How to Pack Pants

Last Updated: July 15, 2022 Tested

Are packing your suitcase for a trip, and want to keep your pants wrinkle-free for once? If you pack pants correctly, you can get away without ironing them. The trick is to fold them along the seams, so you won’t end up with an unsightly crease. Rolling pants is also effective, especially for jeans and casual slacks.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Folding Pants

1
Decide which pants should be folded. Business pants and other pants made of fabrics that can be easily wrinkled should be folded instead of rolled, since folding cuts back on wrinkles. If you're traveling to a business meeting or another event that requires dress pants, you'll want to fold them to keep them from being completely lined with wrinkles when you reach your destination.
- Suit pants should always be folded, never rolled, since rolling them can cause them to pick up unsightly wrinkles.
- Pants made of 100 percent cotton wrinkle easily, and should also be folded.
2
Start with ironed pants. If you pack wrinkly pants, they're just going to look worse after being packed in your luggage for several hours. If you iron your pants before packing them you're more likely to be able to wear them straight out of the suitcase when you arrive.

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3
Lay the pants on a flat surface. Do it on the floor or another hard surface to make sure your fold is neat. Lay them out flat and smooth out any crease or folds so that you can easily fold them neatly.
4
Fold the pants in half so the legs overlap. Bring one leg over the other to fold them in half. Make sure the fold is right down the middle over the seam at the crotch of the pants. Straighten the legs to remove any creases at this time.
- If you're folding dress pants that have a crease or pleat down the middle, fold the pants in half along the crotch so that the crease is preserved.
5
Fold them in half vertically. Bring the cuffs up to the waist. Again, straighten the pants so that no creases make it into the fold. Run your hands over the fabric to make sure the folds are nice and flat.
6
Fold them in half once more. Bring the edges of the pants, the waist and the cuffs, down to meet the bottom of the fold. Your pants are now ready to pack. When you fold pants in half this way, you will end up with a crease across the knees, and other across the thighs. Strategically placing a crease there is better than having lots of wrinkles, but looking perfectly neat is of utmost importance, you might have to iron them.^{[1]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Rolling Pants

1
Know which pants should be rolled. Fabrics that don’t wrinkle easily can be rolled. It's a quick, easy way to pack pants that you don't mind getting a little more wrinkled. Rolling items will give you more storage space in your suitcase, since rolled items take up less room than folded items. Here are the types of pants you can roll:
- Jeans
- Leggings
- Workout pants
2
Lay the pants on a flat surface. Start with ironed pants if you want to keep them as wrinkle-free as possible. Lay them out and smooth your hands over the legs to remove any creases.
3
Fold the pants in half. Place one leg over the other leg to fold them perfectly in half. Smooth out the creases with your hands. Make sure there are no places where the fabric is rumpled.
4
Start rolling from the waist. Use your fingers to start rolling the pants down from the waist, as you would roll up a jelly roll or sleeping bag. Keep rolling until you reach the cuffs. Your pants will end up in a neat roll that you can easily tuck into your suitcase.
- As you roll, make sure the fabric stays crease-free. Smooth out creases as you go.
- Roll loosely, rather than tightly, as tightly-rolled fabric will end up creasing.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Packing Pants Effectively

1
Pack the dressiest pants in a suit bag. If you’re concerned about damaging pants, or you need to show up to your destination and wear them without time to iron them, use a suit bag that will allow you to pack them vertically without folding them in half. This is the best way to keep your pants wrinkle-free.
- Affix the pants to a pants hanger that won't damage the fabric. Some pants hangers require folding the pants in half at the knee and draping them over the top of the hanger.
- Store them neatly in your suit bag, making sure they’re completely straight so they'll remain wrinkle-free.
2
Pack your rolled pants toward the bottom. If you end up with a few pairs of rolled pants, pack these casual items below items that need to stay wrinkle-free. Tuck them in toward the bottom of the suitcase since it doesn't matter as much if they get a little crushed.
3
Pack your folded pants on top. This way they won’t get crushed and wrinkled as you travel. Lay them over the top of the other items you've packed when your suitcase is mostly full. Don’t pack shoes or other heavy items on top of your folded pants.^{[2]
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4
Place items in a dry cleaner bag to prevent wrinkling. This extra layer of protection will keep them from shifting in transit. It's a good way to keep freshly-ironed pants from picking up a lot of little creases while they're in the suitcase.

Community Q&A

Question

I tried every method in this with my sweatpants, but they're just too thick. Any other way of folding sweatpants?

Community Answer

I'm not sure if you've tried this method yet, but fold the sweatpants in half first, and then roll the pant legs up.
Question

How do I pack corduroy pants?

Community Answer

Pack them the same way you would pack any other pants using the tips you read here.