Hello, I'm new to the board but have been watching awhile. I was very inspired by the thread on organizing your sewing room as mine desperately needs it. Can't remember who used cardboard to wrap their fabric neatly, and it looked great on the shelf, but then another member said that cardboard could be harmful to the fabric as it is acidic. I went to the links to see about the products for sale and that's not in the budget right now. So back to the cardboard, would using acid free plastic sheet protectors from an office supply store like Staples be sufficient in protecting the fabric? I had DH cut up a cardboard box into 8 1/4" x 10 1/2" pieces that fit snugly into the paper sheet protector. Any comments?

I would hate to tell you that the acid free sheet protectors would not harm your fabric, because I am just not sure.....

You can always use the cardboard to fold the fabric, then remove the cardboard and store your fabric without it. I fold mine without cardboard so that there is a nice folded edge on the front and all pieces are the same size.

When I bring home new fabric, I wash it, iron it, and wrap it around my ruler to fold it. Then I slip the ruler out and have neatly folded fabric. Then I toss it in a tote so I can't find it later. lol

Does your fabric lay flat on the shelf? I would prefer my larger pcs. to stand vertically on the shelf like at the quilt shops, hence keeping the cardboard inside the folded fabric.

Hi, and welcome to the board.

They sell $1 clear plastic cutting mats at the dollar stores...maybe they would work? You might even get two pieces out of each of them...

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: sounds like me.

I have found that if I wash more than one piece at a time in washer, they ravel and get twisted and tangled up with each other. Any one else have that problem. Any hints as to what I did wrong.

When I first started quilting, I had a pretty meager stash and hadn't gotten my sewing very well set up for storing large amounts, so at first I washed, ironed then folded my yardages and hung in a closet. But as time went by and my stash grew (sometimes I think out of my control!) I made use of a book shelf my Dad made years and years ago. Now I wash, iron, fold in 1/2 lenthwise and then again and wrap around my long 6" wide ruler, then fold in put on the shelves. In a perfect world, they would be organized by color, but I find myself pulling things out and not getting them back to exact right spot.

I now have shelves full, a dresser full, and a few odd pieces in plastic tote boxes in a closet. Mind you, I live alone and have 3 spare bedrooms to store things! Not sure what I will do if/ when I have to move to some place smaller. Guess I better get busy and sew up all the fabric before then!

marymargaret

I was at Joan's awhile back and they gave me some of the old cardboard pieces that the bolt of fabric comes on. I was told that they just throw them away, what a shame.

Also if I buy fabric and buy rest of the bolt I always ask them to roll it back on the cardboard for me and they do. As they just throw them away.

This way we can recycle and help organize our fabric.

Karen