How would you even Begin to organize your stash?
10-19-2016, 04:15 PM
#31
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: California, USA
Posts: 1,318
Alas, the $64 thousand dollar question. The age-old question that I have yet to solve. I have gone through so many ways to organize fabric since I started in 1978 when my scrap pile got out of control.
The system I have now is I went to Costco and got clear plastic totes and sorted yardage fabric by tone on tones, holidays, novelty prints, flowers, etc. Whatever I had a lot of, I sorted into a box. My scraps are a different story. I use smaller clear plastic boxes and sort by type of cut (triangles, 2 1/2" squares, etc, etc.) I iron them and try to keep them neat. If I have more than a box full (like shoe boxes) I sort them by color. Whatever lets me see the fabric clearly and is easiest to do.
One of the things I do with longer smaller strips, like a width of fabric, I fold them in half and in half again. This keeps them neat and you are able to see them by color. I do try to keeps scraps in the same color category because when you are doing scrap quilts, you are usually doing them by color and I like being able to see them visually, even if I am using lots of different colors.
Mostly, I try to keep things simple because I do not have the time and I am a non-linear thinker and not a good organizer. If things become to complicated then I just get into a bigger mess and find that I am organizing more than I am sewing, which I abhor.
The system I have now is I went to Costco and got clear plastic totes and sorted yardage fabric by tone on tones, holidays, novelty prints, flowers, etc. Whatever I had a lot of, I sorted into a box. My scraps are a different story. I use smaller clear plastic boxes and sort by type of cut (triangles, 2 1/2" squares, etc, etc.) I iron them and try to keep them neat. If I have more than a box full (like shoe boxes) I sort them by color. Whatever lets me see the fabric clearly and is easiest to do.
One of the things I do with longer smaller strips, like a width of fabric, I fold them in half and in half again. This keeps them neat and you are able to see them by color. I do try to keeps scraps in the same color category because when you are doing scrap quilts, you are usually doing them by color and I like being able to see them visually, even if I am using lots of different colors.
Mostly, I try to keep things simple because I do not have the time and I am a non-linear thinker and not a good organizer. If things become to complicated then I just get into a bigger mess and find that I am organizing more than I am sewing, which I abhor.
10-19-2016, 05:44 PM
#32
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Blacksburg, SC
Posts: 731
Thank you everyone for your ideas and insights!! It has been a real motivator to get me started!!
So, I STARTED tonight, just started with a bag (like the reusable grocery bags, only tougher) that was always overflowing and getting in my way. I just reached in and grabbed a handful of fabric.
Some were FQ's, some were rather oddly shaped pieces, some were little, some were close to FQ's, and some were even more substantial yardage.
In the middle of this bag was a lot of black-and-white or white-and black FQ's. I know EXACTLY what my original intent was for those, so I just grouped them together, and then any other B&W or W&B I came across, I put in that FQ stack. Maybe that project will come back to the forefront of my never-ending list of "I wanna do that..."
Of the rest...
Anything much larger than FQ's, I just folded and considered it to be "yardage".
Anything close to FQ's gets folded to the same size as (or close to) my other FQ's.
Anything considerably smaller than FQ's, I considered how to cut into 2 1/2" strips or 5" charms (whatever produced the least waste), and just stuck those in two separate boxes. I decided to stick with those two sizes ONLY, because there are SO MANY patterns using the precuts, this just made sense to me.
I found a handful of four-patch blocks. And a couple other "orphan" blocks. I tossed them in the coffee can where my volunteer HST's (leftover's from flying geese and snowball blocks) live.
I came across some really skinny strips - probably only 1" wide. I tossed them, as I seriously doubt there is going to be a postage stamp quilt in my future.
I'm planning to hit the dollar store for the clear plastic shoeboxes to put all this in. For the moment, I have a couple of cardboard boxes to at least corral everything. I need the clear stuff though, so I can SEE what I have at a glance.
