Folding thin pants like tights (and stockings) can be quite challenging to some because of their thin fabric. But don’t worry, this step-by-step guide is going to take you through the entire process and show you a few alternatives.
I want to show you a great way to fold your tights to save space and a really fast way to fold your tights while still keeping them neat.
As a bonus, I also added instructions for stockings at the end of the article since they will need to be folded a bit differently due to the closed feet.
How to Fold Tight Pants to Save Space
The best way to fold tight pants is by rose folding them. Many think that the ranger roll is better for saving space, but that is not true.
Generally, you are best off rose folding all your tight pants. While it takes more time, you will find that they take up significantly less space, and also crease less than most other folds.
- Place your pants with the front facing up.
- Fold your pants in half from side to side.
- Fold the top leg out 90° at the ankle.
- From the top, roll the pants down all the way to the bottom.
- Lift the pants with one hand while making sure they don’t unravel as you lift them.
- Wrap the free leg over the entire roll you made
- Pull the roll down to secure it in place.
This fold is a bit difficult, so don’t feel discouraged if you can’t do it perfectly the first time. Rewatch the video clip and try again and you will get the hang of it in no time.
Did you know I wrote an entire guide on how to fold your clothes to save space?
How to Fold Tights Neatly
Overall, the best way to fold tights neatly and fast is by file-folding them. This style was popularized by Marie Kondo’s Konmari method over the last decade, and for a good reason.
This folding technique folds your clothes to stand up vertically so that you can stack them neatly next to each other instead of putting them on top of each other.
- Place your tights flat with the front facing up.
- From side to side, fold the tights in half
- Fold the tights down in half from top to bottom.
- From the end with the leg openings and waist, fold the tights down 1/3 of the length.
- Fold the tights over one more time so that the edges line up evenly.
- Place the tights with the tallest side with a single fold facing up.
I recommend that you use some sort of organizing system with the file folds. I use these from IKEA (Amazon paid link), but you can get away with cardboard boxes if you don’t want to spend the money.
Here is my guide on how to file fold all your clothes that you can check out next.
How to Fold Stockings
Stockings need to be folded a little differently than the other tights as they don’t have any leg openings for the roll, and they are not stiff enough to file fold properly.
I came up with this new way of folding stockings for my premium folding guide, but today I want to share it with all of you.
- Lay the stocking down flat with the front facing up.
- Flip the wasit inside-out and pull it down a few inches.
- Fold the stocking in half from side to side to create an even line running down the stockings.
- From the tip of the toes, roll the stockings up all the way to the top of the waist.
- Lift the stockings up while holding on to the roll.
- Flip the inside-out waist fabric over the roll to secure it in place.
If you want to increase the durability of the stockings you should keep the waistband a bit loose when it is folded over the roll to increase the lifespan of the elastics.
Next, you can learn how to fold your skirts, or how to fold your socks here.
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.
