What’s All the Buzz About “Washi Tape”?

June 2022

So…what’s all the buzz about washi tape!? Or, maybe you haven’t even heard of that before and you’re scratching your head right now…

Well, that’s okay! You’re not alone.

But if you’re the type of person who likes to decorate anything (calendars, journals, cupcake toppers, pencils, water bottles, YOU NAME IT), you might want to check out washi tape sooner rather than later.

What is washi tape?

Washi tape is a decorative masking tape that can be found in different widths, lengths, colors, and patterns. The typical range in width is 10mm to 25mm, with 15mm width being the most common width. The length of washi tape varies from 1m to 100m, with 10m being the most common.

Washi tape is a great way to add a little *something something* to any project and as soon as you start using it, you’ll never run out of ideas to use this fun, easily removable adhesive tape!

Just like stickers, washi tape comes in just about any design, texture, size, and finish your decorating brain could imagine! From metallic foil, to glitter, embossed, or matte, you can stockpile a whole craftroom drawer full of endless colors and options.

And, if you can’t find the hues and patterns you’re looking for, you can actually create your own washi tape! More on that in an upcoming blog post… 👀

Where did washi tape come from?

So, let’s rewind a minute and talk about this whole washi tape craze.

You might be asking yourself, “Is this really a thing?” or “Did I miss this big crafter movement?” Let’s just say, creating with anything is cool in our books. You did not miss the trend.

But we all know that creative people are the most resourceful and can make anything out of nothing…

In fact, crafter’s washi tape was created by a small group of Japanese women who wanted to take industrial masking tape to the next level. Talk about resourcefulness! When you don’t find the supplies to create with, you make them.

In 2006, these women approached Kamoi Kakoshi, an adhesive paper company, and asked that they kick up their masking tape a notch. Hence, washi tape — in all of its decorative glory — was born!

How do you use washi tape?

The sky is the limit when it comes to creating with washi tape! You can use this low-tack adhesive tape to decorate anything you want to spiffy up.

I’ve listed some fun ideas for you below, but feel free to use this masking tape on anything you want! It’s removable, so it won’t hurt the finish of your product and you can always rearrange it as needed.

(Oh, and did I mention I have a few collections of my very own washi tape in my shop? Check them out right here!)

Peep some of these washi tape crafting ideas to spark your next project and get in on the washi-craze: