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How to Fold Skirts: Neat, Small, and Wrinkle-Free (+ Video)

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Folding skirts can be a daunting task for some for a variety of reasons. Some may worry about the skirts wrinkling, and some may simply not be sure how to most effectively fold their skirts for home, or for travel.

In this step-by-step guide, I’m going to show you the best ways to fold your skirts depending on length, fabric type, and for what purpose you are folding them.

I have added a quick video I made that you can check out to get a demonstration of how to all three folds we are going to learn are done.

3 Clever Ways to Fold Skirts (and Save Space)
Timestamps: File fold: 0:28, Ranger roll: 4:30, Wrinkle-free fold: 8:24.

How to Fold Skirts Neatly

The best way overall to fold the majority of your skirts is to file fold them. This style of folding was popularized in the Konmari method.

The biggest advantage to folding your skirts like this is that you can stack them vertically next to each other and create a very neat dresser drawer.

While the step-by-step illustrations are for a knee-length straight skirt, this will also work for skirts with flares like tennis skirts or skater skirts. Just make sure to fold in the flares as well during steps 2 and 3.

If you want to do this fold for a long skirt, feel free to fold the skirt over in half from top to bottom first.

  1. Lay the skirt out flat with the front side facing up.
  2. From the left side, fold 1/3 of the total width of the skirt in towards the middle.
  3. From the right side, do the same so that this fold completely overlaps the previous one.
  4. From the top of the skirt, fold it down 1/3 of the total length of the skirt twice.
  5. Make sure that all the ends line up evenly, if not adjust them now.
  6. Lift the skirt up and place it down vertically with the end with one fold facing up.
  7. Stack multiple file-folded skirts next to each other to add support.
The only disadvantage of the file fold is that the folds can easily fall over if they don’t have any support. An organizing system (amazon paid link) can be very useful to add some structure to your drawers.

If you want to learn how to fold more of your clothes like this, I made an entire guide on file-folding clothes that you can check out.

How to Fold Skirts for Travel

The best way to fold your skirts for travel is the ranger roll. This fold will hold your clothes together tightly in your bag or suitcase, and it is also the most space-saving way to fold your skirts, which is always a good thing.

A word of warning though, you should skip ahead to the next fold if you have formal skirts, skirts with lots of detail, or skirts that crease up easily because this fold will slightly crease your skirts.

If you have a skirt that flares out like the one in the illustration below you can fold the flares on both sides during step 3.

  1. Lay your skirt flat with the from side facing up.
  2. Flip the waist of your skirt inside out and pull it 4 inches down (5-6 inches for long skirts)
  3. From the left side, fold the skirt 1/3 of the total width of your skirt in towards the middle
  4. Repeat in the right side so that the fold completely overlaps the fold from the left side.
  5. You should now have an even rectangle shaped skirt, if not, make sure the flares at the end if folded in too.
  6. From the bottom of the skirt, roll it up all the way to the top.
  7. Lift the skirt, and flip the inside-out waist back over the roll you just created to secure the skirt.
  8. Stick your thumbs inside the opening in the roll to adjust the skirt if your roll looks uneven.

This fold can be a bit tricky the first few times you try it, so you will need to practice a few times to make it look good.

Check out the video at the start of the guide if you need to see the technique in more detail.

The ranger roll is a personal favorite of mine. I wrote an entire step-by-step guide for how to ranger roll the rest of your clothes that you can check out if you would like to fold all your clothes to save space.

Learn how to fold tights and pantyhose here.

How to Fold Skirts to Avoid Wrinkles

The simple roll is the best way to fold skirts to avoid wrinkles. While it doesn’t hold together as well as the roll I showed you above, it will keep the creasing to a minimum.

You should use this fold for your dressy skirts, skirts with lots of little detail, or skirts made of linen, pure cotton, and wool.

  1. Lay the skirt out flat with the backside facing up.
  2. Optional: Fold the skirt in half from side to side.
  3. From the waist, gently roll the skirt all the way down to the bottom.
  4. Let the skirt rest on the end of the roll so it doesn’t unravel.

The 3. step is optional as it will create a slight crease going down primarily the back of your skirt.

While this fold is great to avoid creases, keep in mind that the best way to completely avoid wrinkling your clothes will always be to hang them up.

If you enjoyed this guide, I wrote one in the same style for folding your dresses, and of course, there is my big guide to folding all your other clothes too.

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