Sweatpants are the most fun type of clothing to fold. They’re both big and stretchy which opens up a world of possibilities.
In this step-by-step guide, I’m going to teach you 3 ways you can use to fold all your sweatpants. One way is fast and neat, one way is perfect for travel, and the last one is fantastic for saving space in your pants drawer.
I have added a video where I go through how to do the folding steps in practice. If you have time to watch it, I recommend taking a few minutes to check it out.
If you’re in a hurry, feel free to refer back to it if you get stuck at any of the steps in the illustrations below.
How to Fold Sweatpants Neatly
The file fold is a really fast way to neatly fold your sweatpants. In short, we fold the sweatpants so that you can store them with the long side facing up and stack the pants next to each other instead of laying the pants down flat on top of each other.
The folding style was popularized by the famous organizer Marie Kondo in the past decade. It is a great place for us to start today.
- Lay the pants down flat with the front side facing up.
- Fold the pants in half from side to side.
- Fold in the crotch area to create an even line going down the sweatpants.
- Fold the pants in half from top to bottom.
- From the end with the leg openings and waist, fold the pants down 1/3 of the remaining length.
- Fold the pants over one more time so that the ends line up.
- Place the pants with the tall side with a single fold facing up.
- Stack multiple file folded pants next to each other so that they can support each other.
I also recommend investing in an organizing system for your dresser if you have the coin. Personally, I use these simple boxes from IKEA (amazon paid link), and I feel comfortable recommending them.
Otherwise, you can always use some cardboard boxes or anything else you have laying around the house.
By the way, I also have a guide on how to file fold all of your clothes in case you’re interested in reorganizing your wardrobe.
How to Fold Sweatpants to Save Space
This rose fold is the most space-saving way to fold your sweatpants. It is excellent for travel, and it will save you tons of room in the pants drawer too.
This fold is a little more difficult than the file fold above, but if you take the time to learn it you will never want to fold your pants any other way again.
- Start by laying your pants down flat with the front side facing up.
- Fold the pants in half from side to side.
- Fold the top leg out 90° at the knee.
- From the leg opening of the bottom leg, roll the pants up over the knee with the folded out leg.
- Consider folding in the crotch area to create an even line, and keep rolling the pants up to the waist.
- Lift the roll up with one hand, and with the other wrap the free leg inside-out over the rolled up pants.
- Pull the inside-out leg further down to secure the leg.
This will work just as well for thick sweatpants as it will for thin ones. But you need to roll the sweatpants up tighter for the thicker sweatpants.
Also, consider folding the top leg out 90° further up than the knee if you need more room to work with when you wrap the leg inside-out over the rest of the roll.
And of course, If you enjoy this way of folding clothes, I have a whole guide on how to fold your other clothes in a similar style to this as well. Feel free to check it out.
How to Fold Thick Sweatpants
I made this section specifically for thick sweatpants as they can be tricky to wrap the leg over in the previous folding style I showed you.
But you can also use this for other sweatpants in case you struggle to wrap the leg over for any other reason (too tight leg opening, no stretch, etc.).
This style is commonly known as the classic ranger roll.
I also made a guide on how to fold your hoodies and other sweaters that you can check out next.
I’m an expert wardrobe organizer and a bit of a clean freak. I created this website and its YouTube channel to share practical guides about laundry and organizing. My teachings have been featured in multiple large news publications, and I’ve self-published two wardrobe organizing books and an entire course on the subject.
