paulswalia

I wholeheartedly second Alaska Sunshine's ruler folding method for storing fabric. Some of my fabric is stored in stacks this way. To pull one out from the middle of the stack, put a magazine above and below the cut you want and then pull. I like the idea of the comic book boards as well, but my bookshelves are too deep to put those boards on - would waste too much room in front of them. I have used corrugated plastic boards from a local sign shop, cut to the size of a cardboard bolt from the fabric store, then fold the fabric around them like a bolt. I can put three one yard cuts on one plastic board and then line them up on a shelf. Larger yardage pieces go around them just like at the quilt shop. As for sorting by color, it's not a perfect science. Look away, then back quickly at the fabric and note the first color you see. You may also want to sort by themes, like florals, civil war, children's prints, etc.

Monroe

I like vertical storage to save space. I have most of my fabrics folded on shelves. I never use my dining room hutch so I have the fabric sorted and shelved in it. Nice thick glass shelves and doors on top, 4 drawers on the bottom. They can sometimes be found for free - $100 on local Craigslist and Freecycle sites since many people don't have dining rooms any more or want more modern furniture. I don't bother with any pressboard shelves because in the end they are more expensive than decent used wood furniture, supposedly offgas chemical fumes, and tend to sag with the weight of books. Clean wood shelves well before using or use a shelf liner. Be careful with cardboard and plastics- if they aren't acid free you will eventually find brown burn marks on your fabrics! Shelves are easy to make from plywood- your local home repair store can cut the pieces for you from a sheet of smooth plywood, wipe on a water based sealer stain or paint and wait a week to be sure the pieces are well dried before using. Even indoor lights can fade fabrics, so I should put curtains in the hutch doors.

I try to keep my fabric sorted by category- Orientals, Aussie/NZ/ethnic, novelties, 30's, tones and textures (marbled,bricks, stones) etc. Fabrics from the same line stay together. Holiday fabrics, scraps, and deconstructed men's shirts are in totes. Projects are in plastic shoe boxes, ziplocks, or cake carriers. Makes seeing what I have for spontaneous sewing easier, IF I can keep the table cleared. Me, Myself, and I are quite lazy and never listen to me.

Little RoO

Ikea storage is brilliant. In the wicker baskets I have collections of fabrics eg babies, specific fabrics to make a quilt so on and so forth. Behind some of the doors are mini bolts cut to size ane arranged in colours and in others part yardage. I love the ideas of shutting the doors and everywhere looking neat...everything is so easy to find....and it wasn't that expensive to do

no1jan

I bought a 5 drawer office file cabinet off craigslist for $15.00. I take my material and fold it around a 6 x 24 ruler then fold the material in half. I put a label on it showing the size of the fabric and then I "file" the fabric in the drawers separated by color. You can get 2 rows per drawer. This keeps the dust off the fabric and I can see at a glance what fabric I have. This works very well for me and it doesn't take up a lot of room.

Quiltbaby

Patrice, OMG, I thought I had fabric, I am running a quick second to what you have. I have found some shelves that I have decided to use and I will fold the fabric neat so I can see what I have. Fabric, that I will not use immediately will go into clear containers so I can see what it is. You have a large room of fabric. Thanks for your comments.

Quiltbaby

Hi NHWeaver,

I want to share a tip with you that has worked for me with my threads. I go to Hancock and get some the plastic that is on the roll. The thin can. May about a an 1/8 of a yard. Then while listening to the radio, I cut little 2 inc strips and cut them in the 2 inch long strips. I use those little strips to wrap around my thread and it holds. I saved a lot of thread that way and it is more organized. That is just for thread. Have a great weekend.

maviskw

Quiltbaby: Just make sure you don't leave your cutting out in the sunshine in the sun room. They can warp in any heat.

narnianquilter

My quilting room just got moved to the basement because I needed to expand. (My husband was grateful to have it all out of sight) I have some really nice shelves, but way too deep to use for fabric. One thing I did was get some cheap storage bins from Dollar General. Then I folded up the fabric by color and labeled the side so I could see it. Working well so far!

twinkie

I am in the process of organizing my fabric. I am using acid free comic book boards. They come in two different sizes, regular page and magazine size. I am also using standard book cases with adjustable shelves purchased at Wal Mart. If you don't have book cases, you can purchase long sturdy boxes that will hold you your fabric on these boards. They are about 2 1/2' long.

Carol34446

[ATTACH=CONFIG]390551[/ATTACH]I have a bunch of clear plastic totes I bought at Wal Mart for under $6. They have some thinner ones that are same size that stack on top, and a $20. shelf unit I got there not long ago. Don't have much room and with the dogs (raise Rat Terriers) and dust these keep material cleaner. They are 24 qt 15" x111/2 X 113/4 and are not too heavy for my shoulders to lift around when full of material. Now the big job, get it all sorted by color and material. So I can find what I want better. I have thread in plastic containers too and they fit between or on top, but like Brenda, it is in several different places. My dream is to have a room where all machines, 4 sewing and 2 sergers can be set up and I can just use as I wish and nothave to put stuff away. Maybe if I live long enough.