Hang or fold
Subject
Cashmere jumper, 12 months
Method
Comparative
Scale
1:1

How should this be put away

Clothes are ruined more often in storage than in wear. Whether a garment should hang or be folded depends on how it is built and what it weighs — and that is not written on any label.

The care label tells you how to wash it. Nothing tells you how to put it away.

Sort a garmentSee plans

Five garments a month, free. Drag the centre line below — no account needed.

Hung, twelve months

Two raised points sit where the hanger ends were. The body has lengthened and the neckline has widened. The loops are stretched, not creased, so pressing does nothing.

Folded, twelve months

Soft fold lines across the body, which fall out within a day of wear. The shoulder line is where it was. The hem still sits level.

How it works
Input
One flat lay, one sentence
Output
Verdict card and step sheet

  1. Photograph it flat

    Lay the garment on the floor or a table and take one picture from above. Flat, not on a body — the structure is only readable when nothing is holding the garment up.

    Structure read · 2 credits

  2. Say how long it is going away for

    A few weeks between wears is a different question from a year in a loft. The answer changes with the duration, so the duration is asked for.

    Question · 1 credit

  3. Follow the fold lines

    One verdict — hang, fold, roll or lay flat — the reason behind it, and at most five steps, each naming the line to fold on. Print the sheet and work from it.

    Step sheet and card · 5 credits

Six answers
Convention
Dashed valley · dash-dot mountain
Content
Flat lays only

Every verdict is one of four words, and every step names the line to fold on. The notation is the origami convention: the line style carries the meaning, so the sheet still works printed in black and white.

  • Heavy cashmere jumper, laid flat and photographed from above.
    Valley fold

    Fold

    Heavy cashmere jumper

    Weft-knitted, no shoulder structure, high drape weight, ribbed cuffs and hem.

  • Silk slip dress, laid flat and photographed from above.

    Hang

    Silk slip dress

    Woven filament silk, bias-cut body, narrow straps, no lining, very low weight.

  • Tailored wool overcoat, laid flat and photographed from above.

    Hang

    Tailored wool overcoat

    Woven wool melton, canvassed chest, structured shoulder with sleeve head roll, full lining.

  • Linen shirt, laid flat and photographed from above.
    Valley fold

    Fold

    Linen shirt

    Plain-woven flax, no interlining in the body, fused collar stand, low weight.

  • Raw denim jeans, laid flat and photographed from above.
    Valley fold

    Roll

    Raw denim jeans

    Heavy woven cotton twill, unwashed finish, no stretch fibre, felled side seam.

  • Beaded evening dress, laid flat and photographed from above.

    Lay flat

    Beaded evening dress

    Fine woven base cloth carrying dense glass beading, hand-applied, weight concentrated in the bodice.

What you get back
Format
Card and step sheet
Print
One page, black and white

This is the whole deliverable for one garment, exactly as it is produced — nothing withheld for the paid plans except the number of garments, the watermark and the print sheet.

Verdict · Until next season

Fold

Heavy cashmere jumper

Read from the flat lay
Weft-knitted, no shoulder structure, high drape weight, ribbed cuffs and hem.

Why

A knit has no internal structure holding its shoulder line. On a hanger the whole weight of the garment hangs from two points about four centimetres wide, and the loops directly under them elongate. Knitting is a fabric of loops, not of fixed threads: a loop that has been pulled long stays long. Folding puts the weight on a flat plane instead, where nothing is loaded.

Method5 steps

Valley
Dashed. The fabric folds toward you along this line.
Mountain
Dash-dot. The fabric folds away from you along this line.
Edge
Solid. An existing hem, seam or edge — not a fold.
  1. Heavy cashmere jumper, laid flat. Step 1: Face the jumper down. Fold the left body edge inward along a vertical line 3 cm outside the armhole seam.
    Valley fold

    Step 1Face the jumper down. Fold the left body edge inward along a vertical line 3 cm outside the armhole seam.

