Ideas for Fancy Towel Folding

Dress Shirt

• The dress shirt towel is one of the easiest origami designs. It starts by folding the right side lengthwise, just past the half way mark. Repeat the process on the left side, making sure that it overlaps the right. Afterwards, fold the towel into thirds, onto itself, until it forms a folded Z shape. Fold down the top two corners of the towel, as this will mimic the collar on a dress shirt. Mints can be added down the center to imitate buttons, and a note card containing a simple greeting can be placed where the shirt's tag would normally be.

Fan

• The classic fan shape can help present a towel and a washcloth ensemble. To create this design, lay the towel flat and start pleating it in an accordion fashion, horizontally, from left to right. Fold the pleated towel in half, which will be the base of the fan, and secure it with a rubber band. Secure the top two edges, which should be touching each other, with a safety pin. Then, lay the towel flat to pull the outer corners downward to open up the fan. The same can be done for a coordinating washcloth. Once the two shapes are completed, lay the washcloth on top of the towel to finish the presentation.

Swan

• The swan towel design requires one large bath towel. Place a finger in the center of the towel, along the top vertical edge, to hold the towel in place. Fold down the top right-hand corner of the towel towards the center, so that it makes a triangle, and repeat on the other side. Then start rolling in the outer edges of the triangle, until the two rolled sides are touching each other. Flip the towel over so that the rolls are face down, and bend back the pointed end, molding the rolled towel to form an S shape. At this point the head of the swan is the point and the rest will be its body. There should be some fullness left at the back end of the towel, which can be rolled towards the neck of the swan to finish the swan's body.

Palm Tree

• To create the palm tree design, one needs a full size towel and five washcloths. First, the large towel is rolled tightly horizontally. While holding the rolled towel, find the inner corner, which should be deep inside, and pull it out gently. This will help create the tapered trunk of the palm tree. The tree's leaves are created by turning a washcloth so that it is a diamond, not a square. Take the left corner and fold it inwards just past the center, then repeat on the right side so that the corners are overlapping. This narrow diamond shape is one leaf, which is repeated with the rest of the washcloths. Lay the trunk down and arrange the washcloths so that they appear to be coming out of the tree's top, finishing the palm tree design.