When wrapping a package the corner is what tells you most about the finished gift. You may have cut the paper precisely, and put the seam at a good location, but sometimes the corners end up looking thick, lumpy, crushed or uneven. This happens when the paper creates a thick pile of layers when there is too much paper at each corner, and does not lay properly flat. The paper then has to be taped to hold this extra layer, instead of laying flat like the package did before wrapping.
Clean corners can begin at the wrapping location. If you place the box unevenly on the wrapping paper, each corner will have uneven amount of paper to work with. One corner will fold well, the other will have a thick corner flap before you have folded it. Before you fold, make sure that the item is centered on the paper. Check to ensure that you feel like you have an equal amount of paper on each short end. If you realize that you need a bit more, or less, paper at the corner, this will be much easier to do at this stage. Once you have creased your lines and taped them it is more difficult to make any changes.
Fold one corner first, then use that as a lesson or guideline when you wrap the other three. Smooth out the paper on one side of the box towards the edge. Then fold the extra paper to form a triangle. Fold with a fingertip, or your creaser/bone folder tool to give a crease line. You are not trying to press the paper flat with lots of pressure but rather give the paper a crease line to fold along so the tucked in flap will be able to lay flat.
The paper you use makes more of a difference to the corner than some people think. Thin paper will have less difficulty creasing, but will wrinkle or tear if it is pulled too tight. Stiffer paper like Kraft paper will be more prone to creasing and less prone to wrinkling, but will build layers if too much paper has gathered at one corner. Some stiffer wrapping paper can be a challenge because of its memory for previous creases. Don’t try to overcome the resistance of the paper to the fold by using more pressure. Let go of the fold, release the tension, and look at if you have too much paper at one corner.
An easy way to train yourself is to fold the same corner twice on a spare box. For the first attempt, fold the corner without any extra work like you would with your final piece. Look at the layers created at the folded paper. For the second attempt, stop before creasing the corner, and try to make your corner flap more like you would see it in the picture to the side. Look at the creases from underneath, and the bottom, not just the top. Your corner will usually look “calmer” (or better) as a result because the layers are evenly spread, and not bunched or clumped at the fold.
One way to correct a thick corner fold is to think of the fold as a pathway rather than a pinch. You move the paper from the flat side along the edge to be folded then into the crease, then into the tucked flap. If you pinch all the creases together you will find you have a thick corner with an accidental looking crease line. If you try to guide the paper along this pathway as you are folding, it will result in better, and more even layers. This allows you to hold the fold down with a bit of clear tape or adhesive dot without the tape looking like a repair.
Before you finish wrapping the gift, look at the underside of the package. Sometimes a bulky corner may look fine on the top and bottom, but the underside will show how much the package is being thrown off balance by a thicker fold. Look at the tucked in flaps on either side of the corner, and the crease line to be sure that they are both even, or close to the same size. A finished corner doesn’t have to be perfect, just one that maintains the shape, doesn’t add unnecessary layers of paper, and can be finished without a large patch of tape.