How to Fold a Shirt for Business Travel

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: December 29, 2022

Business travel relies on a professional look and demeanor. Folding your shirts properly before packing will minimize the amount of wrinkles that will develop en route. One of many techniques involves folding your sleeves lengthwise along your shirt's sides before folding the shirt in half widthwise. Another involves folding each sleeve horizontally, one on top of the other, before doing the same. Choosing a method is a simply a matter of what proves easiest and effective for you personally. Taking a few additional steps toward careful packing will help reduce wrinkling even more.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Folding Your Sleeves Lengthwise

1
Lay your shirt out. First, if your shirt has buttons, button them all up. Then lay your shirt on its front, with its back facing up, preferably on a flat, sturdy surface like a table (as opposed to a soft surface, like a bed). Straighten each sleeve so they extend straight out from either side.
2
Fold each sleeve over the back. Fold the sleeve over from its shoulder, creating a roughly 45-degree downward angle along your crease. As you do, line the sleeve up with the shirt’s side, so they run parallel, with the sleeve’s cuff meeting the shirt’s bottom. Smooth the first sleeve out with your hand from shoulder to cuff, and then repeat with the second.

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3
Fold each sleeve in half lengthwise. After its first fold, a couple inches of each sleeve will be hanging off the side of your shirt. With each one, take the outer half (the one that’s spilling over the shirt’s side) and fold it over the inner half. Use your hands to smooth out both sleeves again from top to bottom.
4
Fold your shirt widthwise. Use both hands to pinch each shoulder and sleeve together. Then lift the top of your shirt and draw it back until the bottom of your collar reaches the bottom of your shirt, with the chest now facing up. Smooth your shirt out to form a light crease where it’s folded in half below the chest.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Folding Your Sleeves Horizontally

1
Lay your shirt out. Button up any buttons that your shirt may have, and then lay your shirt out, facedown, on a flat, sturdy tabletop or similar surface. Straighten the sleeves so they both stick straight out from the shirt’s sides.
2
Fold one sleeve over the other. You can choose either sleeve to begin, but let’s say you start with the right. Fold it across the back of your shirt horizontally so it lays on top of the left sleeve, with the right cuff meeting the left elbow or thereabouts. Stop just before your crease reaches the right collar.
3
Straighten the shirt’s side. When you folded the first sleeve over, a couple inches of your shirt’s front may have folded over the back, too, below the armpit. Straighten this portion if needed while maintaining the fold. Keep your crease along the shirt’s side as straight as possible, from top to bottom.
4
Fold the top sleeve over itself. First, take the cuff of your right sleeve and then draw the sleeve back over itself, to the right, horizontally. Stop once the new crease reaches the left collar. Smooth the sleeve out from left to right.
5
Fold the sleeve over itself again. The right sleeve’s cuff should now extend a few inches past the original crease at the right collar. Draw the cuff back to the left until the third crease lines up with the first. Smooth the cuff from right to left.
6
Repeat with the left sleeve. Reverse the process and fold your left sleeve horizontally across the back of your shirt, over your folded-up right sleeve. Once you do, straighten the left side of your shirt so its crease runs straight from top to bottom. Then fold the left sleeve over itself two times as you did before, with your left sleeve folding up directly on top of the right one.
7
Fold your shirt in half. Draw the bottom of your shirt up and over your sleeves until it meets the bottom of your collar. Smooth it out with your hands. Then flip the shirt over and smooth out the front.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Reducing Wrinkles

1
Bag your shirts in plastic. Wrinkles in your shirt and other clothes are caused by friction between it and other items in your luggage. To minimize friction, save the plastic pouch that your shirt came in or any dry-cleaning bags. Once you’ve folded each shirt, slip it into a bag. Plastic limits the amount of friction created between two objects, so limit yourself to one shirt per bag, since two shirts rubbing up on each other will defeat the whole point.^{[1]
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- To reduce friction even further, use plastic when folding, too. Lay one dry-cleaner bag (or similarly sized sheet of plastic) over the back of your shirt before you begin. Then, once you finish folding your sleeves, lay another bag or sheet over them before you fold the shirt in half.^{[2]
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- For extra insurance against other items in your luggage, pack all your belongings in resealable plastic bags to protect your shirts and other clothes from friction, dirt, and spills.
2
Keep shirts folded for as short a time as possible. The longer a shirt is folded, the more time creases and other wrinkles have to set in. When packing ahead of time, hold off on your clothes for as long as you can without having to rush it. Once you arrive at your hotel, unpack your clothes and hang your shirts up on hangers first thing.
- To avoid packing in a rush, do a practice run before you clean and iron your shirts. Fold and bag them as you would when packing for real. Gather everything else you’re bringing with you and figure out the best way to arrange them in your luggage so you know exactly what to fit where ahead of time.
3
Pack your luggage full without overstuffing. Prevent your shirt and other items from flopping around inside your luggage by filling it all the way. If necessary, roll up extra t-shirts, socks, or other soft items to fill empty space, even if you won’t be needing them.^{[3]
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Research source} At the same time, be careful not to cram too much in, since overstuffing will cause your packed items to squish into each other.
- This is another reason for doing a test-run with packing before cleaning and ironing your shirt.

Warnings

Even with careful folding, your shirt will most likely still have some amount of wrinkles and need ironing once you arrive. The goal is to reduce the amount of wrinkling as much as possible so ironing takes less time if you have several items needing it.

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