I don't do applique (I'm AWFUL at it!!), so the itty-bitty stuff just got tossed. ( I can HEAR some of you groaning!!)
The bag is now only half-full, instead of overflowing and bursting at the seams. So, I'd call that progress!! Maybe if I do a little bit of this every night when I get home from work, I MIGHT get it all sorted out in the next year or two!
For the moment, I'm ignoring all the totes that have yet to be tackled - since they're not clear, I don't see it, so I don't feel guilty. :P
Again, I just want to say THANK YOU QUILTING BOARD FRIENDS!!!! I wouldn't have even tried to do this without your help and encouragement!!
So, I STARTED tonight, just started with a bag (like the reusable grocery bags, only tougher) that was always overflowing and getting in my way. I just reached in and grabbed a handful of fabric.
Some were FQ's, some were rather oddly shaped pieces, some were little, some were close to FQ's, and some were even more substantial yardage.
In the middle of this bag was a lot of black-and-white or white-and black FQ's. I know EXACTLY what my original intent was for those, so I just grouped them together, and then any other B&W or W&B I came across, I put in that FQ stack. Maybe that project will come back to the forefront of my never-ending list of "I wanna do that..."
Of the rest...
Anything much larger than FQ's, I just folded and considered it to be "yardage".
Anything close to FQ's gets folded to the same size as (or close to) my other FQ's.
Anything considerably smaller than FQ's, I considered how to cut into 2 1/2" strips or 5" charms (whatever produced the least waste), and just stuck those in two separate boxes. I decided to stick with those two sizes ONLY, because there are SO MANY patterns using the precuts, this just made sense to me.
I found a handful of four-patch blocks. And a couple other "orphan" blocks. I tossed them in the coffee can where my volunteer HST's (leftover's from flying geese and snowball blocks) live.
I came across some really skinny strips - probably only 1" wide. I tossed them, as I seriously doubt there is going to be a postage stamp quilt in my future.
I'm planning to hit the dollar store for the clear plastic shoeboxes to put all this in. For the moment, I have a couple of cardboard boxes to at least corral everything. I need the clear stuff though, so I can SEE what I have at a glance.
I don't do applique (I'm AWFUL at it!!), so the itty-bitty stuff just got tossed. ( I can HEAR some of you groaning!!)
The bag is now only half-full, instead of overflowing and bursting at the seams. So, I'd call that progress!! Maybe if I do a little bit of this every night when I get home from work, I MIGHT get it all sorted out in the next year or two!
For the moment, I'm ignoring all the totes that have yet to be tackled - since they're not clear, I don't see it, so I don't feel guilty. :P
Again, I just want to say THANK YOU QUILTING BOARD FRIENDS!!!! I wouldn't have even tried to do this without your help and encouragement!!
10-20-2016, 08:03 AM
#33
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Spring Lake, Michigan
Posts: 978
You are all so organized. I am organized (sort of) also. I keep all fabric for one project inside one of those bags that mattress pads or comforters come in. I then stick a label inside with the pattern shoved inside and zip it up. (We had 2 kids go to college at the same time so I have an abundance of those zip up bags). I can lay my hands on any one project if I need to. Then there is the leftover "gotta have" fabrics. Those I try to fold onto shelves with matching colors. BIG backing fabrics go into a dresser drawer. I have started to cover my projects with sheets since I discovered that the sunlight bleached out a pair of capris that were folded on top of my cedar chest...I now have a white strip down the crease in the capris...darn!
10-20-2016, 09:53 AM
#34
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Va.
Posts: 5,752
my sewing space is small, so I have a smallish stash. That said, I store my fabric in those cheap plastic drawer units from Target since they fit under my tables, and keep dust off the fabric. I use comic boards that I cut to fit the drawers. I fold the fabric over the boards, and stand it on end in the drawer with the fold side up. (sort of like filing fabric in a file cabinet that has hanging folders).
