How to Fold Jeans

Some people hang their jeans over coat hangers, but this can take up a significant amount of closet space. If you decide to fold your jeans instead, or if you need to fold any long trousers for your work, take a few minutes to learn how to keep the jeans tidy and compact.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Folding Jeans

1
Smooth out the pockets. Insert your hand into each pocket, especially the largest ones, and push them to their furthest extent. If your pockets are bunched together, or pulled inside out, they may make your fold uneven or bulky.
2
Hold the jeans upright and shake once or twice. Pick up the pair of jeans by either end of the waistband, keeping the seams of each leg along the outer side. Shake the jeans with one or two short, emphatic flaps to remove any obvious wrinkles.

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3
Fold one leg of the jeans over the other. Line up the legs of the jeans so the seams remain on the outside, or your fold may create wrinkles. You may fold so either the back pockets or front pockets are touching; both methods are common.
4
Tuck the crotch under the legs (optional). This step makes the folded jeans a little thicker, but it may make them appear tidier, and reduces wrinkles in the crotch area.^{[1]
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Research source} Smooth out the crotch fabric extending past the legs, then tuck them over the leg lying face-up toward you.
5
Fold the pants in half or thirds, depending on space. If you have plenty of room in your dresser or cupboard, fold the hem up to the waistband, then smooth out the pants. If you need to fold more compactly, you may instead fold the hem halfway up the pant legs, smooth them out, then fold the waistband over it all the way to the folded edge of the pants.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Storing Folded Jeans

1
Alternate waistbands when stacking, to save space. The waistband of the jeans typically contain a different amount of material than the hems, making a stack of jeans tilted and uneven. Prevent this by alternating the position of the waistband between the left and right sides of the stack.^{[2]
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Research source}
2
Arrange jeans in a row for ease of selection. Use a box or basket to stack your folded jeans in a horizontal row. This makes it easy to pull out the pair you want without moving the rest of the stack. Keep the folded edge at the top to keep the stack tidy.
3
Come up with a sorting system. If you own many pairs of jeans, sort them into separate stacks for ease of selection. Consider arranging them by style of cut (e.g. bell bottoms, tight jeans, and loose jeans) to make the neatest stacks. Other possible sorting criteria include color, pattern, or frequency of use.
- Consider using shelf dividers to keep different categories of jeans separate in the same container.

Community Q&A

Question

Will this work for other trousers?

Community Answer

Yes, pretty much any pair of pants can be folded the same way.
Question

How do I fold a long sleeved men's shirt?

Community Answer

My favorite way to fold men's shirts is to start with the shirt flat on a table with the arms out. Then fold the arms into the shirt so that they cross over, fold the bottom of the shirt up to the top, and then fold left to right.