Guess what my kids are doing right now? They are in their rooms RE-FOLDING all of the shirts in their closets! No, I did not bribe them. In fact, they BEGGED for us to make each of them their own DIY shirt folding board because the first one was such a big hit. I may even need one for myself! Not only does the contraption teach you “how to fold a shirt,” but it cuts down your folding time dramatically. It is seriously magic and you absolutely must make one immediately. If you aren’t up for a DIY project, you can even buy a shirt folding board (this one has incredible reviews)! To make one though, all you need is cardboard (I know you have some Amazon boxes in your house!) and duct tape. Though we will take it a step further, and use a few additional materials to make it more fun, but that is just because we are “extra” and like pretty things!
“Back to Basics” Classes for Kids
Wow! Can you believe that it is already week six of our virtual camps? We have done all of the following camp activities already!
- DIY Craft Camp
- Cooking Classes for Kids
- Science Experiments for Kids
- Kids Entrepreneurship
- World Traveler (Kids Geography Camp)
This week’s virtual camp theme is “Back to Basics,” and I can’t wait to teach our kids everything from how to make a budget to how to sew on a button and tons of stuff in between! Don’t forget to join our Facebook group to see our live classes and follow us on Pinterest, so you won’t miss a thing! You definitely need to follow Hannah at Inspired Sparks too, because she is posting all kinds of awesome videos to teach kids about science, crafts and cooking
DIY Shirt Folding Board
Here is a list of materials that you need to make a DIY shirt folding board.
- Fun Duct Tape (my kids LOVE the tie dye and emoji prints!)
- Cardboard (we used 6 pieces that were roughly 8.5″ x 11″ each, but I will explain how to figure out the best sizes for you down below!)
- Scissors (a utility knife works best, but only if an adult is helping!)
The following is a list of materials for making the shirt folding board more fun an pretty, but it is totally optional!
How to Make a Shirt Folding Board with Cardboard & Duct Tape
Now that you have your materials, grab a shirt for sizing and let’s go!
1. Measure the length and width of a folded shirt
I did a test and folded a bunch of shirts ranging in size from 3T up to kids size 8/10. Shockingly, they were fairly similar in width and length (as you can see in the photo below)!
However, it is best to take a folded shirt and measure for yourself (since the size may vary for younger kids versus teenagers versus adults). We measured the width of my daughter’s folded shirts and found that they were between 8 and 8.5 inches.
Then we measured the length, which was roughly 11″
2. Cut out six cardboard rectangles in the dimensions measured in step 1
Based on our measurement above, we cut out six cardboard rectangles that were 8.5 inches by 11 inches.
After we cut out the first one, we placed our shirt on top of it to be sure it was a good fit (as shown in the photo below). The last thing you want to do is to cut out six rectangles and discover that they are the wrong size!
Do not worry if your rectangles are not exactly the same size. This is not an exact science, just do the best that you can! Also, the priority mail box cardboard was PERFECT, because it isn’t super thick (which would make it more difficult to cut out), but it is sturdy enough that it won’t break. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m curious if cereal box cardboard would be even easier, especially for smaller kids! If you try it out, let me know how it works by posting in our Facebook group.
3. Wrap each cardboard rectangle in wrapping paper (optional)
This is one of the optional steps! We wrapped each cardboard rectangle in shiny gold wrapping paper, because Hannah (our 8 year old) loves everything that sparkles and shines. It doesn’t take much wrapping paper and makes SUCH a huge difference in how the final DIY shirt folding board looks. I’m pretty sure that without the extra “touches,” my kids’ excitement levels would have been much less.
Measure how much wrapping paper you will need by laying the cardboard rectangles on top.
Cut out the wrapping paper and wrap the piece of cardboard, just like you would wrap a gift. Use small pieces of scotch tape to hold it in place for now.
We realized that scotch tape alone was not going to be enough for long term durability, so we went over the edges with packing tape.
Since we didn’t want to see the priority mail labels on the back of our DIY shirt folding board, we used a glue stick to adhere a piece of white printer paper to the back of each cardboard rectangle.
Here is what the front and back of each cardboard rectangle looks like (the white side is the back and the gold side is the front).
4. Make a 3 by 2 grid with your cardboard rectangles
Lay out your cardboard rectangles into a three by two grid, with around 1/4″ of space between each panel, as shown in the photo below.
5. Use duct tape to connect the top and bottom rectangle in each column
I highly suggest using Fun Duct Tape, because the cool prints and patterns (plus the wrapping paper) are what makes this DIY shirt folding board appealing to kids! Here are a few prints that we found in our craft closet, but my kids have already requested the tie dye and emoji prints for next time!
Take a piece of duct tape and tape together the top and bottom rectangle in each of the three columns, as shown in the photo below.
6. Flip the cardboard columns over and tape them on the back too
Place another piece of duct tape between each column on the back, like in the following photo.
7. Tape the top row of rectangles together
Use two more pieces of tape to adhere the three cardboard columns together. Do NOT place any tape in between the rectangles in the bottom row.
8. Flip it over and tape the back, as well
Place two more pieces of tape on the back, in the same places as in step 7.
How to Fold a Shirt
Awesome! You have made your first DIY shirt folding board! Now let’s learn how to fold a shirt with it…
1. Place your shirt (face down) in the center of your board
We tested our DIY shirt folding board out with the largest of our shirts (the girls size 8/10). Place it face down in the middle of your board. You want to center it both horizontally and vertically, to the best of your ability (it does NOT have to be exact!)
2. Fold the right side over
Place your hand where the duct tape is on the right and fold the side over.
3. Fold the left side over
Place your hand where the duct tape is on the left and fold it over.
4. Fold the center rectangle (on the bottom row) up
Take the center piece of cardboard (the one that has no duct tape on either side of it) and fold it up.
5. Ta-da! A perfectly folded shirt
Not only is the shirt perfectly folded, but my kids thought it was an amazing trick! Who knew that learning how to fold a shirt could be so fun?!
Just flip your shirt over and watch your kids stare in disbelief that it was SO easy to fold a shirt!
I love how all of the shirts come out exactly the same width (checkout the photo below), so the shirt piles will look very neat and organized in their closets. Plus, it was amazing how quickly the kids could fold an entire laundry basket full of shirts!
DIY Shirt Folding Board
Now go out there and teach those kids how to fold a shirt! Don’t forget to share with us how your DIY shirt folding board turns out by posting a photo in our Facebook Group! We are always so inspired by all of our amazing members!!!
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