When I make homemade tamales, I fold the sides in, then fold the bottom up, leaving the top open. I place the opened top facing upwards in the pot, but cover it with extra corn husks to prevent it from getting too soggy inside from the steam/condensation. I hope that helps!

If you fold up top and bottom ends after the sides, then I don’t understand why you can see her meat and masa in the picture of the finished tamales. Help!

Here’s the directions on how to roll them up (it’s step 6 in the post): To the middle of the masa layer, add a small scoop of the chicken filling. Fold the corn husk like wrapping a gift. The sides folded in first then the ends.