How do you organize your batiks?
 

Oh, wise friends, do you sort your batiks with the rest of your fabrics, or do you keep them separate?

Last night I managed to knock over a couple of bins of fabric (well, they were sorted) as well as scraps from 5 (yes, five) ongoing projects. So today became Organize Your Stash Day. Again. And I wasn't sure that my organizational skills were up to snuff.

I usually cut smaller scraps into usable squares or strips (a la Bonnie Hunter's Scrap Organizer System) and sort them by size; larger pieces by color I sort by color. But I tend to keep the batiks in a separate bin. Now I have so many that I'll need multiple bins for those, too. So does it even make any sense to keep them separate? I'm not sure why I started doing that -- I do mix fabrics in some quilts. What do you do?

I keep them separate...although I also mix them in quilts sometimes. I don't have a lot of yardage, but those I wrap on comic boards. Mostly I have 1/2 to 1 yard pieces or smaller. The 1/2 yd pieces I wrap around my 4" ruler to fold. FQs are in a plastic bin. Scraps get all mixed together.

My batiks are separate, by color; my solids are separate, by color range; my prints are separate, by color; my fused fabrics/scraps are separate, all together, flatly stacked. All are in clear 28-quart bins unless a full bolt was purchased. I don't buy pre-cuts and I don't pre-cut any yardage or scraps. I keep batiks separate because when I am looking for something, I look by fabric type first, then by color within the type.

Sorting fabric is just like sorting paperwork. Think about how you will be looking for it and 'file' it whatever way makes it easiest for you to find.

I keep my batiks with other fabrics. I have bins sorted by color. So far only one shade of fabric per bin. My prints go in a prints bin. I keep yardage, cuts and scraps all together. But then, as you can tell, I don't have a large stash (yet) only about 12 bins.

Mine are separate

My batiks have their own place in my stash organized by color. Those that have the least print or read more as a solid , are on the bottom of the corresponding color stack.

I keep my batiks separate, by color. I do mix them in with other fabrics in projects, but also have specific projects just using batiks. :)

Separate, roughly by color.

haha, I have mine in a separate container and every once in a short time I pull them out of the container and drool over them. I have actually caught myself 'petting' them....

My batiks are on one shelf and my other fabrics on the other wall's shelf unit. They may get mixed together in a project, but for ease in locating them for swaps, etc where I want only batiks, this works for me.

I don't own any batiks.....yet, but I'm new at this so give me time. I have plenty of other fabric though and that is sorted by color. :)

My 200+ pieces of batik are in a bookcase at the foot of my bed where I can see them the first thing I open my eyes in the morning - LOL

I generally put every thing by color as best as I can. Some batiks are too strange feeling to me for a quilt and work better for applique, totes, table runners, wall hangings, etc.

If you don't pet your fabric, how will it know you love it? ;) In fact, I think that is a title of a post.

*Goes off to start a new thread*

I keep mine separate too, but do mix them in quilts.

If you are worried I will send my address for the batiks. I never keep min long enough for a stash.

My Batiks are in a class by themselves, and so they are in a box by themselves. Since I have recently fallen in love with them, I like them to be ready to play with me at a moment's notice.

I LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Batiks...and, unfortunately, my studio reflects it to the point of being a mad jumble of colors....sorta separated, but like Boston, I want mine to be ready to play with me at a moment's notice.....so they are (mostly) all in a certain area but are subject to getting to come to the playground with the rest of their relatives...:)

I keep batiks separate since they are a small subset of my stash. I tend to only buy them for a project or just a few FQs if I can't resist. I love them and can't wait to sew with them more when I get caught up on UFOs.

I sort all my fabrics by color - regardless of whether or not it is a batik. There are some multi-color prints that are just in a print stack.