How To Fold A Pocket Square – 9 Ways Of Folding A Handkerchief

Knowing how to fold a pocket square is a skill that every man needs but most men lack.

The fact is, when it comes to pocket squares, most guys just fold it up and push it into their breast pocket without a second thought!

The result? A scruffy-looking square that lacks shape, class, and style.

Learning how to fold a pocket square the right way isn’t that hard! It’s simply a matter of understanding the steps and committing them to memory.

Today, I’m breaking out those steps for you and sharing most popular pocket square folds.

#1. The Square Fold/Presidential Fold
#2. The One Point Fold
#3. The Two Point Fold
#4. The Three Point Fold
#5. The Four Point Fold/Cagney Fold
#6. The Puff Fold
#7. The Winged Puff Fold
#8. The Scallop Fold
#9. The Dunaway Fold

Different Types of Pocket Squares

A pocket square is one of the smallest detail in your style that can make the biggest difference.

They can be made from a wide variety of materials including cotton, silk or linen.

Sizes can also vary – although these don’t necessarily have a big effect on how you can style the pocket square.

A lot of the time, the size you choose just comes down to personal preference. If you prefer a puffier pocket square that makes more of a statement, then opt for a larger square. More conservative in your pocket square preferences? Go smaller.

When it comes to patterns, there are many you can choose from:

Herringbone Pattern

Herringbone is an interesting pattern that’s really common when it comes to menswear. Consider this pattern if you’re looking to break away from plain-colored pocket squares but don’t want to feel comfortable with the vibrant swirls of paisley.

Herringbone is a nice in-between that balances the conservative nature of stripes with the interesting shapes of more informal designs. If you’re stuck choosing between paisley and stripes, then a Herringbone pocket square is probably your best choice.

Paisley Pattern

My favorite pocket squares are the ones with complicated patterns that you don’t normally see in men’s clothing. The great part about that is that you could have a striped shirt. You could have a solid jacket. You could have a patterned tie, a polka dot tie, and you can still wear a paisley. 

A wide variety of colors that you can find something that goes with another item in your outfit.

Striped Pattern

The hardest pocket squares to match in my opinion and the ones I wear the least often are stripes.Part of that is because if you’re already wearing a striped pattern, let’s say a shirt, then you’re kind of doing a double repeat pattern in addition to the stripe in the pocket.

It’s just harder to pull off perhaps because the lines just going along in its curving, so I try to stay away from these types of pocket squares. If you’re looking to start off, go with a simple white, easily the most simple and classic. You’re never going to go wrong with the simple white.

Pocket Square Style and Small Details

As I’m sure you’re aware, there isn’t a one-style-fits-all when it comes to pocket square etiquette.

Depending on your desired look and formality, a pocket square can be folded in many different ways.

Before making your choice, it’s essential that you assess your individual needs and consider what’s expected of you when wearing your pocket square.

Once you’ve established this, read on to discover which fold is right for you and how you can achieve it the next time you dress up in a blazer or suit.

Pocket Square Fold #1 The Square Fold (aka Presidential Fold)

How do you fold a Presidential pocket square?

1. Begin with the pocket square fully unfolded and flat.
2. Fold it to the width of your pocket. In most cases, a fold straight down the middle should do it.
3. Fold it up from the bottom to form a finished rectangle the same width as your pocket and about half an inch longer.
4. Tuck the bottom fold of the pocket square into your pocket and snug it down to the base. Adjust as needed to create a single smooth strip of visible cloth running across the top of the pocket.
5. The square fold or presidential fold is the pocket square at its most basic: crisp, clean, and elegant. Its finished form appears as a single horizontal band of fabric parallel to the top of the breast pocket.
6. Use this pocket square fold when you want maximum formality and understated elegance.

Learn how to fold a pocket square: The Square Fold – Presidential Pocket Square

Pocket Square Fold #2 One Point Fold Pocket Square

How do you make a pocket square with one point?

1. Begin with the pocket square fully unfolded and flat.
2. Fold it diagonally down the middle to make a triangle.
3. At the triangle base, where the fold is, fold the doubled-over corner of the pocket square inward on one side.
4. Fold the other corner. Make each fold the same size and the pocket square roughly the width of your pocket. The pocket square should look like an envelope: rectangular on three sides with a triangular point sticking out of the top.
5. Slide the bottom fold into your pocket and tuck it all the way down, hiding the rectangular edges. The only visible part of the pocket square should be the triangle pointing straight up.
6. The one-point fold pocket square is still simple enough to be business-appropriate but relaxed enough to wear with a casual blazer too.

Pocket Square Fold #3 Two Point Fold

How do you fold a pocket square with two points?

1. Begin with the pocket square fully unfolded and flat.
2. Fold it diagonally. Angle the fold very slightly off-center so that one corner lies just to the left of the other.
3. At the triangle base, where the fold is, fold one of the doubled-over corners of the pocket square inward.
4. Fold the other corner. Make each fold the same size and the pocket square roughly the width of your pocket.
5. Tuck the flat bottom of the fold into your pocket and snug it all the way down until the vertical edges of the pocket square are completely hidden. The only thing visible should be the two slightly offset triangular points, spaced as close or wide as desired.

