Folding a shirt (or blouse)
You’re probably thinking: ‘why is The Journey and the Destination telling me how to fold a shirt – anyone can fold a shirt!’ Well, you're right, you probably can fold a shirt, but I'm going to offer you my method and reasoning, and you can see how it compares with what you do.
The main issue for folding a shirt is fitting it into your baggage while minimising the visible creasing when you come to put it on. The less folds that there are in your shirt while it’s in your bag, the better the result will be.
This process works best for a button-up shirt, as the undone buttons allow you to avoid a crease up the middle of the front of the shirt, which is the most visible place when you've got it on.
I’m using a long-sleeved button-up bushwalking (hiking) shirt for my example; but the principle is good for any shirt.
Lay the shirt down, front downward, and spread the sleeves out so that they lie flat.
I’ve got one sleeve hanging over the edge of the bed so that I can still reach the shirt after I’ve folded it, in the next step.
Fold one side of the shirt back across the other side of the shirt, and align them.
Make sure that the placket (the bit with the buttons and button holes) is laid out flat, and is drawn right up to the fold.
If the shirt has a collar, make sure that the fold on the back of the shirt carries through neatly right into the collar, and lay the collar down as neatly as you can.
Fold the two sleeves forward together onto the shirt so that they lie flat on the breast of the shirt. If they are full-length sleeves you will need to lie them down along the shirt, as shown here:
The next stage depends on what you are going to pack the shirt into. If possible, you should now pick the shirt up and place it, full length, in your bag. However, if the shirt is too long to do this you’ll need to turn the tails (the bottom of the shirt) up over the shirt.
For a long-sleeved shirt it’s better to fold the tails and the sleeves under the shirt to minimise the creasing in the sleeves.
The less of the tails that you turn up, the lower any resulting creases will be, and the more chance there is that you will be able to tuck the creases into your pants, shorts, or skirt, or that you will be able to attract people’s attention away from them by being an interesting and engaging person.
If you are packing the shirt into a small space you may need to put this fold high up on the shirt, which is going to make a visible crease. I pack my clothes into packing cells, so I need to make the fold fairly high up.
Don’t fold your shirt or blouse like it’s being packed for sale or presented for display in a department store – it may show off the shirt, but it’s a sure way to get to big creases running down the front, a horizontal crease across the chest, and lots of little creases everywhere else.
Of course, it’s a big help if you choose a shirt made from a fabric that doesn’t crease easily.
The general principles used here can be applied to any item of clothing; those principles are: put the clothes Item into your bag with as few folds as possible, and: arrange the unavoidable folds so that any creases end up in less prominent places.
That’s it; now, was that worth knowing?
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