I fold mine around comic book backing boards and stand them up in a bookshelf I bought just for that purpose. The fabrics are not in direct sunlight, so haven't had any fading problems. When I had them in plastic bins I just couldn't see what I had, to play with color and design. It works much better now.

I store fabric in plastic containers; sometimes I have a bad habit of leaving fabric out and I can depend on my 16 yr old to spill something on it:mad:, or me for that matter! I like the clear ones so I can peek in them instead of pulling out everything!

I think whatever works for you is the way to go! LOL I have had fabric in plastic bins and even out in my storage shed for years with no issues. My mom moved out here (thank goodness she is a quilter too) and she has a lot more room so we are in the process of wrapping our fabric. Whatever you do, make it easy to find and get to otherwise you will be like I used to be - just go buy new because you can't find it in what you have!

I folded mine and put on an 11" deep shelf. Has helped enormously since I can do a "drive by" audition for fabric coordination. Keeps me from digging thru boxes and making an enormous mess. During the organization process, I found lots of great fabrics I had completely forgotten about. Works for me which is all that really matters!

I bought some clear hinged plastic storage boxes from Sam's Club a while ago. Unfortunately, they are not available at this time. They were sturdy, see through and the right size. I hope Sam's gets them again because the ones at Walmart don't compare in quality. Does anyone know of a source of plastic storage boxes or what do you use?

On the shelf, so I can see color families.

I keep mine in banker's boxes inside plastic bags or in plastic bins. I can lift the banker's boxes, they are cheap, and I've had no trouble with them. But I have a tip for you, something that works well for me. I sort my fabric by colors on the color wheel (so I do include yellow-orange, etc.), one color per box or bin, and then I stand the fabric up in the box so that I see the folded edge of each fabric. Another way to say that would be that I stand the banker's box on it's end, and put fabric in it nicely folded and with the crease out and visible, then put the next fabric on top of that, etc. That way, I can go to the box with the color I need and see what is in there at a glance. I have my shelves labeled with the names of colors so I know right where to look.

I have my fabric on comic book boards on shelves in a bookcase however I hang a quilt in front to prevent any possible fading on the folds

We live on surgar sand, raise dogs and my material is stored[ATTACH=CONFIG]401158[/ATTACH] in clear plastic totes from WM that snap closed and are not too big and heave for me to lift. Sorted it not long ago and lables each tote, one for horses, one for dogs, blenders, flowers etc. Prewash all fabrics, after (now) surgeing, don't starch or iron as that can draw bugs in the heat and humidity until I use them. WM has a whole line of clear plastic totes that work well, are all the same base size and stack like a dream.

i have mine stored in plastic totes and a wire shelving set up. the totes have fabric that is >10 yrs old and doing fine. Only damage i've ever had is from the moths eating the Italian wools. A bit of bay leave and some cedar balls took care of that.

Ah, a fellow fabricoholic (well you know what I mean). I stored the majority of my fabric in plastic totes, most in clear totes so I could see what I have, but since the sewing room was in the basement, I wanted to keep the fabric safe from little critters (the small 4-legged kind) and from getting mildew,smells,whatever. Plus I could stack the totes, otherwise I would not have been able to move. Unfortunately, I had to give away over half my fabric when we moved to an apt. Every so often now, I will take a tote down from the stack,go through the fabrics, admire them, hold them, then re-fold them and I could then add a few more yards to the tote, plus pull out the fabrics that talked to me so I could make dresses for my DGD and more quilts. I'm glad I didn't let my DH talk me into giving away more fabric, because I haven't bought a lot of fabric since we moved, and then it was mostly to supplement the project I was working on.

Right now I use clear plastic bins. But if I had my fabric on shelves I think I would cover them somehow because the rooms I use to store my fabric do get sun part of the day.

Fabric needs to breath, so fabric should never be stored in plastic containers. Fabric outgasses formyaldhyde which builds up in plastic containers. Prewashing fabrics does help by removing the formaldhyde, but still does not allow for the fabric to breath.

I have a new sewing room and I have mine folded with a ruler and in closets with doors. Before I had folded in a 4'x6' cabinet with doors and rubbermaid bins. Never had a fading problem. Not alot of windows.

Just 58 years!!!!! Lol lol lol

Hugs

Caroline

I have mine folded on foam core, so it can stand up. I keep the window shades down, so there's not a problem with fading. I have a 2nd, smaller room where I do my sewing where the windows have no shades. I claimed these rooms when the kids deserted the nest in CT. In AZ, my folded fabric stands up on shelves in a closet - thus no prob with fading.

I don't know about the fading part. Mine is in a china cabinet I bought at Goodwill. My quilting room is in the basement so no natural light. My fabric was stored in many totes. When I took it out of the bins I really started using it. I hated going through the totes to find the right fabric. It is ruler folder and I love it that way.

[QUOTE=ghostrider;5917726]I toss a dessicant packet into my fabric bins, the kind that come with electronics, shoes, and lots of stuff. Some people use the small ones that come with some medications, too.

Ditto...seems to work very well!

I have mine in hinged plastic totes from Costco. They are not airtight, but they do protect the fabric from dust. They are transparent, but not exposed to direct light.

Thanks everyone for all of your input.
I would post a photo of my stash but I did on another thread and I tossed and turned all night after posting it thinking someone who knew me might see it.......so I can't post it again :o)
I like the idea of the bankers boxes for some of the fabric as it makes them a bit lighter to lift. I think I might be damaging my internal organs lifting all of those totes.
Now I will sort ..........
Thanks again everybody! Nice to know that I have some "sisters" on the board.

Carole

You're right about the fading. You should use whatever works best for you and what you have room for. I personally like mine in drawers or tubs because it would always be a mess if not contained. I'm always pulling out a piece for one reason or another. I have one day a week that I "refile" what I've taken out.

I have mine on a shelf in the closet. I do keep some , special , Christmas , etc, in special bins.

If you live in a humid climate, for sure use a dessicant. I keep my fabrics in plastic drawers both to keep things organized and to keep them from light.

I use clear plastic so I can find what I want more easily

I use both!

I refuse to admit that they will be in my stash long enough to fade. Therefore it is not an issue :-)

Mine is stored on shelves in the basement,so no light to worry about.Most stored by color,some by type,orientals,batiks etc.I keep pre cuts & scraps in plastic tubs. Current project is in a tub or basket,according to size.That just leaves books/mags,manuals,sewing notions,mats,cutters etc.:D

Just so you know, banker's boxes are made of cardboard and cardboard is extremely acidic. Direct contact has the potential to stain fabric over time. You may want to think about lining the boxes with Contact paper before storing fabric in them.

Hi Carole!

I sort my fabric by color family and size, into clear plastic bags. Then the bags go into a set of utility drawers (plastic, not sure of the brand). Strings go all together into one bag. Anything less than a fat quarter gets grouped by color family in separate bags, and anything fat quarter or larger gets grouped by color family and put in separate bags as well. I do the same for my batting (little pieces, medium pieces, and large cuts). Top drawer goes to strings and small scraps, middle drawer goes to "full-sized" fabrics, and bottom drawer goes to batting.

They're organized so I can see what I have when I open the drawer, but they're safe from any bugs in the plastic and safe from the light in the drawers. Works for me!

Clear plastic boxes for me. I started out with colored ones. Pretty, but every time I wanted something, I had to search every box. Yuck. Now I can see what is there. Very nice.