I put the cotton quilting fabrics in the drawers sorted by value and yardage. So, I have a drawer that is for anything over 1 yard and all those fabrics are arranged by value. Another drawer holds 1 yard cuts, again arranged by value.., there's a drawer for under a yard, but bigger than a fat quarter also arranged by value, a fat quarter drawer and a drawer for extra wide backings. I have a separate unit where I store anything smaller than a fat quarter. I cut some scraps into sizes that I use regularly-- whatever the biggest size I can get out of the piece-- 10" square, 5" square, 3.5" square, 2" square and 2.5"strips if the piece is long enough.
anything smaller than that goes in the shoebox for string quilting and crumb quilting.
I have a variety of other fabrics that I use in my art quilts and those have their own drawer units--they are stored by type of fabric and within type by value since that works best for me. Some of those are folded on comic boards, but some things like velvets and silk, satins, etc. are just folded and stacked in the drawers. Then I have a drawer for my orphan blocks, bits and pieces etc. that will get used at some point when a project calls for them, and also a drawer for my hand painted and hand dyed fabric--which mostly get used in my art quilts.--Since I dye/paint small pieces at a time and then immediately heat set them, I find that it's easiest to just lay those flat in a drawer that's 14" square.
Looking at the 5 different drawer units I use, maybe my stash isn't that small after all
Rob
I put the cotton quilting fabrics in the drawers sorted by value and yardage. So, I have a drawer that is for anything over 1 yard and all those fabrics are arranged by value. Another drawer holds 1 yard cuts, again arranged by value.., there's a drawer for under a yard, but bigger than a fat quarter also arranged by value, a fat quarter drawer and a drawer for extra wide backings. I have a separate unit where I store anything smaller than a fat quarter. I cut some scraps into sizes that I use regularly-- whatever the biggest size I can get out of the piece-- 10" square, 5" square, 3.5" square, 2" square and 2.5"strips if the piece is long enough.
anything smaller than that goes in the shoebox for string quilting and crumb quilting.
I have a variety of other fabrics that I use in my art quilts and those have their own drawer units--they are stored by type of fabric and within type by value since that works best for me. Some of those are folded on comic boards, but some things like velvets and silk, satins, etc. are just folded and stacked in the drawers. Then I have a drawer for my orphan blocks, bits and pieces etc. that will get used at some point when a project calls for them, and also a drawer for my hand painted and hand dyed fabric--which mostly get used in my art quilts.--Since I dye/paint small pieces at a time and then immediately heat set them, I find that it's easiest to just lay those flat in a drawer that's 14" square.
Looking at the 5 different drawer units I use, maybe my stash isn't that small after all
Rob
10-21-2016, 02:49 AM
#35
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Indiana
Posts: 3,607
I am very happy to say that my large stash is very organized. I use the ruler fold method, sort of. (I usually just fold it, too lazy to use the ruler.) I found a three drawer dresser at a garage sale. I turned that into my ironing table that holds fat quarters and kits. I have a modern pie safe that holds my books, magazines and jelly rolls. Holiday fabric is folded in a closet. I can find everything I need in minutes. I spent less than $200 and I LOVE it.
10-21-2016, 07:42 AM
#36
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 9,300
Originally Posted by mcdaniel023
I am very happy to say that my large stash is very organized. I use the ruler fold method, sort of. (I usually just fold it, too lazy to use the ruler.) I found a three drawer dresser at a garage sale. I turned that into my ironing table that holds fat quarters and kits. I have a modern pie safe that holds my books, magazines and jelly rolls. Holiday fabric is folded in a closet. I can find everything I need in minutes. I spent less than $200 and I LOVE it.
Will you post pictures? Please?
10-22-2016, 04:41 PM
#37
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Blacksburg, SC
Posts: 731
I have continued my organizing binge... and found a baby-quilt UFO buried under FQ's and other yardage. I found some fabric that is appropriate for the backing, and loaded it all on my longarm. However, the baby quilt is really more of a wall-hanging size. I'm debating adding another border to it to make it a little more like a true baby quilt. I'm eyeballing it while it's on the frame. And yes, I found some yardage that would just do the trick for some borders... but I'm not certain yet that I'm adding them.
