How to Make a Folding Machine From Cardborad

Make a machine that folds all of your laundry into identical squares.

Look through the T-shirt section of any clothing store and you'll see piles of neatly folded shirts, all perfectly aligned to show off their logos. But it's difficult to get every shirt, no matter the size, folded identically. A shirt folding machine can solve that problem. This simple machine allows you to fold T-shirts identically, creating a neat stack of shirts that rival any you see in the clothing stores. You can purchase shirt folding machines from mail order catalogs or on-line, but it's such a simple design that you can make yourself one.

Things You'll Need

• Corrugated cardboard
• Yardstick
• Pencil
• Box cutter
• Duct tape

Instructions

1. Measure two pieces of corrugated cardboard that are 7.5 inches by 30 inches. Cut out the pieces using a box cutter or craft knife. These pieces will be called "A."

2. Cut out one piece of cardboard that measures 9 inches by 12 inches. This piece will be called "B." Cut out a final piece measuring 9 inches by 18 inches. This one is called Piece "C."

3. Lay one Piece "A" on the table in front of you with the longer edges going up and down. Lay Piece "B" to the right of piece "A" with the longer edges going up and down. Line up the upper edges of both pieces.

4. Tear off a piece of duct tape about 4 inches long and tape the two cardboard pieces together in the middle of the edge where they meet. Pick up Piece "B" and fold it over Piece "A" using the tape you just applied as a hinge. Tear off another piece of tape and tape together the back side of the hinge while the pieces are folded together. This will allow the one piece to fold up onto the other, but not allow the pieces to fold back the other way.

5. Open up the two pieces of cardboard and lay them flat on the table. Position the other Piece "A" on the opposite side of Piece "B." Tape the other Piece "A" to Piece "B" in the same manner as the first. You now have three pieces held together by tape with side pieces that fold up and over the middle.

6. Lay Piece "C" on the table below Piece "B." Tape Pieces "B" and "C" together, using the same method of taping them flat, then flexing the pieces and taping the back half while folded. Piece "C" will now fold up and over the Piece "B," finishing the center portion of the folding machine.

Tips & Warnings

• Use colored duct tape and stickers to decorate an otherwise plain and utilitarian machine.

References

• Welker; Making Chores Fun, The Shirt Folding Machine; Glen Welker
• CNET; The ultimate T-shirt-folding machine; Abbi Perets; January 14, 2010