How to Ranger Roll a T-Shirt

In this tutorial we are going to teach you how to ranger roll a t-shirt!

Step 1: Lay T-Shirt on Flat Surface, Front Side Up

Step 2: Fold Bottom of Shirt Upward to Create a 3'' Cuff

Step 3: Fold Shirt Horizontally in Half to Check Back of Cuff, Then Undo Fold

Step 4: Fold Left Side Over Shirt 1/3 of the Way

Step 5: Fold Left Sleeve Over Itself

Step 6: Fold Right Side of Shirt Over Left Fold

Step 7: Bring Right Sleeve Over Itself

Step 8: Rotate Shirt 180°

Step 9: Tightly Roll Shirt Until Over Cuff

Step 10: Fold Cuff Inside-Out Over Shirt

Step 11: Done! Video of Full Process Below

Comments

[HattieBizzle]

That is the coolest thing ever!!!

[JanT14]

great tip! Very useful for my next vacation! Thanks for sharing!

[Maxxron]

I can fold a tee shirt in under 5 seconds and then roll it to save space. I don't understand what is gained by going through this much time and trouble just to make a bundle.

[Pilgrimm]

I was taught this method in 1955 by a vacationing member of a US Strategic Air Command crew member. They would roll all clothing and fabric accessories (towels, sheets, pillow cases, etc.) in this manner, very tightly, in order to save space, and to keep things from coming un-rolled during any movement (of which there was often a great deal) in-flight. All crew duffels could then be packed into compartments tightly to save valuable space. This also helped to avoid subsequent shifting, which could change weight distribution, which was undesirable as well. Excellent 'Ible!

[Maxxron]

I can certainly understand packing tightly to keep cargo from shifting in flight when you are shipping a platoon or larger's worth of equipment. I don't see how this is beneficial for an individual in a civilian setting. When you think about it, rolling shirts this way creates a space between the rolls that wouldn't exist if they were just folded and flat-packed, so the rolls actually take up more space than flat packing. In a bug-out situation, keeping your shirts neat would be the least of your concerns. Also, if you have several shirts of similar colors with printed designs, you couldn't tell which shirt was the design that you wanted to wear if they were all rolled this way. I can see how this would be handy when packing a backpack, but for routine daily life, I see more negatives than positives for rolling shirts this way. Creating a shirt folding board custom sized to match your available drawer space would make much more sense and eliminate the air gaps between rolls so the shirts would take up less space than when rolled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oukO2qD4Os

[dollywild]

shhhhh. let people like things.

[Maxxron]

I have to learn to stop correcting others regarding stuff with no real consequences for their errors. it is a curse.

[Pilgrimm]

If you're talking about recognizing one shirt, the same color as others in your bug-out bag, you could always roll them so that part of the design you seek is on the outside of the roll. As I said, crew members on a B-52 were allotted small cubbies in which to store all personal gear. In practice, my friend showed me how much space he could save using his method vs.folding 7 shirts flat, and then trying to compress that mass of fabric into a still smaller space (excluding as much air as possible). As far as making a shirt folding board,which folds shirts to accommodate your available drawer space is concerned, (and the time necessary to make it fit the finished product to your drawer, you'd obviously be better off following the method used by Dr. Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory."

[Maxxron]

If I am seeing this properly, when you do the Ranger Roll the only thing you see is the bottom 3" of the shirt, so there is no way to let the design show. The shirt folding board is the same method used by Sheldon Cooper, only if you make your own folder you can design it to get the exact size of finished folded shirt that you want instead of settling for whatever size the manufacturer thinks you should have. I made one that folded to 1/3 the size of my drawer then folded the finished tee in half to create 6 stacks of tees that fit perfectly in my available drawer space. There is certainly nothing wrong with doing Ranger Rolls if someone thinks that they would work better for their individual situation.

[dollywild]

i only wear black...i am...the most intetesting housewife in the world.

[daveanton]

One "civilian setting" (although not entirely common) is on my houseboat where any space-saving you can implement, goes a LONG way.

[Maxxron]

As stated earlier, Ranger Rolls take up more space than folded shirts due to the wasted air space between the rolls.

[Heatherツ]

And can scoop loads o these capsules up or get a drawer ᵃⁿᵈ upend it into your escape bag

[XYN]

For transporting shirts or when there will be movement of where they are stored (e.g. backpack) this will keep them from unrolling or from shifting weight in where they are stored which could cause discomfort.

[Heatherツ]

Exactly you don’t understand what can be gained

Enough said

[sawdustagain]

Probably better for packing a backpack or suitcase than a dresser drawer.

[Maxxron]

Perhaps, but the mass of the shirt is the same no matter how you fold or roll it. It will take up the same amount of space no matter how you do it. I can appreciate the neatness of it, but I wouldn't want to spend 10x the time of folding just to make it look nicer. If you really want to save space, the only way to do so is to vacuum pack it.

[mr_marte]

I for one appreciate "dohoss" sharing this instructable. It's not really about who's better or what's better...it's just about sharing stuff.

[Bruceaulrich]

Nice job! I need to try this on my next trip.

[sar7654321]

You all have missed the lesson, It is to make you follow directions accurately...

and not ask WHY !!!!!

Which will save your life!

Great Job !!