fabric_fancy

category (batik, contemporary, geometric, gradations, etc)
then by color.

all of it behind closed doors in a walk in closet - sunlight doesn't touch my fabric until i decide to use it.

i've seen too many good stashes go back because they displayed it on shelves in their sewing room and allowed sunlight to hit it.

Carolijn80

wow! I like this idea. I have mine is plastic bags sorted by color. It's a pain to take sort through for a certain shade or pattern

aashley333

I don't have a huge stash. I wrap fabric on comic book boards. I store them in 2 bookcases that are not in direct sunlight. Bottom shelves for wide backing, and other shelves are sorted by amount of fabric. Usually 2-4 yards. I have a section for 1 yard+- pieces. I love collections, and I store them next to each other. Scraps are in 3 or 4 small clear tubs. I fold them if they are big enough and put in one tub; then large scraps, then smaller ones. I used to toss scraps when finished with a quilt--until I made a scrappy quilt of roses. I had zero red pieces in my stash and very little green. I bought fat quarters (on sale $1 each!) in reds. pinks, and greens! Then, added 1/4 yard pieces. I am hooked on scrappy quilts, but I don't feel that my scraps are organized.
One section is for kaleidoscope quilt fabrics. I need the pattern to repeat at least 8 times, so I purchase 4 yards when I spy the perfect fabric for one! They are my fav.

michelem

My sons say I don’t have stash….more like a small fabric store! My closet has shelves arranged in a U shape. I put solid colors or fabrics that read solid in plastic buckets. I have holiday fabrics in separate buckets, same for themes — pet fabric, beach themed. Flannel goes on one shelf, baby fabric on another — although recently I’ve put kits together to make baby quilts. Those get tied up with yarn on the baby shelf. Other fabrics get stacked on a shelf — mostly florals. I also have a cabinet that has precuts and any kits I’ve put together to make charity quilts. Good luck organizing.

lmanna

I mostly organize by size first and then color. I have bins for 1.5" squares, 2" squares, 2.5" squares and 5" squares, bins for strips, bins for scraps and bins for anything larger than 5" squares (FQs/yardage). I don't have any layer cakes.

There are some exceptions...for example, I store FQs/yardage of theme fabrics together (Halloween, Christmas) and not separated by color. I currently have my FQ/yardage of Alison Glass fabrics separate from the others and then organized by color. I keep thinking I should merge them in with the rest of my fabrics.

I also have 1 bin for FQ/yardage of what I consider "loud" prints that don't read as one color.

polkweed

Printed quilting cottons get wrapped around comic book boards and sorted by color. I keep solids on their own shelf, as well as pre-cuts, pieces over 3yds, and non-quilting cottons. I also cut odd-sized scraps down into set pre-cuts so they're easier to store and more likely to get used.

QuiltE

Hello All ... I *s*m*i*l*e*d* when today's postings for this thread showed up in my inbox. Why? because I soon realized that OMG I started this thread!! Must have been one of, if not my maiden post to the QB. What a blessing the QB community has been to me for all your direct and indirect support all these years. Thank you to each and everyone!!

Here's how my own "Stash My Stash" has progressed ...

... separated by colour(s), in plastic stackable flat tote/boxes; box ends labelled with painters tape; if more than one box per colour, box labelled as 1of2, etc.)
...... fabric over one metre folded width of the box; if under a metre, folded size/shape of fat quarters; over metre are measured and labelled with painters tape; the fabric fold is a good size-clue when I open a box, as to whether it's worth looking further at a specific piece
......... theme fabrics have their own boxes (Christmas, Easter, etc., Batiks, Patriotics, Novelties, Farm, Panels, Stripes, etc.)
............ unwashed fabrics remain on a store bolt as those are longer lengths, til I know the purpose and then just cut and wash what's needed; otherwise, all fabrics entering my home go directly to the laundry before being admitted to the stash!!
............... WIP are stored in their own project box along with all fabrics being used until backing and binding have been cut, meaning it's done! Even though there may be way too much fabric than I need for the project, I learned to keep it as untouchable for other purposes until THE end, knowing how I often make design changes and then discover that so-called "unneeded" fabric is indeed needed!

Sometimes I think I have it split up in too many ways, that I can't find what I want.
But for now, it's staying as is.
It's what I am familiar with and change may be harder!

Too often when I shop my stash, I am not able to coordinate a grouping. Or I look at the stash and say, oh it's all so outdated. Or I am tempted by new fabrics available and convince myself to not even consider it because of my stash.

In all honesty, my advice to others would be ... do NOT have a stash!!!

Or at the least, keep it very, very minimal by additions to it only being from project leftovers and no additions just because I liked the fabric or thought it was a good buy at the time. Etc!

Good Luck with your own Stashes

Would love to hear about your own stash progress or dilemmas and the stories!

sewbizgirl

In my bookcases for stash, I have a shelf of batiks, a shelf of animal themed prints, two shelves of florals, two shelves of "go withs" (tonals and such to go with my prints), one shelf of panels and the fabrics that go with them (if I have them) plus children's fabrics, one shelf of Kaffes and the like. I have solids in another bookcase, and smaller pieces in a big box. At least two big bins of shirt fabric (recycled), a bin of children's I Spy fabric, and a bin of 1930's repros. Christmas fabric is in another bookcase. Then I have totes for my smaller pieces, separated by color: Reds, pinks, oranges and yellows, greens, blues, aquas, purples, browns and blacks. And one for whites and neutrals. Works for me...

copycat

Here is what works for me:

I keep my prints from holidays separated in their own totes. I have Christmas, Halloween, Easter, and Valentines Day,

Next are the rest of my fabric in individual totes labeled:
Batiks, Children and Baby prints, Solid and Tone on tone fabrics by Color. and Minky fabrics

I do have a drawer with quilt kits with a pattern I have purchased, as well as fabric and patterns kitted for ...one day.

cashs_mom

I do a combination of these techniques. Most fabrics are by color. I keep them in a shallow plastic box folded sort of like fat quarters so I can open the box and see what I have. Some are by theme like my dachshund fabrics, car fabrics and Texas fabrics. Larger pieces (over 1 yard and hung over hangers in the closet. It has a double rod which makes it easy. I also have some smaller plastic boxes for scraps sorted by color. I labeled all the boxes and have them on shelves which frees up more floor space. Books are in some old glass fronted cabinets that were in the study of my other house but I don't need them in the study here. They have shelving down below where I keep machine manuals and paperwork.