SURVEY for COMIC BOARD users
 

I bought some comic boards and test wrapped two separate fabrics.
One fabric using 2 boards (acid free sides out) and the other fabric with 1 board.
The 1 board wrapped fabric was flimsier than the 2 boards.
I think 2 boards would be better because the acid free side would be touching the fabric...
but I don't want to double my cost by using 2 boards if the concensus is that it's really not necessary.
I think 1 board would be okay once it's up but then one side of the fabric is touching 'non acid free' paper and some say 'that's a no no...almost like putting fabric in cardboard boxes'.

soooo...........

Do you use one or two comic boards per piece of fabric?

What size boards did you use?

What is the longest length fabric you wrapped on the boards?

What is the shortest length fabric you wrapped on the boards?

How long ago did you wrap the fabric?

Are you noticing any issues between the boards and the fabrics?

How many 'wrapped fabrics' do you have?

Got a picture to attach? I'd love to see them for inspiration!


Thanks for taking time out of your day to answer these questions. If anyone else has questions for the survey, please ask away so we'll all learn from each other.

I use one board. So far no problems. I think the most fabric I've wrapped on the boards was maybe 5 yds and I may have used two boards for that one. On smaller amounts of fabric (less than a yard) I cut the boards in half and use them that way. I use the larger board - I believe it's about 11" high by about 9" wide. I really like the way they look on the shelf and how much easier it is to retrieve the fabric. Right now most of my fabric is folded on the shelves, but I'm working a little bit at a time to move it over to the comic book boards.

I have not used any boards yet. I just ruler fold my fabric and stack in cabinet. I have been thinking about using boards so I will follow this and see how everyone else feels.

Great question! From what I've read and what the man at the comic book store told me - the acid free side is the shiny side.

I've also read (and this is why I'm confused) that if the 'board is acid free' it means 'the entire board is acid free'. I wonder if the shiny side is another layer of protective coating.

Thanks KSDOTS and SPARTAN - those are the types of answers I was hoping for.

MIGHTY - I was with you in folding the fabric on a ruler....now I want them upright and lined up in a cabinet so I can easily remove them...without upsetting the entire stack.

My boards said "acid free"on the package. Not acid free on one side or the shiny side, that would just defeat my purpose.

I just bought a pack of 50 today to try them out. The ones I bought are acid free on both sides. So far I have wrapped lengths of 2 yds on one board but I have some longer ones that I will probably use 2 boards for. I originally bought some of the expensive ones ( approx. $1 each) and I liked those OK but they are thicker so I think I will be able to store more fabric on these in less space. So far so good. The size I bought was roughly 7 X 10. They did have a larger size that was about 9 X 10. They were $7.75 for 50.

I love these boards. Just got them a couple of weeks ago and immediately used 300. Now my totes are easy access and I can move the fabric around without it falling apart and getting messy. It was also a good experience to touch and inspect all my fabrics to "remember" what I owned.

I wrapped up to 3-4 yards on one and no less than 1/2 yard. I was not happy with the 1/2 yard since it was kind of a waste of a board so I stopped doing that. I would now do a yard or more.

I bought the boards on Amazon since hubby gets free shipping but someone here found them at a comic book store cheaper. It was funny that the Amazon reviews were from quilters and not comic book owners.

I too have been using the comic boards for my fabric. I think my fabric takes less space and love being able to see at a glance what I have. My oldest granddaughter (age 14) loves to organize them by color for me (she already has color organized my thread). The most I put on a board is 2 yds and anything less than a 1/2 yard I cut the board in half. I am discovering many fabrics that I didn't know I had. I have already gone through 300 boards and need to order more. I order mine from Amazon. I need to go shopping in my own stash!

I'm planning to purchase the comic boards and I would assume acid free means acid free!

I've done a lot of photography and framing in the past and if I purchase acid free mat board it is acid free all the way through. And I can't imagine that the people who purchase the boards for comics would be any less particular.

Never heard of such a thing. LOL, I don't read or follow comic books but just ordered some. Boy, will the hubby be surprised when they get here!! Thanks for the tip.

This is being a very interesting thread. I have been thinking about getting the comic book boards so I am finding this information very useful!

I have to start shopping my stash-I have used 9 packs of the comic book boards and love them. I use one board and have wrapped up to 5 yards of fabric. On less than a half yard I fold and place in shoe box size plastic boxes.

I have never used comic book boards...and have no idea what they are, where you get them, etc. Could someone post some pictures of their use so I can decide if they are something I could use in my renovation of sewing area?

Thanks for asking my question. I have no idea what comic boards are. I just read the entire thread to see if someone elaborated on them. I'm going to go on Amazon and see if I can figure it out.

Well I just checked with amazon.com. They are very reasonable. I'm still not sure what they are, but they appear to be acid free. I'm going to order. Thanks for the idea.

I have gone through two packs of 100 each. They are totally acid free, both sides. I love how my fabric looks and so easy to pull one out and slide it back in again.

I have a lot of my fabric stored on the boards that fabric is sold on at the LQS and Joanns. I get them free at Joann's and cut into 4 equal size boards. Have folded quite a few yards on each one and they seem to hold up just fine and the best part is they are FREE. Instead of the ladies having to take them to the dumpster I take what they have. If fabric is good enough to be wrapped and shipped on that it should be good enough for me to store my fabric on without spending more money on acid free boards that can be spent on more fabric.

I just put all my fabric on the comic book boards. 1 yard or more on a full board, less that 1 yard - I use 1/2 board. I love it! Everything looks so much neater and I can actually find what I'm looking for.

The stores don't have to worry about the cardboard not being acid-free, because the fabric is not on them for long enough to be a problem. they sell it before the fabric can be affected! I haaven't heard how long it takes for that cardboard to damage fabric - but I'm not taking any chances - I have too much invested in my stash!

I use one board about 10 yards was the biggest half yard smallest i have about one hundred approximately stored in boxes because of a move i love how organized they look and how they store sp easily! And i have had them for over a year

Exactly! As a relatively new quilter I don't worry about the age of my fabrics but I know there are many that have fabric for years and years and ... yes, more years! As a serious amateur photographer, I've used acid free mat board for a long time and it really makes a difference. Last year, I was doing some much needed cleaning out of old prints, etc. and I found some that had been stored in a non-acid free envelope in the same box with those that had been properly stored. Let me tell you, there is a BIG difference. The improperly stored prints were yellowed and spotted while the others were in pristine condition. There is a reason that people are advised to store wedding dresses in acid free boxes.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]313740[/ATTACH] Here's the progress I made yesterday in MY AREA! I'm very happy with the way it's coming together. Not all of the fabric is wrapped on boards. If I did wrap, I found that less than 1 yard was not worth wrapping and putting on shelf (really couldn't see the fabric), 1-2 yards did well on 1 board, 2 or more yards did better with 2 boards.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]313741[/ATTACH] This is the fabric that was in totes folded any which way. They'll need to be gently pressed and wrapped. I imagine a good day's work ahead. IF I can't get it all onto the shelves, guess I'll have to purge some!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]313742[/ATTACH] I've been using the 6 3/4" x 10 1/2" boards. They fit nicely on the fabric when it's folded selvage to selvage and then folded one more time.

When I first became aware of using comic boards for fabric I thought...WHY would you anyone spend the extra money??? Now I know better....it was NOT expensive (I could lose more money than it cost to buy 2 packages (total $12.00) and it looks SO PRETTY!

Thanks to everyone for your opinions and questions.

Can you describe or post pictures of how you wrap less than 1 yard of farbric? Thanks

I also use the comic boards and then I put them on end in plastic tubs. Very easy to access and see everything I have. I ruler fold anything over a yard and put on shelves. I have one bedroom with shelving on 3 walls and that is where I put the yardage/ruler folded material. I don't know anything about acid free. I'm not sure I get it. I have fabric that has been in boxes for well over 20 years and pulled some of that out this past winter and it is still just fine. I am making an effort to get rid of some of this old material and make something out of it. I doubt I'll be quilting for another 20 years as I suspect my eyesight and hands will go eventually making it impossible so I'm not worrying about the acid free.

AWESOME, and I do have a closet I could empty. I don't have that much fabric yet but why not start out right!!!!!!

I agree completely. I, too, have had fabric folded in cardboard boxes for 23+ yrs and the fabric is perfect when I remove them for use. I also have used the cardboard bolts from fabric stores and my LQS keeps the empty bolts for me in a large cardboard box and I pick them up weekly. You can get 4 boards out of each that are 9.5 x 11 in size. I agree, save your money for more stash. Jinnie

I agree completely. I, too, have had fabric folded in cardboard boxes for 23+ yrs and the fabric is perfect when I remove them for use. I also have used the cardboard bolts from fabric stores and my LQS keeps the empty bolts for me in a large cardboard box and I pick them up weekly. You can get 4 boards out of each that are 9.5 x 11 in size. I agree, save your money for more stash. Jinnie

comic Book Boards
 

Could someone post pictures of how they are used? Read so much about how great they are, but have never seen them in use. Thanks

Thanks, they look great, I guess I better order some. Just went to a LQS that is closing and the prices were more than I could resist...so now have LOTS mor fabric than I have room for, but very happy!

Here's an excellent tut right here on the QB http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...om-t43871.html

survey for comic board users
 

I just decided to redo my shelves and room when I looked for a project I wanted to start on and couldn't find it. It's somewhere altogether.. I bought the boards and can see I am going to need much more. I am also cleaning out all the pieces smaller than 1/4 yard. These are fabrics I have had for a long time so out they go. Well into the scrap bin.
The ones on the 2nd shelf are the " don't wrap like this" ones.
The ones on the left of the 3rd shelf I like much better.
I am writing the yardage on the board itself in pencil. On the non shiny side.
Top shelf is going to be my solids.. And if there is room the tone on tones.
I really am trying to get rid of a lot of my "stuffs" and just have what I need to finish projects and what I will work on in the future.

I was thinking of getting oversized paperclips in colors to hold the fabric - or maybe colored quilting pins - using the color to indicate the yardage. Red for over 5 yards, Green for 3-5 yards, etc. however it might work best.

Good idea right now I am using tiny applique pins to hold the fabric .

I absolutely love them!

Yours are so nice and neat. Wanta come do mine? lol

I'll be watching, I'm in the process of building my new house and studio so that is when I'll start using the boards.
If its a good system.

ruler fold method
 

what is the ruler fold method for folding your stash thanks for any information

I started using the comic book boards & just love them. I had ordered some on line but then realized I had a comic book store right in my town & they were cheaper getting them there. I usually only use one board & have wrapped up to 6 yds or more on one. I have all my fabric in totes so I don't have to worry about trying to stand them up. The smallest I wrap is one yard & I found the best thing to hold them on is with the #2 small ideal clamps from Office Max. You can get 50 for $3.00 or wait for their sale of 20 % off whatever fits in the bag. They kind of look like a criss cross paper clips. I also measure the fabric before putting it on the board & then use the string price tags, with the hole in them, and put the amount of fabric that is on the board. I just cut the string off & use a cheap tiny safety pin to pin it to the fabric. The fabric that is less than a yard I measure & just fold it & put a tag on it with the amount. I love how easy it is to see what fabric I have & if I need a certain amount all I have to do is look at the tags & know if it will work or not. I have a long ways to go but it sure is fun finding fabric that I didn't remember that I had!