Fold Clothes
So many people have a tendency to leave those lovely, freshly laundered clothes on the floor, on their bed, or draped over their chair. Those are not actually where your clothes belong. Learning to fold clothes properly will help you keep them wrinkle-free and your room clean!
Contents
Steps
Folding Shirts
- Use the simplest method. This is one of the easiest methods of folding shirts. It's best to use on short-sleeve shirts, but can also be used for long sleeved shirts. Start by placing the shirt face up on a flat surface.
- Fold in half vertically with the arms together.
- Fold the arms back onto shirt.
- Fold horizontally, so that the hem of the shirt touches the neck.
- Flatten the shirt. This is optional but it will make the shirt neater.
- Try out the method most commonly used in retail. This one takes a little practice to get right, but it makes it easier to tell which shirt is which (especially if you have lots that look similar).
- Begin by holding the shirt by the shoulders between forefinger and thumb in front of you.
- Using your excess fingers, fold the sleeves back.
- Fold the shirt in half, horizontally, so that the hem touches the neck.
- Smooth.
Folding Trousers
- Fold trousers without a crease. This can be anything from jeans to khakis. You'll want to begin this method by holding the trousers in front of you. From there you'll fold the trousers vertically, bringing the legs together, with the pockets on the outside.
- Bring the legs to just above the top of the pocket or about two or three inches below the waistline if there is no pocket.
- Fold trousers with a crease. You will want to fold your these trousers so that the crease, not the seam is in front (which is what you do with an uncreased pair of trousers). Begin by holding the trousers from their cuffs and making sure the crease is in front.
- Smooth the pant leg and fold in half at the knees, with the bottoms and the waistline touching.
- Bring the knees to the top. Smooth.
Folding Skirts and Dresses
- Fold in half horizontally. While it is better to hang skirts and dresses, even if you don't have the proper skirt hangers, you can still fold them, especially if you're looking to travel (see the method on travel folding).
- Fold the hem to waistband or collar, depending on whether you're folding a skirt or dress.
- Fold again, side to side (vertically). The hem or collar should be inside the folded garment. You will want your folded item to be in a rectangular shape.
- Fold a final time. You'll be folding down, in a horizontal manner. You should end up with a square of folded fabric.
Folding Clothes For Travel
- Use the rolling method. The rolling method can help you to reduce wrinkles and save space when you're traveling. You can also fit more into your bag when you use this method. It works on all different kinds of clothing.
- Fold a pair of jeans in half, lengthwise. Roll up the length of the jeans from the bottom to the cuff.
- Place a t-shirt face down on a flat surface. Fold its sleeves back onto the main body of the shirt. Fold the shirt lengthwise once before rolling it up.
- For long-sleeve shirts place the shirt face-down. You'll fold the sleeves back and down so that the cuffs almost touch the hem of the shirt. Fold once lengthwise and begin to roll from the hem of the shirt.
- For nice trousers, place them on the flat surface and smooth so it's free of wrinkles. Fold one leg over the other, fold in half from the cuffs up. Smooth again. Begin to roll up from the folded knee.
- For skirts and dresses lay them face-down on a flat surface. Smooth to avoid bunching of the fabric. Fold the clothing lengthwise so that one half is covering the other half. Smooth again. Fold from the bottom, so hem touches the neckline. Begin to roll from the bottom.
- Layer your clothes to fill a bundle. You'll need to use an organizer pouch, a flat rectangular item used to carry things like brushes and make-up or jewelry, that you don't want to get lost in your bag. To form a pillow shape put soft items, such as underwear, socks, a swimsuit and a laundry bag.
- Begin piling the heavier items (like jackets) on the bottom. Most garments will lie face up. Only tailored jackets should lie face down with the sleeves positioned as naturally as possible. Place skirts or dresses on top of the jacket. Fold any skirts in half lengthwise. They should alternately be oriented left and right as they are added.
- Follow with (buttoned) long-sleeved shirts and T-shirts that alternate pointing up and down. The shirt collars should line up with the armpits of the next shirt. Add pants (trousers) or slacks, alternately oriented left and right. Include any sweaters or knit garments, alternating up or down in orientation. Shorts should go on top.
- Place pouch in the middle of the pile and align its edges with the shirt collars and waistbands of skirts.
- Wrap and tuck the trouser legs around the bundle. Wrap clothing tightly to avoid wrinkles but do not stretch out the clothes. Wrap both sleeves and the bottom of each shirt or sweater around the pouch. Tuck in long sleeves around and under the pouch. Now, place your bundle in your suitcase.
Tips
- If you do not want wrinkles, remove your clothes from the dryer before they are completely dry and hang them on clothes hangers.
- Don't keep long sleeve shirts folded for too long; they wrinkle quickly.
- For bras, fold them in half and fold the straps under the cups. You can also hang them on a hanger, with one cup on either side of the hanger. This way they take up less space in your drawer and are more accessible.
- Don't leave pants for too long in the basket, as they wrinkle quickly and easily.
- Just fold underwear/boxers in half and place them in your drawer.
Warnings
- For all of the traveling methods, make sure that you hang your clothes up when you reach your destination. This will cut down on wrinkles.
Related Articles
- Avoid or Lessen Your Ironing
- Catch Up on Dirty Laundry
- Overcome Tedious Tasks
- Create Bondage Pants
- Perform the Missing Card Illusion
- Clean an Iron
- Pack Hangers
Sources and Citations
- Videos provided by ASOSMenswear
