Understanding Every Type Of Clothing Fold

Summary by Krater

Artist Marco Bucci breaks down seven types of fabric folds—zigzag, pipe, compression, half-lock, drop, diaper, and spiral—explaining how to draw and shade them realistically on clothing.

From the video

Answers: What are the 7 types of fabric folds and how do you draw them?

• drawing fabric folds
• shading clothing folds
• zigzag fold
• pipe fold
• compression fold
• half-lock fold
• drop fold
• diaper fold
• spiral fold

What it concludes

• The zigzag fold is most often seen in baggy sleeves and pants when they bend or when gravity buckles the fabric.
• The pipe or stretch fold occurs when fabric is stretched between two points, tending toward a linear path.
• Compression folds are cylindrical folds caused by fabric compressing rather than stretching.
• The half-lock fold occurs at a significant bend of a joint where fabric folds in on itself on the inside of the bend.
• A drop fold is basically a pipe fold with only one tension point from which the fabric drops.
• Diaper folds feature saggy, cascading ellipses created by multiple tension points and draping fabric forms.