Learn how to fold clothes like a professional laundry service. This will keep your clothes in tip-top shape and easy to store in the closet before wearing. Here are a few different methods of folding clothes.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Traditional Shirt Folds
Step 1. Button the clothes
Button the first and third holes on the shirt.
Step 2. Lay the shirt on a flat surface with the front down
You now see the back of the shirt.
Step 3. Smooth the shirt
Straighten any creases or creases, so your shirt is neat on the front and back.
Step 4. Fold the right side first
Fold about a third of the body inward. The crease line starts in the middle of the shoulder and ends at the tail of the shirt. You now see the back of your shirt with the front third folded back.
Step 5. Fold the sleeves
Fold the sleeves forward, creating a corner crease at the shoulders. The arms should be parallel to the edge of the first fold of the body.
Step 6. Fold the left side in the same way
Make sure you smooth out any wrinkles that appear on each side before continuing.
Step 7. Make the first bottom fold
Make a crease about a few inches from the tail of the shirt.
Step 8. Fold the rest of the clothes
Fold the bottom of the shirt up. The tail of the shirt should be just below the collar at this stage.
Step 9. Turn the folded shirt over
Your clothes will fold nicely like the creases at a professional clothing store or laundry.
Method 2 of 3: Quick Japanese Fold
Step 1. Spread the shirt
Extend the shirt horizontally in front of you, facing up. The neck of the shirt should be on your left side.
Step 2. Grab a pinch of the shoulder
On the other side of the shirt, hold the shirt with your left hand over the shoulder, halfway between the sleeve and the neck.
Step 3. Take a pinch of the middle
On the same side, hold the shirt with your right hand in the center (think of this as the point where the bottom crease lies on a store-bought shirt). Your right hand should be in line with your left hand.
Make sure you pick up both the top and bottom layers of clothing
Step 4. Fold the shirt inward
Still in the position of picking up the shirt with both hands, cross your left hand over your right so that the shoulders of the shirt fold down towards the hem of the shirt. Grab the hem of the shirt and the shoulder piece together with your left hand.
Your arms should now be crossed
Step 5. Straighten your arms
Lift the shirt as you straighten your arms, without releasing the two-handed grip on the shirt. Pull the stiff part of the shirt with both hands and shake and fold the shirt.
Step 6. Fold the rest of the shirt
Holding the shirt, place the shirt so that the front of the unfolded arm touches the floor, until the same position where the other arm is folded.
Step 7. Face the shirt down
Lower the rest of the shirt so that the crease is complete and the front of the shirt is facing up.
Step 8. Done
If you are careful with folding, this method will reduce wrinkles compared to the Western method with the same result shape.
Method 3 of 3: Keeping it from Tangle
Step 1. Use a permanent press cycle
This drying cycle will keep your clothes cool while they are drying, preventing wrinkles from forming. Clothes are more likely to wrinkle when they're warm, so it's best to cool them while they're drying.
Step 2. Always starch your clothes before folding
If you want to keep your clothes from wrinkled after folding, starch and iron them before folding.
Step 3. Don't pack clothes too tightly
When storing folded clothes, don't store them too tightly. This will make the clothes more likely to wrinkle.
Tips
- You can use a flat, square cardboard pattern (or something similar, like a magazine) that is measured to fit between the left and right folds. This will make your clothes fold in one size. Place this pattern on the shirt facing down. Finish folding. You can pull off the cardboard after the last step.
- Start with clean, ironed clothes.
- Clothes in a travel suitcase that are properly folded generally don't need to be ironed again.