  2. Heavy cashmere jumper, laid flat. Step 2: Bring the left sleeve straight down so the cuff sits level with the hem, folding across the sleeve at the shoulder point.
    Mountain foldExisting edge

    Step 2Bring the left sleeve straight down so the cuff sits level with the hem, folding across the sleeve at the shoulder point.

  3. Heavy cashmere jumper, laid flat. Step 3: Repeat steps 1 and 2 on the right side, mirrored.
    Valley foldMountain fold

    Step 3Repeat steps 1 and 2 on the right side, mirrored.

  4. Heavy cashmere jumper, laid flat. Step 4: Fold the hem up along a horizontal line halfway between the hem and the armhole — roughly 22 cm above the hem on an adult jumper.
    Valley fold

    Step 4Fold the hem up along a horizontal line halfway between the hem and the armhole — roughly 22 cm above the hem on an adult jumper.

  5. Heavy cashmere jumper, laid flat. Step 5: Fold once more along the line now sitting 2 cm below the collar, so the collar lands on the outside of the parcel and takes no crease.
    Valley fold

    Step 5Fold once more along the line now sitting 2 cm below the collar, so the collar lands on the outside of the parcel and takes no crease.

If you get it wrong

  • PermanentHanger shoulders — two raised points where the hanger ends sat. The loops are stretched, not creased, so pressing does nothing.
  • PermanentThe body lengthens by two to four centimetres and the hem stops sitting level.
  • ReversibleSoft fold marks across the body from the fold lines above.

Over time

Three months
On a hanger, the shoulder points are visible when the jumper is laid flat but mostly disappear once it is worn.
One year
The shoulder points no longer relax out. The shoulder seam sits below the wearer's shoulder and the neckline has widened.

The other way, and what it costs

Draped over the bar of a trouser hanger rather than folded.

One horizontal pressure line across the middle of the body, and it takes about three times the rail space of a folded stack.

What this cannot know

  • The actual weight of your jumper in grams per square metre
  • The humidity and light where the wardrobe stands
  • The width and material of the hanger you would have used
  • Whether the yarn has been blended with nylon, which resists elongation

General guidance from structure and fabric appearance. It is not a test of your particular garment, and following it is not an assurance that nothing will change.

Plans
Currency
US dollars (USD)
Tax
Included in the price shown

  • Free

    5 garments a month

    $0USD · always

    No card required. This is a free allowance, not a trial — it does not expire and it does not turn into a paid plan on its own.

    Enough to settle the few pieces you actually worry about.

    • 5 garments a month
    • Verdict, reason and fold lines in full
    • Step diagrams carry a border watermark
    • Damage and time-scale notes never obscured

    50 credits a month · structure read 2 · question 1 · step sheet 5

    Start sorting

  • Fold

    Unlimited garments

    $7USD · per month, tax included

    Charged $7 USD every month until cancelled.

    For the wardrobe you are putting away one piece at a time.

    • Unlimited garments
    • No watermark
    • Print sheet — all steps on one page, black and white
    • Garment file: what you stored, how, and when

    380 credits a month · structure read 2 · question 1 · step sheet 5

    Choose Fold

    Cancel any time from your billing page — the same number of clicks it took to subscribe.

  • Season

    Batch changeover

    $21USD · per month, tax included

    Charged $21 USD every month until cancelled.

    For the two weekends a year when the whole wardrobe changes over.

    • Everything in Fold
    • Batch changeover — a whole rail at once
    • Storage record with review dates
    • Priority queue

    1400 credits a month · structure read 2 · question 1 · step sheet 5

    Choose Season

    Cancel any time from your billing page — the same number of clicks it took to subscribe.

Where the free plan stopsFive garments a month is enough for the few pieces you are actually worried about. It is not enough for a changeover, which is when several dozen garments go away at once — and that is the moment the print sheet matters, because you are working with the garment in your hands and not at a screen.

