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You'll Love Yuzu, our New Furoshiki!

Yuzu furoshiki bag and cherry blossom

Have you ever tried the delicious Japanese citrus fruit called Yuzu?


You might recognise the bright yellow fruits and their delicious scent and flavour that is somewhere between lemon, mandarin, and grapefruit!


When we were deciding on our newest addition to our growing range of furoshiki, we knew that we wanted a design that was bright, fragrant, cheerful, and uplifting! So there was only one contender - it had to be Yuzu!


We are so excited to introduce to you our latest Zusetsu furoshiki, and are keen to show you the inspirations that went into our Yuzu design.


Kyoto temple and yuzu tree

We've seen these beautiful bright yellow fruit growing alongside a pagoda in that lovely area of Kyoto around Ninenzaka. Their glossy green leaves are an elongated heart-shape, and they contrast with the bright lemon-colour fruits beautifully.


Kyoto Ninenzaka and people in kimono

The first time I ever experienced tea ceremony in Kyoto, was when I went to Camellia, when it was in the old store in the beautiful street photographed on the left: Ninenzaka.


The old store used to be a geisha house.


The old wooden building is now the Starbucks, and people drink lattes on the tatami where several years ago I sat in wonder as frothy matcha tea was served.


The sweet that accompanied this first taste of tea, was a light, transparent yokan made from delicate yuzu. It was so delicious I brought home a boxful!


 

The Inspiration

Our Kyoto photo of the yuzu tree has been in my mind for quite some time! I especially like the way that the sky adds a vivid shade of blue to the impression. I adapted this in the design, by painting some of the leaves and branches in a cool blue-gray. When I added this colour to the design it really lifted it!


But there is something even more amazing about Yuzu: not only does it have beautifully bright round fragrant fruits, and glossy green heart-shaped leaves, but its blossoms are shaped like little white stars!


I think you can see what drew me to creating this design!


 

Drawing the Design
computer with yuzu furoshiki design

In the image above you can see our Yuzu design being created digitally in Adobe Illustrator, and you can also see that many of my colour palettes are Japanese! (You may also notice that several of my other colour palettes feature the name of publishing houses - this is because I'm also a professional children's book illustrator, and they often have their own colour palette!)


I thoughtfully design our furoshiki. I make a mock up furoshiki wrap using a square of fabric (from an old pillowcase!), drawing on it in marker pen to ensure that the design falls where I'd like it to. I want the colours to fall in interesting ways as the wrap is folded, and for the colours to show through on the knots as well.


 

Checking the Prototype
Yuzu furoshiki wrapping a present

When we create a design we always have it made up as a demo here in the UK, so that we can check how the pattern looks when it is folded. What we're aiming for is a design that looks at its best when it is being wrapped. Especially for this design, we wanted to be sure that the right amount of bright colourful shapes make a wonderful statement for your gifts.


Yuzu furoshiki wrapping a present

Our prototype was adjusted after we saw how it wrapped. I altered the way that the flowers looked, and made some of the edges to the leaves softer.


 

yuzu design on printed sheets

The Cotswold Print

Our Yuzu furoshiki is skilfully printed in Kyoto. We asked a local company here in the Cotswolds to print out our design on paper, so that our Kyoto furoshiki printer could accurately check the colours that we specified.


Our Cotswold printer made several copies of our Yuzu art file, and the prints were all slightly different, mainly because of the different types of paper used and how each one absorbed the inks.


We spread them across the table and checked each one for the brightness of the yuzu, and the shades of green and pale gray.


The dove gray was especially important as it serves as a counterpoint to the bright yellow.


Finally we had our print, which we then posted to our furoshiki maker in Kyoto!


 

The Kyoto Sample

Our skilled artisan printer opened up our artwork file in his Kyoto studio.


Yuzu furoshiki being printed in Kyoto

He so kindly sent us this image of our furoshiki printed onto the beautiful, traditional, textured weave of a Kyoto furoshiki. The texture of the weave catches the light in different ways and adds to the beauty of the furoshiki. The texture of this traditional furoshiki fabric also helps the furoshiki wrapping styles have their structure.


This was the first time we'd seen our Yuzu furoshiki, and we were thrilled to bits!


Yuzu furoshiki being printed in kyoto

We were so excited to see our design printed for the first time!



It's so lovely working with our Kyoto furoshiki printer - he updates us on the current season in Kyoto - whether snow is falling and when the spring flowers are beginning to bloom.


He sent us photos of the beautiful cherry blossoms near his workshop - this is the wall surrounding nearby Nijo Castle. I recognise it, because I have stayed at beautiful ryokan Mugen, and walked with my suitcase all around the castle!


Our artisan printer in Kyoto packaged up the sample of our Yuzu furoshiki, and posted it to us here in England, so that we could compare the colours against a series of optional prints.


the printing sheet of furoshiki

Our paper Cotswold prints had a lot of variations in the shade of the colours, but these furoshiki prints had only the subtlest differences! We carefully compared the brightness of the yuzu, the paleness of the gray-blue, and the vividness of the green, and when we made our final selection we knew that this was going to be our Yuzu furoshiki!


 

Yuzu Arrives from Kyoto!
Yuzu furoshiki gift-wrapping a present

We are so excited to be able to introduce you to our Yuzu furoshiki!


Yuzu furoshiki gift-wrapping a present

This is our first Medium-size furoshiki, at 70cm square, so it's an especially useful wrap as you can make it into a gift-wrap for A4-size presents, or a small pouch bag for loose gifts like bath products, or you can even make it into a dazzling hair-tie!


Yuzu furoshiki gift-wrapping a present

Yuzu is a traditional Kyoto furoshiki - stitched on two sides and tightly woven selvage on two sides. It makes us happy to be continuing the tradition!


yuzu sake furoshiki bottle wrap

The colours are like the freshness of early summer - they're clear and delicate.


The star-like flowers and the bright yellow fruit associate with a sweet fragrance.


In Japan, yuzu is traditionally floated in hot baths to warm up in the snowy winters, so our furoshiki is ideal for all seasons.


We're sure you will like the bright, uplifting colours of our newest furoshiki, and we hope you love it as much as we do!





Yuzu furoshiki gift-wrapping a sake bottle

You can buy Yuzu here!


We hope you've enjoyed reading about how we created our Yuzu furoshiki!


Thank you for reading,

Cathy x


cute yuzu illustration

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Zusetsu - An English company passionate about genuine Japanese furoshiki, tenugui and contemporary textiles and fabrics originating from the traditional, creative heritage of Kyoto, Japan. 
Find lots of ideas and examples for gift wrapping using the traditional Japanese methods.
Furoshiki, the zero waste, reusable, eco friendly alternative to paper and plastic.

Registered office address: Zusetsu Ltd., Castle Nurseries, Chipping Campden, Glos., GL55 6JT United Kingdom
Company Number: 11806597. VAT Number: GB 315 9298 79. Copyright Zusetsu Ltd., 2025.
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