Dust concern
 

I am reorganizing my sewing room and am putting material on comic boards but am concerned with putting on shelves and not having any protection from dust...I live out in the country... so far I have had everything in plastic tubs but fine it hard to find what I want..
Does anyone else have this issue and if so ... what suggestions do you have?
Thank you in advance for your help...
Darlene

I have my fabrics ruler folded and separated by background colors in drawers, I can see all the fabrics without having to dig looking for a particular fabric. If there's lots of bright sunlight, you should somehow protect the fabrics from that, or you'll have fading problems after a long time.

If your talking about open shelving I would make a curtain to hang over the shelves. I would make the curtain in two sections, overlapping in the center at the top. If you have the wire shelving I would use cheap muslin on the shelves first before laying my fabric on them.

I know what you mean about the dust. All my fabric is stored in, a china hutch, chest of drawers, cabnets, and bins, keeps out dust and the sun.

I too live in the sticks. I keep all my fabric stored in cabinets, drawers and totes. I have a few that I've bought just for decorations to keep out. And yes they get very dusty.

Although fabric looks beautiful on shelves, I myself would want it in a cabinet just for that reason, dust. I would be concerned about fading also.

I ruler fold and store in cabinets and tubs.

I don't live in the "country" but dust really can accumulate. The way I look at it is if the fabric can get dusty, it is also in danger of fading. Using shelving with doors is not an option for all of my fabric stash. So I use a few quilt tops that I will never get around to quilting. Someday I might actually quilt them so they will be more washable, but for now I just shake them out.

I live out in the woods on a dirt road. Talk about dust! My fabrics are all stored in relatively small (27 quart) frosted plastic storage boxes...a lot of them, my stash is huge. I can see what's inside without opening them, the contents stay neat, things are easy to find, easy to replace, easy to transport, etc. I never have to dig for anything, yet it all stays protected and clean. It's perfect for me, the way I work, and the environment I live in.

I made a curtain, double fabric, well made it like a pillow case and tacked it up on my wooden shelves. I plan on putting grommets in and make them roman type shades. I worry about the dust and the light fade. There is ususally dust in any ones sewing room as just working and cutting and sewing fabrics create dust. Good point.

I have my fabrics folded on my ruler and put into a large 48 x 72" cabinet w/doors. I always wash my quilts when finished.

Try living in the middle of the desert where the wind is always blowing. I have all my fabric stored in drawers and tubs. Might take me a while to find something but beats dirty or faded fabric.

Before my cabinets I had my stash stored in trunks and boxes. I labeled the trunks: 1, 2, 3 etc. I then went thru the fabric and cut a small piece off the edge, measured how much was on the piece (if there was say a 1 yd left with pieces left over I would put 1yd+) and pasted the info on the line of a sheet of paper and the trunk or box# it was in. When I looked at books and magazines while watching TV, if I found something I might like to make, I would "shop" thru my notebook stash, and if I had enough of a piece to use for the quilt I wanted to make, I would know which trunk to pull from. That way I did not have to constantly go thru the stash to find what or how much I had, etc.

I have stored my fabrics in plastic crates, stacked 4 high and 4 wide (with the opening facing out). I put a piece of heavy cardboard (don't recall where I found the piece) on top to make a shelf. Then I purchased a sheet of styrofoam, covered it with flannel and proped it up in front of the bins of fabric. This forms my design wall as well as covering my fabrics from my full wall of windows. When I want to get to the fabrics, I simply slide the lightweight wall out a bit and voila!! I can get to all of my fabrics. This way I can sort by colors too.