Storing larger pieces of fabric
I've ended up with lots of quilting fabric, most of which was purchased at estate sales. Between my purchases online, at stores and the estate sale fabric, I probably have 200 yards of fabric. I also have a a couple of jelly rolls, some fat quarters, charm packs, I spy squares and quilt kits. Most of the fabric is yardage, however ( a good percentage between 3 and 5 yard pieces).
At present, I have most everything stored in plastic totes. Obviously, I don't have a clue what's in them. Most of the fabric was bought when I was working on my first quilt, so I didn't have a clue what I would need in the future. Fortunately, most of the yardage I chose at estate sales is a small scale print that could be used as a blender or is a bright primary colored fabric suitable for a child's quilt.
There's a conflict here. If I put it out where I can see it (on shelves, for instance), it will be subject to dirt, dust and fading. On the other hand, if I can't see it, I probably won't include it in the plans for my next quilt.
Then, there's the way to keep it and sort it. I just pulled out a tote to see what was in it and found a 6 yd X 12" strip of calico. Then, there was a blue calico fabric that consists of a 5 yd piece, a 1 1/2 yd piece and a 3/4 piece. I bought a ton of gingham a while back and just looked at one piece, which is a 2 yd piece folded around some large scraps. I probably have 15 or 20 yards of gingham in various sizes and colors. (So, do you sort by color or would you put all the calico together, all the gingham together and all the I spy (my favorite fabric) together. But then the dots and stripes don't get grouped.
As far as I can tell, none of the fabric from the estate sales has been washed. Lots of it is older and has that "super starched" feel. Washing and ironing 100+ yards of fabric sounds daunting, but you really need to know what you have before you put it in a quilt.
I've watched some youtube videos, but they usually have 1 yard pieces of fabric that they store. They don't seem to show what they do with the parts that don't fit, but are too big to go the the scraps box.
This is so daunting that I just stare and it don't do anything with it.
Any suggestions on getting this to a usable/findable situation would be appreciated.
bkay