Do you refold your fabric?
 

I have acquired more fabric than I've used over the years.

I very neatly ruler folded all of it at one time.

My question/thought is this: Should fabrics be refolded every few years? or is it a waste of time and effort to do so?

I'm thinking that there is probably at least one other person in Quilting Land that has fabric that is more than two or three years old and has been on a shelf, or in a tote, or in a box - untouched for quite some time.

I decided to refold the solid colors - and I saw that some of them have fade lines on the folds - they were kept in a closet. I would say 95% of the pieces are fine. I started out by ironing the pieces, and after a couple of hours of that, decided to hand press them and that would be good enough for this project. I also decided to serge off the frayed ends. Those threads were bugging me. These pieces have been washed. NEXT time, I will serge the pieces BEFORE they go in the washing machine!!!!

I'm not sure if the fades on the fold lines occurred before I got the pieces from my Mom, or since they have been in my custody.

Anyway - the question is: Should one refold fabrics every so often? And why or why not?

That's a good question. I'll be checking in to see what the answer is...... I have some fabrics that have been folded for a few years. I do keep most of my stash in a large dresser that doesn't get any sun inside...... I hope that helps.

I think it's a good idea. I've had some fabric for over 20 years. When I took some out recently to use it there was a faded line on the fold line. Whoops.

My fabrics are ruler folded and put into their respective drawers, according to background color. A good portion of them have never been refolded and I've never had a problem with fade lines or anything else.

I've never had any fabric with 'modern' dyes show any fading at all and those processed with the older types of dyes will fade eventually no matter what you do.

My stash is very low-maintenance and I like it that way. I have more than enough to do to single-handedly maintain my house, property, vehicle, appliances, health, animals, budget, relationships, etc without spending time refolding fabric to avoid a possible fade line on the single 9" folded edge of the fabrics in my stash.

For me, the cost-benefit ratio of refolding idle fabric just doesn't support the effort involved. :)

a lot of mine gets refolded when I'm auditioning colors for projects. I pull out stacks and refold a little differently when I put them back. i would say that one way or another my stuff gets refolded maybe once a year as I organize things. I only have two tall book cases of fabric, so it is not too much of a chore. It just sort of naturally occurs.

hahaha! well put ;-)

Oh, HECK no! I'd spend days just refolding, and I'm too dang lazy for that. It would cut into my quilting time, LOL! My fabric is stored in a closed cabinet, so a quick spritz with water and a hot iron gets out the fold lines.

This is true for me as well.

I've only been quilting a couple years, but I have some other fabrics "stashed", some are from when I was a teenager. They've been stored in clear totes and sometimes indoors sometimes in the garage. No fading that I've seen on my oldest fabrics, but most of them are not cotton so I don't know if that makes a difference.

My oldest fabric is some that my mom bought to make a baby quilt for me (but never did); it's a heavier cotton but no fading there either. Stored same as I said above. That fabric is nearly 40 years old now.

I have also had some faded areas on some of my fabrics. Depending on the light coming into your room, maybe every 2 or 3 years??

I have fabric that has been in totes for years. Recently we moved and I unpacked it all, refolded and sorted it into 4 floor to ceiling wall cabinets with doors- no more totes for me. None if the older fabric had any fading. I don't plan to refold any time soon. As DebraK said, some of it gets refolded at audition time anyway. I think if the fabric is protected from dust and light, it should be fine for the long term.

I do cover my fabrics to protect from fading. The thought of refolding my stash would be enough to put me off quilting.
I refold my quilts every six months.. when we change the clocks is when I refold quilts that have not been in use.

I only re-press and re-fold new fat quarters from a quilt shop so they are consistent with all my fat quarters.

I typically don't have the inclination to refold anything, but I have stopped folding anything less than one yard more than once; that is to say, fat quarters and partial yard cuts get stored loosely folded, once.

For yardage, I collect empty bolts from the quilt shops (most will get thrown away anyway) and wrap fabric around them just like you see in the store. Works great!

To avoid fading and light damage, all my fabric is kept in tightly closed drawers or closets--we have serious fading issues here in Colorado.

I refold in a different way when I put fabric back into my stash after using some or just auditioning. I think it is important to put the folds in different places, especially that fold that is in it when it is on the bolt. I think it gives the fabric a chance to relax at the folds so it isn't quite so hard to get that fold line out later.
Soooo, I have a whole stack of fat quarters that have not been refolded. Not the end of the world!

I feel if a fabric is old enough to need refolding, its time to donate it to some one or group that will use it.

Mine gets refolded after I cut what I need. I try to fold it squared and some get rolled. Rolled tells me it's less than a yard but I still pin a note to let me know how much is in the roll or fold.

I have lots of old fabric. I just recently moved into a new house and all of my fabric will be in closed cabinets built down one entire length of wall.. I don't ever expect to refold it again in what's left of my life!! Some of this fabric belonged to my mil, other pieces to my mom, some really old yardage came from my grandma.. I think the newer fabric is more apt to show fade lines than the older pieces.. But I love it all and will just deal with a problem when I find one. No refolding for me. Protecting it from light is the best thing you can do for it.

When I take out fabric to audition it for the next project, I re-fold it as I go.

I think it could be the light. I know I have some stored in clear totes and have started covering or moving the to darker areas.