All my closets are full. Not even a drop of sunlight can get in there.

Why not just turn your fabric in sideout,,,,

I love this idea !!...however I am a very visual person and am always checking to see I have the right side. You wouldn't be able to scan stash to see what you want very well; but I really like this idea.

Personally, I'd rather live without fabric than without sunshine. :shock: :lol: My studio is heaven on earth, bright, open, two walls of windows, no curtains or closets, and so very full of inspiration and joy. I cannot imagine sewing in a cave when I can play in a garden instead! :D Perhaps it's the northern latitude, but my fabrics have never shown any signs of fading and some are over 40 years old.

I store my fabric in clean "showbox" size plastic containiers but they are behing closed doors.

...nope, I have my fabric stored away from light..I've seen what natural light can do to fabric and it isn't pretty (no grin there).

I occaionally think of it in passing but the part of my brain that worries is already overloaded so I ignore the problem. As a world class worrier and insomniac I'd rather worry about asteroids falling from the sky or whether black mold is blooming in the crawl space under my house or even the possibility of cell phones causing cancer. Seriously, I am a worry wart but I can only worry about so many things!

Another reason to use up that stash and buy what you need, when you need it. I always have some left over - but buying to just store it is not such a wise thing in my opinion. - Doesn't it seem that whenever you start something special you never have what you need no matter how much fabric you have?

I agree with you... another trip to the store.

We bought those kind of windows when we replaced ours
several years ago. It was only a few dollars more for each
window, and nothing fades, furniture, carpet, fabric, curtains
It is well worth it. But obviously everybody can't replace their
windows (we have an old house, so it was an easy decision..
we needed new ones). Good comment, tho in case anybody'
plans to do that in the future.

this would be a neat idea to replace glass in a china cabinet with this glass then fabric would be safe and you could see it.

I have a quilt hanging up which keeps the sun off my fabric storage area. It's not a favorite so I don't really care if it fades, but it looks nice and also hides the occasional mess :o)

Light isn't the only problem when stored on open shelves. Dust is another factor. My house is well insulated, but I still seem to collect dust. I don't want it on my fabric.

I store mine on shelves in my "fabric room" and never open the blinds.

I tacked a big piece of black velvet over my sewing room window---no sunlight here!

More food for thought: Plastic containers are said to be bad for any archived materials -- soemthing to do with the PH or a type of gas emitted. Seems to me that it could affect fabric in some way too. I recently removed the fabric I had (a lot) from the plastic containers and shelved them in a big closet. I even have room for more now!

I haven't had that problem ( knock on wood! ) I have a window & 2 doors but no direct sunlight at all.

Yes you have to be careful.

I have doors on my cabinets. the unfinished items are in there also. My window is a south window and Arizona would do a number on my fabrics. I wondered the same thing about those open shelves I see. I would cover with a sheet or light weight blanket. Sun rots even our lawn furniture here.

I really don't mean to be flip, but what do you do with your quilts or other projects once they are completed? I display mine, I know that there will be light exposure, but if I hide them, how do I enjoy them? I would think as long as fabrics are not exposed to the sun's rays all day every day light itself shouldn't hurt. What do you think?

I stored some folded fabrics under an insulated tin roof, with no light except the small amount that came in over the wall sills where I had 10' porches projecting out. Some the really dark colors (navies, especially),some teals, some reds faded on the on the folds - ALL the folds.6-8 deep.I'm not sure if it was the small amount of light or the heat.

i never had fading problems, but i have noticed that with some plastics there is an odor left in the fabrics. the smell does wash away, but it's an extra step that i'd rather not have to deal with.
as i come to those boxes and/or bins, i have to eliminate them and spend more money replacing them. i can't tell in advance which ones will end up being smelly.

This is me too! Light really scares me when it come to fading my fabrics. I too am fortunate enough to have my fabrics in a closet on shelves and in bins (which also scares me about the plastic). I try really hard not to have closet doors open when blinds are open or when lights are on.

Sun will fade, not just the fabric in your stash, but also the quilts you have on your beds, walls, or display racks. I am careful to make sure that none are in the sunlight. Especially hazardous here in Arizona. Just a thought, but if you hang your quilts outside on a line to dry you might want to hang them with sheets covering both the front and the back to protect the colors in the quilt.

I use a fabric shower curtain in my fabric storage room. It difuses the light, and I can see without raising my electric bill. All fabric is in closed cupboards installed for that purpose.

It is a worry, but quilts that are displayed and exposed to sunlight generally fade evenly meaning that the whole quilt is faded. Not a great outcome, but generally speaking most antique quilts are faded. However, it's a different story for material. Faded fold lines(the parts mainly exposed to light) can and do make the fabric unusable. Or you have to cut away much of the fabric to use it. Folded fabric doesn't fade evenly. Same with folded quilts.

True sunlight will fade fabric. It also will fade furniture and carpeting. Best thing to do with fabric is protect it and use it!!!!!

Some great ideas here and thank you very much