Meantime, a trip to the dollar store resulted in 8 clear plastic shoe boxes, only $1 each!!
The pile of FQ's (the ones covering the baby quilt) were all in what I think of as "country colors" - brick red, beige, gold, dark forest green - and while I remember what it was supposed to be for, I decided to use them for a different pattern. So, I grouped them all by their colors, refolded them so they would fit better in the shoe-box, and managed to cram them all into one box, along with the picture of a BOM that I think they would be perfect for! The lid closes... but just BARELY.
Other FQ's in the same pile with the "country" FQ's and the baby quilt are pastels - "baby colors". I ironed them so they would fold nicely (plus it let me verify the size), and they are now in one half of a box, while my black&white and white&black FQ's take up the other half.
All of these goodies were originally crammed into the wheeled bag that my AccuQuilt GO! came in. Now the GO! is in the wheeled bag, along with most of my smaller dies. Which means that I now have a little bit of counter space (and I'm no longer tripping over the GO! on the floor!)
I'm getting a real feeling of accomplishment - the GO! is where it belongs (along with the dies), I'll have a UFO finish for the UFO challenge, I "found" the fabrics for the BOM I like (that kit would have cost around $500 had I ordered it instead of just printing the picture!!), I have some counter-space, and I still have several shoe boxes yet to be filled!
But there is much to do yet. Half a tote (the one earlier in the week) and one wheelie bag are only a small dent in the space that is my sewing room!
Meantime, a trip to the dollar store resulted in 8 clear plastic shoe boxes, only $1 each!!
The pile of FQ's (the ones covering the baby quilt) were all in what I think of as "country colors" - brick red, beige, gold, dark forest green - and while I remember what it was supposed to be for, I decided to use them for a different pattern. So, I grouped them all by their colors, refolded them so they would fit better in the shoe-box, and managed to cram them all into one box, along with the picture of a BOM that I think they would be perfect for! The lid closes... but just BARELY.
Other FQ's in the same pile with the "country" FQ's and the baby quilt are pastels - "baby colors". I ironed them so they would fold nicely (plus it let me verify the size), and they are now in one half of a box, while my black&white and white&black FQ's take up the other half.
All of these goodies were originally crammed into the wheeled bag that my AccuQuilt GO! came in. Now the GO! is in the wheeled bag, along with most of my smaller dies. Which means that I now have a little bit of counter space (and I'm no longer tripping over the GO! on the floor!)
I'm getting a real feeling of accomplishment - the GO! is where it belongs (along with the dies), I'll have a UFO finish for the UFO challenge, I "found" the fabrics for the BOM I like (that kit would have cost around $500 had I ordered it instead of just printing the picture!!), I have some counter-space, and I still have several shoe boxes yet to be filled!
But there is much to do yet. Half a tote (the one earlier in the week) and one wheelie bag are only a small dent in the space that is my sewing room!
10-23-2016, 11:31 AM
#38
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Southwest
Posts: 735
Congratulations on your accomplishments! You are well on your way to organization! I enjoy doing this sometimes because it's like a mini-Christmas.....you find fabrics you had forgotten you had or projects you had forgotten you had! I always inspires me. In your case...finding that baby quilt top must have really been fun because you're already almost finished with it! Happy sewing and good job!
10-23-2016, 04:58 PM
#40
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Blacksburg, SC
Posts: 731
What a PRETTY space, McDaniel!! And you can SEE all your fabrics so nicely!!
I must admit, I'm a little jealous now.
But, honestly, this looks like a space to be very inspired!! (even if I did get in crick in my neck trying to look at it!)
I must admit, I'm a little jealous now.
But, honestly, this looks like a space to be very inspired!! (even if I did get in crick in my neck trying to look at it!)
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