rolling and tying instead of sharp creases, cover almost everything. And when a shape is truly awkward, there is no shame in changing the shape rather than the technique.

First decision: wrap the shape or change the shape

Before cutting any paper, look at the gift and choose one of two routes.

• Wrap the shape as it is. This works for cylinders, round items and soft items, each with its own simple method below.
• Give it a new shape. Put the gift in a box, a bag or a cloth, and wrap that instead. This is the better choice for anything with handles, points, spouts or several loose parts.

Cylinders: roll and tie the ends

A tube, a rolled poster, a candle jar or a tin is easiest wrapped with both ends gathered and tied, like a party cracker.

1. Cut the paper. You need enough to go once around the cylinder plus about 2 in (5 cm) of overlap, and roughly 4 in (10 cm) extra at each end for gathering.
2. Roll. Lay the item along one edge of the paper, on the wrong side, and roll it up snugly. Tape the seam, or use double-sided tape under a folded edge for a cleaner line.
3. Gather one end. Pinch the paper together right where the cylinder stops, gently, working around in small folds so it does not tear.
4. Tie. Knot a piece of ribbon or twine tightly around the pinched part, then tie a bow if you like.
5. Repeat at the other end, and fluff both paper ends open.

If you would rather have flat ends so the cylinder can stand up, leave only a little more than half the diameter of paper at each end. Fold it down toward the center in small overlapping pleats, working around the circle, and cover the middle with a piece of tape or a round sticker. This is the same finish used on the base in how to wrap a bottle.

Round items: the gathered pouch

Balls, ornaments, round candles and small jars are best gathered up in a pouch. Sharp creases are impossible on a curve, so use something soft: two or three sheets of tissue together, or a thin, flexible paper. Stiff or glossy paper will crack and tear.

1. Cut a large square or circle. It must be big enough that the edges meet above the item with a few inches to spare. Test by lifting the corners over the gift before you commit.
2. Center the gift on the paper.
3. Gather upward. Lift the paper evenly all the way around, making soft pleats as you go, until it is all held in one hand above the item.
4. Tie. Wrap ribbon tightly around the gathered neck, just above the gift, and knot it.
5. Shape the top. Spread the paper above the ribbon into a ruffle, or trim it level with scissors.

The pouch looks especially cheerful finished with a few spirals of curling ribbon; the technique is in how to curl ribbon.

Soft items: give them some structure

Clothing, scarves, soft toys and blankets have no edges to fold against, so the wrap ends up lumpy unless you add structure first.

• Fold to a neat rectangle. Square up clothing as flat and even as you can before wrapping.
• Wrap in tissue first. Two or three sheets around the folded item make a smooth parcel that can then go into paper. Do not pull tissue tight, because it tears. The full method is in how to wrap a gift in tissue paper.
• Use a box. A shirt box turns a soft gift into the easiest shape there is.
• Make a paper pillow. Roll a piece of cardstock or heavy paper into a flattened tube and tape the seam, slide the item in, then press each open end inward in two curved flaps so they overlap and close. It suits small, light, soft things such as socks or gloves.

Very awkward items: use a bag, a box or cloth

Some things are simply not worth fighting: a watering can, a toy with arms and wheels, a plant pot, a set of loose pieces. Wrapping these directly uses a lot of paper and usually tears at the sharp parts.

• A bag. Drop the gift in, add tissue on top and tie the handles. You can make your own by following how to make a gift bag from wrapping paper, though homemade paper bags suit light gifts only.
• A box. Any clean box that fits will do. Pad the gaps with crumpled tissue so nothing rattles, then wrap it the usual way.
• A cloth. A square of fabric gathers around bumps that would split paper, and it can be used again. See fabric gift wrapping for the knots.

Paper and ribbon that forgive mistakes

Odd shapes put more stress on paper than boxes do. Kraft paper is strong and takes gathering well. Tissue and other soft papers follow curves. Thin glossy paper tears at pressure points, and foil paper creases permanently, so every adjustment leaves a mark.

For tying gathered ends, choose something that grips. Grosgrain ribbon, baker’s twine and jute twine hold a knot firmly.

Quick fixes when it goes wrong

• The paper tore at a corner. Cover it with a band of contrasting paper or a wide ribbon rather than starting again.
• The gathered end keeps slipping. Wrap the twine around twice before knotting, right against the gift.
• The parcel looks lumpy. Add a layer of tissue underneath, or move the gift into a box.