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Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide for Caring for Everything in Your Home

Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House

. . . even fitted sheets!

Make one of life’s little chores a little easier—and your closets and drawers a whole lot neater—with tips on how to fold even the trickiest items. Master the quickest and simplest ways to fold:

Clothes, including T-shirts, dress shirts, sweaters, and pants
Linens, including fitted sheets, flat sheets, and pillowcases
Table linens, including round tablecloths and napkins

How to Fold a T-Shirt

There are two different ways to fold a T-shirt: a less common method that lets you fold a T-shirt in just two seconds, and the traditional method used in retail stores.

The Two-Second Way to Fold a T-Shirt

The disadvantage of this method for folding a T-shirt is that you can’t control the width of the fold—it will always be proportional to the size of the T-shirt. But once you get the hang of it, you can use this method to fold any T-shirt in just a couple of seconds.

Lay the T-shirt face up on a flat surface so that one side of the T-shirt is closest to you. The neck of the T-shirt should be to your right.
Imagine a horizontal line across the middle of the T-shirt. With the thumb and pointer finger of your left hand, pinch the shirt on this line, at a spot about 3" from the edge of the shirt closest to you. Make sure you’ve pinched both layers of T-shirt fabric.
Now imagine a line that extends from the first pinch spot straight up to the neck of the T-shirt. Pinch that spot with the thumb and pointer finger of your right hand. Again, make sure you’ve pinched both layers of fabric.
Imagine that the line that extends between the two spots where you’ve pinched now extends down to the bottom of the shirt. Still pinching the neck of the shirt with your right hand, cross your right hand behind your left and pinch at the spot where the line hits the bottom of the shirt. Your arms should now be crossed, with your right arm behind your left, and your right hand pinching four layers of fabric.
Securely holding the T-shirt with both hands, lift and uncross your hands. The T-shirt should now be dangling from between your two raised hands, with the left sleeve of the shirt hanging down furthest.
Lower the T-shirt onto the flat surface so that the left sleeve that is dangling behind the T-shirt folds back behind the rest of the shirt as you lay it down.

The Traditional “Retail” Way to Fold a T-Shirt

The retail method for folding a T-shirt has the advantage of allowing you to control how wide the folded T-shirt will be.

Lay the T-shirt face down on a flat surface with its bottom edge closest to you. Smooth out the shirt as much as possible.
Make vertical folds along the left and right sides of the shirt to the desired width. Fold the sleeves back across the fold.
Make a horizontal fold to fold the shirt in half.
Flip the shirt over.