Washi tape might be the most versatile material in any crafter's toolkit. Originally a Japanese decorative masking tape made from natural fibres such as bamboo and hemp, washi tape comes in an extraordinary range of colours, patterns, and widths. It adheres easily, removes cleanly (or with very little damage), and can be written on with most pens. It's inexpensive, lightweight, and endlessly creative.
Yet for all its popularity, washi tape is frequently used in just one or two ways, typically as a simple border strip. There is so much more this humble material can do. Whether you're decorating a scrapbook layout, building a handmade card, or adding finishing touches to a journal, here are fifteen genuinely creative techniques to help you get far more from your washi tape collection.
1. Decorative Page Borders
The simplest use of washi tape, but always effective when done with intention. Run a strip of tape along one or more edges of a scrapbook page background to frame the layout and add a clean line of colour or pattern. For more interest, layer two narrow tapes side by side, or alternate short segments of two different tapes in a striped pattern. A border doesn't have to run the full length, half-length borders anchored to a corner look contemporary and deliberate.
2. Decorative Photo Corners
Cut short diagonal pieces of washi tape and fold them over the corners of your photos to create decorative photo corners. This echoes the traditional photo corner mounts of old albums, adds a protective layer to your photo edges, and provides a burst of pattern right at the focal point of the layout. Use a translucent washi tape and you'll see the photo through it; use an opaque patterned tape for a bolder, more graphic effect.
3. Bunting and Pennant Flags
Washi tape bunting is one of those techniques that looks impressive but takes only minutes. Cut pieces of tape roughly 3–4 cm long and fold each piece over a length of twine or baker's string, pressing the sticky sides together below the twine to create a little flag. Trim the bottom of each flag into a point with scissors. The result is a colourful pennant banner you can drape across the top of a layout, the front of a card, or the spine of a mini album. Mix multiple tape designs for a festival feel.
4. The Masking Technique
Washi tape's ability to be removed cleanly makes it an excellent masking tool. Apply strips of tape to your background paper before applying ink, paint, or distress products. Then peel it away to reveal crisp, clean lines beneath. This works beautifully for creating striped ink effects, watercolour resist patterns, and painted geometric designs. Because washi tape isn't as aggressive as standard masking tape, it lifts away without tearing the paper surface, provided the paper has some weight to it.
5. Layering Multiple Tapes
Rather than using a single wide tape, layer two or three narrower tapes side by side to create your own composite pattern. A narrow stripe of gold tape running alongside a floral tape, with a thin white tape edging it, creates something far more interesting than any of the individual tapes alone. Layering is also a great way to use up tapes that are too bold on their own, surrounding them with neutrals calms them into something wearable on a layout.
6. The Hinge Technique for Interactive Layouts
Use washi tape as a hinge to attach flaps, pockets, and lift-up elements to your scrapbook pages. Apply one side of a strip to the back of a card or photo and the other side to the page, leaving a small gap between them so the element can fold open cleanly. This creates interactive layouts where hidden journalling, extra photos, or keepsake inserts sit beneath a decorative top layer. The tape hinge is both functional and decorative, choose a pattern that complements your design.
7. Tab Labels and Index Flags
Fold a short piece of washi tape over the edge of a page, a divider, or a notebook tab so that equal amounts extend on both sides, then trim the protruding end into a point or a rectangle. You now have a decorative tab label. This is invaluable in multi-page albums, traveller's notebook inserts, and any project where you want to index sections. Write on the tab with a fine-tipped pen, most washi tapes accept ballpoint and fine-liner ink well.
8. Washi as Patterned Paper
Apply strips of washi tape side by side on a piece of plain white cardstock, covering the entire surface, to create your own bespoke patterned paper. You can use all the same tape for a graphic stripe effect, or mix complementary patterns for a patchwork look. Once you've covered the cardstock, cut it into shapes, strips, or panels exactly as you would any other patterned paper. This is an excellent technique for using up older tapes or coordinating a palette when you don't have quite the right paper in your stash.
9. Geometric Designs and Abstract Art
Applied at angles and in overlapping strips, washi tape can create striking geometric designs, chevrons, diamonds, triangles, and abstract compositions that look genuinely sophisticated. Work on a background card or page, laying tapes at different angles and lengths, trimming edges cleanly with a craft knife and ruler. Step back regularly to assess the composition. These tape-art backgrounds work particularly well as the focal panel on a simple, clean layout where the tape design does all the work.
10. Colour Blocking
Use wide washi tape (or multiple rows of standard tape) to divide a page or card front into distinct colour-blocked sections. A horizontal band of bold tape across the lower third of a card creates an immediate focal zone; a vertical band down one side of a layout defines space for photographs on one side and journalling on the other. Colour blocking with washi is forgiving. If the proportions aren't right, you can reposition the tape before it fully bonds.
11. Washi Tape Frames
Create a simple decorative frame around a photo or journalling block by applying four strips of tape around the perimeter. For a cleaner finish, mitre the corners by overlapping the tape and cutting through both layers at a 45-degree angle simultaneously. This gives a perfect mitred join. Washi tape frames are quicker than cutting and adhering paper mats, and the translucency of some tapes allows the background pattern to show through subtly.
12. Mixed Media Layering
Washi tape plays exceptionally well with mixed media techniques. Apply tape to your page or card before stamping over it. The ink sits differently on the tape than on the paper beneath, creating an interesting two-tone effect. You can also paint over washi tape with gesso or watercolour, which partially obscures the pattern for a vintage, worn effect. Misting over tape and then removing it leaves a ghost of the tape's edge in the mist colour: a subtle and beautiful technique.
13. Washi Tape Bookmarks
For projects that double as functional objects, journals, planners, notebooks, washi tape makes beautiful bookmarks. Cut a length of satin ribbon and apply washi tape along its full length on one side, then trim the ribbon to a point at the bottom. The tape adds pattern and stiffness; the ribbon adds elegance and flexibility. Make several in coordinating tapes to mark multiple sections of a planner or multi-page album.
14. Stamping on Washi Tape
Apply strips of washi tape to a non-stick craft sheet or piece of scrap paper, stamp your image directly onto the tape using permanent ink, then cut out the stamped elements and adhere them to your project. This transfers the pattern of the tape onto small stamped motifs, flowers, stars, leaves, in a way that looks far more intricate than the technique actually is. Solid-coloured washi tapes work especially well for this, as the tape pattern doesn't compete with the stamp image.
15. Washi Tape Embellishment Clusters
Rather than using washi as a long strip, cut it into very short segments, 5 to 15 mm, and cluster them together as embellishments. A group of five tiny washi segments fanned out from a central point looks like an abstract flower or starburst. Arranged in a loose arc below a photo, they create an embellishment cluster as visually interesting as any die-cut shapes. This technique uses up small leftover pieces of tape that are too short to run as borders.
"The best thing about washi tape is that there's no wrong answer. You can peel it off and start again, which means you can afford to be adventurous."
Washi tape pairs beautifully with the folding and structural techniques covered in our decorative paper folding guide, and it's equally at home on the handmade cards in our memory keeping and card making post. If you haven't yet built up a washi tape collection, start with a few rolls in your core palette, you'll quickly wonder how you ever crafted without it.