Full plan comparison, billing terms and cancellation

Questions
Count
8
What happens to the photograph I upload?

It is used to produce your verdict and step sheet, and for nothing else. Garment photographs are not used to train any model, ours or anyone else's.

Uploads are held for 30 days so you can return to a result, then deleted automatically. You can delete any upload immediately from your account, which removes the file and the result together. The full detail, including the legal basis and your right to complain to the CNIL, is in the privacy policy.

How accurate is this?

It is general guidance drawn from what a garment's structure and fabric appearance suggest. It is not a test of your particular garment, and it is not professional advice.

Three things change the outcome and none of them are visible in a photograph: the real weight of the cloth, the humidity and light where you keep it, and the hanger you would have used. Every result lists what it could not know. No assurance is given that following the advice prevents damage. See the AI notice.

My jumper already has shoulder points. Can that be fixed?

Usually not, and it is worth being exact about why. There are two different things that look similar.

A crease can be pressed out. Fibres have been bent, and steam and weight put them back. Linen, cotton and most wovens recover well.

Hanger shoulders on knitwear cannot. The loops directly under the hanger ends have been pulled longer by the garment's own weight over months. Nothing has been folded, so there is nothing to press out — the structure of the knit is now a different length there. Wet-blocking sometimes recovers a little on wool with high crimp; on cashmere, cotton or a blend with any synthetic content it generally does not.

The practical answer: it will not come back, but it will not get worse either once the garment is off the hanger and folded.

Which hangers or storage boxes do you recommend?

None. This site recommends no product of any kind, names no brand, and links to no shop. There is no commercial relationship with any manufacturer or retailer.

That is deliberate. This is a judgement tool, and a judgement tool that also sells you the answer is a shop. What you will get instead are general properties — a broad, smooth shoulder spreads load better than a narrow wire arm; breathable covers let wool release moisture where plastic traps it — which you can apply to whatever you already own.

How do I cancel, and what happens to unused credits?

Cancel from your billing page at any time, in one action, with no email or telephone call. It takes the same number of clicks as subscribing did. Your access continues until the end of the period you have already paid for, and nothing is charged after that.

Credits are an allowance for using the service — not money, not stored value, not redeemable, not transferable. The monthly allowance resets each billing period and unused credits do not carry over. There is no top-up pack and no wallet: if a month's allowance runs out, the only route is a higher plan or waiting for the reset.

Can I get a refund? What about the 14-day withdrawal right?

As a consumer you have 14 days to withdraw from a subscription under French law, and the standard withdrawal form is on the withdrawal page.

There is one exception, and it applies only if you choose it. At checkout you are asked, in two separate boxes that are not pre-ticked, whether you want access to start immediately and whether you waive the withdrawal right for the part already delivered. If you tick both, you lose the right for what has been supplied. If you tick neither, or only one, the 14 days run in full and you are refunded on request within that window.

Outside the withdrawal period, a billing period already started is not refunded, but cancelling stops all future charges immediately. The statutory guarantee of conformity applies to this service and is not excluded — see the CGV.

Why does it have to be a flat lay?

Because the structure is only readable when nothing is holding the garment up. On a body, the shoulder is being supported by a shoulder, and there is no way to tell whether the garment could support it alone — which is the entire question.

Photographs containing a person are rejected at upload rather than analysed, and no result ever contains a hand or a body.

Is there an age requirement?

Yes. Accounts are for people aged 18 or over. This is a paid subscription service and it is not intended for children; accounts found to belong to minors are closed and any payment taken is returned.

What about vintage, heirloom or conservation-grade textiles?

This service is not for those. Pieces with age, provenance or conservation value need a textile conservator who can handle and test the actual object — the decisions there involve fibre condition, prior repairs and environmental control that no photograph can show. Take them to a specialist.

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One garment, one answer, and the reason behind it.

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Five a month on the free plan. No storage product is recommended here and nothing on this site links to a shop.