I use comic backing boards (100 for $11.25 no shipping from Amazon) for the reasons you mentioned. I want to be able to see everything or I'll forget what I have and not use it or buy more of something I don't need. To me, that justifies the small cost of the backing boards. It looks nice on the shelves, too. I never compared whether or not it saves space but the look is great and organized better, I think.

I have mine on comic book boards, and love the way I can see all my fabric at a glance. Not only is it organized but it is so pretty to look at. Every time I go into my sewing room I smile because my fabric looks so lovely. I think it's the only way to go. When I had my fabric in plastic tubs, I always forgot what I had.

Any type of board you add to your folded fabric will take up space. Think about a stack of 100 boards needed to fold 100 pieces of fabric. For many people, that's fine, but if you're short on space, you may have to find another way.

Out of necessity, I am sewing clothing now, but I want to get back into quilting as soon as I can. Organizing my fabric stash so that it is neatly stacked and visible is important to the way I like to quilt. I've gone so far as to estimate folded yardage and how much shelf space is required to hold it! One yard of fabric folded 6" X 11-12" takes up an average 1/2" of vertical space. Thickness of fabric and weight of stack makes a slight difference. I like the ruler method to fold, then stack into shelves with dividers, so I don't end up with teetering stacks. I have a few shelves now, but need to subdivide in some way.

i was asking myself this same question , but i am slowly putting my fabric on boards and i like the way they look , i have found some fabric that was down at the bottom of the pile that i forgot about . now i can see it all and it makes my sewing room more inviting to me

http://www.quiltingboard.com/mission...s-t179823.html

Above is a link with another GOOD discussion going.

I'm still in the process of finishing my sorting. WORK FOR PAY is getting in the way of my quilting things :(

A while ago (while seeing pictures on line) I could not see the benefit of putting fabric wrapped on boards out for display - THEN - I saw other quilters' displays LIVE - and LOVED IT!!!

Another benefit for me...and I didn't expect it....I'm clearing out some of the 'stuff' that I kept on to for no other reason then it fit into the plastic tote. Having 'just the right amount of shelving space' - I can chose to be a little more picky on what I want to use and what I don't want to use.

It's a process but I'm sure I'll be very happy when it's all done and looking good and easily accessible. Maybe now that it's out in the open it'll help me to USE IT UP!

I love having my fabric folded on boards, I can pick and choose what I want and don't have to run out for fabric (of course I still shope when I just "need a fix"

I sort my stash by size and stack each size in its own pile. You can SEE the color, but you know at a glance what size it is. I wrap in around a rotary ruler like it's on a bolt and then pull the ruler out. Then fold it in half if your shelf is less than 22 inches deep. If you use a portion of a fabric, you measure what is left and then place it on the SIZE pile it measures now. Then you don't have to pull out a bunch of fabrics cuz you don't know their sizes and you don't have a pile to put away, you can just "get to work"

thank you all so much for your replies! i do think i like (no, LOVE) the idea of seeing the fabric...of what i have, and what i don't have <hee!>. now...the comic boards seem pretty popular...can you fold a fat quarter on them???