A dressy fold with flair, the two-point fold pocket square is popular among business professionals. It’s easier than it looks – really just the basic one-point fold, slightly off-center.

Pocket Square Fold #4 Three Point Fold

How do you make a pocket square with 3 points?

1. Begin with the pocket square fully unfolded and flat.
2. Fold it diagonally very slightly off-center so that one corner lies just to the left of the other.
3. Fold the bottom left corner of the pocket square diagonally up at an angle, so you have three points side by side, as equally spaced and sized as possible.
4. Fold the bottom right corner inward until the pocket square is roughly the width of your pocket.
5. Tuck the bottom fold down into the pocket. Leave only the three points of the pocket square visible.

It can take a couple of tries to make more than one or two points of the pocket square line up neatly.

That makes the three-point fold pocket square fold a good one when you want to be a touch showy. It’s still a business-appropriate fold, but make sure the pocket square is elegant and crisp.

Pocket Square Fold #5 Four Point Fold (aka The Cagney Fold)

Cagney pocket square fold step-by-step

1. Begin with the pocket square fully unfolded and flat.
2. Fold the pocket square diagonally and very slightly off-center so that one corner lies just to the left of the other.
3. Fold the bottom left corner diagonally up across the fold, finishing with the point of the corner to the right of the top two corners.
4. Fold the bottom right corner similarly to form a point to the left of the others. Adjust the pocket square to make all four points roughly the same size and equally spaced.
5. If the folded pocket square is bigger than your pocket, fold the outside edges inward, tucking them below the four points.
6. Tuck the long part of the pocket square into the pocket and snug it down until only the four tips are visible.

The four-point pocket square fold works best in a fabric that is both thin and stiff, like starched linen.

Pocket Square Fold #6 The Puff Fold (aka “The Poof”)

How do you fold a pocket square puff?

1. Pinch the pocket square at the center and let the edges and corners hang down.
2. Adjust the pocket square to hang evenly all around.
3. Still pinching the center, tug gently on the dangling edges, pulling the square into a loose tube shape.
4. Gently roll up from the bottom of the tube (or fold all the dangling edges back behind the tube) until the folded pocket square is short enough to tuck into your pocket.
5. Tuck into your pocket until just the rounded top of the pocket square is visible.

Pocket square puff folds are supposed to have wrinkles and dimples. So long as the fold is staying in place and isn’t badly creased or spilling over the edges of the pocket, it’s fine.

Wear it when a certain insouciance is called for. It’s not formal, but it is most certainly stylish. Winston Churchill was a puff fold man, especially in polka dots.

Pocket Square Fold #7 The Winged Puff Fold

How to fold a Winged Puff pocket square

1. Begin with the pocket square fully unfolded and flat.
2. Fold the pocket square diagonally. Aim the point of the triangle down.
3. Fold the corners from each end of the long side to the bottom point, making an equilateral diamond. Tug the top corner loose, so the folded “wings” don’t quite overlap.
4. Fold the three corners that are not the winged top peak into the center of the pocket square.
5. Tuck the squared-off sides of the finished fold into your pocket so only the peak is visible. Gently tease the two “wings” of the peak slightly apart. It’s all right to let them take on a domed shape, like the puff fold.

The winged puff pocket square is the best fold for men who like a peaked fold, but have a soft, low-friction pocket square that won’t hold a crisp crease. It’s also quite compact, making it a good fold for undersized pocket squares.

Pocket Square Fold #8 The Scallop Fold

How to fold a Scallop Fold

1. Begin with the pocket square fully unfolded and flat.
2. Fold the pocket square diagonally down the middle.
3. Fold the pocket square in half again.
4. Lifting the pocket square, gently curl one of the doubled corners in and downward. Don’t fold it or crease it – bend it inward at a bit of an angle.
5. Repeat the process for the other corner of the pocket square. Curl it in and down, laying it atop the first corner you bent inward.
6. Tuck the triangular point of the folded pocket square down into your pocket until only the tops of the curves are visible. They should lay neatly one atop the other, forming a rounded, scalloped shape with all points and straight edges hidden.

The Scallop Fold is popular at weddings and other celebrations. It looks good with pocket squares in glossy, colorful fabrics, and is not a particularly formal fold.

Pocket Square Fold #9 The Dunaway Fold

How do you fold a Dunaway?

1. Pinch the pocket square at the center and let the edges and corners hang down.
2. Adjust the pocket square, so it hangs relatively evenly all around.
3. Still pinching the center, tug gently on the dangling edges, pulling the pocket square into a loose tube shape.
4. Invert the tube shape and spread the loose edges out with your fingertips, so they look relatively symmetrical. Fold the center of the pocket square upward, stopping about halfway up the tube shape.
5. Tuck into your pocket so that only the splayed edges of the pocket square are visible. Adjust the fold with your fingers as needed. Perfect symmetry is not needed.

The Dunaway fold is the simplest way to make a slightly puffy, fringed shape with the edge of a pocket square. Depending on how stiff and colorful your pocket square is, it tends to look like a flower or a bursting firecracker.

So you’ve mastered folding a pocket square. But what about folding the rest of your clothes? Check out my ultimate travel packing guide and never waste luggage space again.

Click below to watch the video – The ONLY 5 Pocket Square Folds You’ll EVER Need!