Tue, December 14, 2004
Flop, Check, Fold
There's a spellbinding little video clip on the web that you may have already seen if you read a lot of blogs. I came across it a few weeks back on my friend Ricky's blog. It contains a headless Japanese girl, excitedly narrating as she folds a T-shirt on the floor. But what's really breathtaking is her technique. She makes a couple of quick scores, pinches twice, folds, then lifts and (magic occurs) the shirt is folded! It's really something to see.
I'm always receptive to new approaches to common chores – anything that can be improved, standardized, or made more efficient sounds great to me! And this folding method elegantly uses gravity to create effortless, perfect creases and angles. The appearance is consistent, as well. It's quick and simple to do, yet achieves significantly identical results when repeated, which is tough to do at such a speed.
However, as impressive as this demonstration is, the benefits of this technique are skin deep. The folded shirt looks amazing... if you look at it from the front. From the back, it's an asymmetrical mishmash, and if you were to unfold it and put it on, the creases would be uneven and strange. Also, because of the way the final fold goes sideways (it may be helpful to view the video before reading my futile attempts at describing it – as of this writing, the link is still on Ricky's page and at the bottom of the Ready Made review), the integrity of the final package is sort of lopsided. If you lift it up from any side other than the side along which it was last folded, it will fall apart. Folding things the traditional way (T-shirt held in the air, facing folder; arms folded behind; slid onto the counter face down, then top half folded back over the bottom half) makes a far more robust bundle. You can pick it up by the bottom or either side (or the top, if you grip the hem and the neckline properly), and it's easy to slide it into the drawer. I've even carried them by the corners! The weight is distributed more evenly, and the folds and tucks are in the right places to hold things together.
Reading a recent online review of this technique, I was reminded of my own experience. It's easy to learn: after a few tries, I had it down. It looks very pretty. But that's about it – and that's a very small part of the picture when you're evaluating a technique for folding shirts. (Plus, the whole thing has to be revised if the shirt has long sleeves.)
But the article mentions my real favorite: the technique used by most clothing retailers like the Gap and J.Crew. They employ customized acrylic folding boards that are just the right size, and include a nice handle for toting and for sliding out of the completed shirt. A polished, clear surface and soft, buffed edges. Years ago, a friend who was working at the Gap promised to lift one from their stock for me – a compulsive's dream come true! – but it either slipped her mind, or she chickened out. I still dream of it. I think it's the ultimate solution: combining the sturdy construction of a good sides-in-bottom-up fold with the precision and speed of the Japanese Magic Fold. Maybe if I'm really good, Santa will bring me one.
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"Vickiy" — Mon, 1/10/05 9:04am
You can get a folding board from Victorinox (it comes with their Magic pack (something like that - it is used to store shirts when travelling) or Tumi (they have the same thing)