Above image courtesy of Syuuki Oneimauo
“Excuse me, my eyes are up here!“
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve noticed someone’s wandering gaze fixate directly on the giant crease right across my chest, to only be told, “It’s just a wrinkle, you can barely see it!”
Oh, if only that were true.
Personally, I do prefer wrinkle resistant travel clothing made of nylon or poly blends for both their durability and overall functionality, but I’ll be the first to say, that they’re usually not particularly stylish. Whether it’s to see the Moulin Rouge in Paris, or a night on the town at Sobrino de Botin, Madrid, a decent set of evening wear, minus the burnt-in smell of hostels, is not only called for, but welcomed! And besides, even the hardiest of us need a break from the temple raiding and mountain treks once in awhile.
So unless you want to walk around looking like a Chinese Shar Pei, and short of carrying an iron everywhere you go, you got to learn how to prevent wrinkles while packing.
So How do You Prevent Wrinkles in Clothes?
First of all, contrary to popular belief, rolling your clothes does not work to prevent wrinkles, not by itself anyways. At most, it serves to minimize the hardness of the creases, but not the formation of the wrinkles itself. And even then, once the roll gets compressed into a nice flat pancake, hard permanent wrinkles are inevitable.
Surprisingly, by using a lesser-known paper-plastic bag hack, you can dramatically minimize, if not eliminate wrinkles. Just layer tissue paper throughout the folds and creases of your clothing, place in a plastic bag (like a dry cleaning bag) and your clothes will come out fresh and ready for wear.
A note on rolling: It’s great way to maximize space and so if rolling is necessary, just use more tissue paper and roll after It’s been placed inside the plastic bag.
The Simple Science of How to Prevent Wrinkles:
Heat, water and friction cause wrinkles by breaking the polymers in the fabric, and then reforming them in new positions. But unless you’ve recently dunked your bag in a swamp, it probably can be isolated to friction and heat, but even heat alone will do little without the friction. That’s where the tissue paper and plastic bag come in, as they both serve to eliminate the friction between the clothing fabric and thereby the formation of wrinkles.
Here’s How You do it:
Materials/Equipment:
- Tissue Paper (preferably the arts and crafts type)
- Plastic bag (ideally the same type you get from the dry-cleaners)
Steps:
1.Layout out your article of clothing
2.Place the tissue paper where the first fold will be made
3. Make the fold over the tissue paper ensuring the paper is nestled in the creases
4.Place another layer of tissue paper where you plan on making the next fold
5. Like step 3, make the fold over the tissue paper ensuring the paper is nestled in the crease
6. Make any further necessary folds following step 3 and 5, but make sure there is a layer of tissue paper wherever there may be a crease, or where the clothing fabric may have contact with each other
7. Now place your folded article of clothing into the plastic bag
8. Optional step – Roll it up. If you choose to roll your clothing for space efficiency, be sure to put extra layers of tissue paper between the folds, and roll it only after you’ve placed in the plastic bag
Of all the methods from rolling to using a folding folder, using tissue paper and a plastic bag is how to prevent wrinkles; it works and it’s effective.
Now have fun looking like a million bucks!
Carey
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