Same here. Mine is in 18 tubs in the basement, one tub in the living room, a plastyic drawer organizer, and on a guest room bed and under my cutting table. It's easier to run to the quilt store to buy something then go through all that. But with a small house and no real sewing room, I don't have much choice.

I started out (about 20 years ago) with my stash in a four-drawer plastic thingy. Now I'm up to five loooong shelves and you can NEVER have too much fabric. However, I have just been reorganizing to these new shelves my DH put up for me and I did see some fabric that I have no idea why I bought it...

getting tired of digging through totes to find fabric-ususally just go out and buy new. sooo i am folding and rolling and ironing and resorting all of my stash. will post pictures if i ever get it finished. LOL

All over the place and completely disorganized.

I think shop owners have the best idea: their stash is always visible, helpers keep it tidy, buyers keep it always changing and they have a good excuse for having too much. Who could ask for a better deal!

I just finished folding and wrapping all of my fabric and fat quarters on coroplast boards (see tutorial by Alaskasunshine -- she's my hero). Then I stacked them on the bed in the guest bedroom. I can't figure out what to do with them now. So, I'm in the same situation as half the quilters on this board!

My smallish stash was outgrowing the 3-drawer plastic cabinet on wheels. I decided to roll each piece, secure each with a rubber band, and store them by color. This gave me lots more room and a way to find easily what I'm looking for.

I keep the bulk of my fabric in clear totes and finely got them organized by color and fabric type and a general list of the fabric of what is in it, I have 25 big totes. I have this white cabnet that is 6 ft high, by 24 inch wide and side depth is 12 inches. In stead of digging thru the big bins all the time I take out the fabric from the big bins and use smaller plastic containers and make a kit of all the fabric and things I will need for my quilting projects. I keep my quilting books and patterns on the bottom shelf and got 2 of those crates with the drawers from Michaels to put my sewing notions, scissors, thread, rulers...etc. I am finely organized and it feels good.

Thanks for sharing the pics but living in that enviroment would drive me insane...yes a anal organized nut who not only has to have it organized it also has to look nice/pretty. Besides what you see in the pics I also have 4 lg red totes stored behind the front dr w/ stuffing/batting/yarn stored.

I am ROTFLMAO - I live in a motor home and you would not believe where I have found to store my stash. I would tell you, but my husband may accidently read this!

I wish I could organize my stash, right now I use big bins for whites and off white and one for floral's etc.

I use those plastic three-drawer bins. I fold my fabric using my 6 x 24-inch ruler, which makes it a perfect fit for those drawers. If I have a project in mind, I put the fabric and the pattern into plastic shoe boxes. Some projects require larger bins, but most fit into the shoe box size until I'm ready to start on them.

I have 4 large flip top tote that fit under my bed and 2 large plastic drawers filled...oh and a footlocker under the desk.

I had my husband buy 4x8 sheets of hardboard, cut them in 6"x4" and 11 3/4"x7 1/2" pieces -minimal waste with those sizes. Fold the material to the length of the board, then wrap around it and secure with a large plastic coated paper clip. The smaller size is perfect for FQ. I have as much as 7 yards on some of the larger size. Stand them up on shelves and it looks like a mini quilt shop. So nice to be able to select off a shelf rather than dig through tubs!

Ann

my stash is over wellming as most but I went to a home building store and found a wire drawer system. you choose the depth of drawer you want and slide them in 3 deep ones or 4 med ,6 shallow "or mix" to a rack set up on rollers. It can be a little costly but I roll them around to get to the fabric I want and when finished cutting put it all back in drawers and back into place but I always buy more fabric and need another set. My husband use to say my stash would rival a fabric store HA,HA

I have donated my stash twice, got it down to one drawer, but then I just start collecting again...

I store by fabric in anything available. I did buy small bookshelfs because the bedrooms have slanted ceilings. Another idea I had is to but two cd shelves--72 inches high. I use them for all my fat quarters. Did not know I owned so many.

I have three walmart short cupboards each with three shelves (I removed the doors) that my fabric is stored on, 2 scrapbooking carts each with 6 totes? that close, wireshelves, 2 plastic bureaus with 3 drawers each, and, and, so on and so on...

I have been fortunate. I caught a sale of unfinished "jelly" cupboards and they were the double doors and when open you have a total of 5 shelves counting the bottom. Les finished them for me in black. Using a measurement of my length, I found I could place 5 - 6" wide fabrics in there. So I use my 6" x 24 "long ruler and starting about 4" in from the edge of the fabric, leave it folded, I would then fold the fabric with the ruler as the cardboard. Once it was folded I would tuck the end in, slip out the ruler, fold the fabric in half and it fits perfectly with the fold side out in the pantry. I had a tall utilitary cubboard and that two would hold the 6" folds except only like 3.. but that's what I use with baskets for my fat quarters, misc. large scrap pieces and by laying the fabic length wise, I have my 108" backing fabric on the bottom shelve,. Prior to finding these wonderful containers, I had caught a sale at Target and I love wicker (pretend of course) and I purchased two dressers with 4 drawers in each and I also got one that was tall and narrow that had 6 smaller drawers. Again, I had a lot of miscelleious notions, etc. and now I had a place for them. I used wicker baskets on tops of things to catch templates, spare pieces that are not really something I have to have but don't want to throw away. with the two machines I also have storage under the open trap door that would normally hide the machine. I leave it open but use a cover for the machines. So I can put those 3 drawers clear plastic bins in there. Under my cutting table made from a 6' banquet table with bed risers, I have all my batting and muslin in containers that I can see in. If I have started collecting fabric for a pattern from a quilt magazine, I use plastic seal bags to place the fabrics and the magazine in. And I still have a mess half the time. Do I have way more then I need? YEP! But when there is a need, then I can pull what I want to share and make sure it gets to the correct guild, etc. for what they are collecting for. I cannot make quilts quick as fast as many others, but for what it's worth I'm pretty content with what I have and what I can accomplish when my body lets me. But if I may add, once again, you can save a fair bit of money by using the ruler method of folding and storing fabrics. Just take the inside witgh of the shelve and see what it can be divided by and then the depth and you can come up with some pretty neat ideas on putting your fabrics away. So far the only really big problem i have encounterd and I am hoping to come up with a solution and that's my embroidery threads. I use the Isacord, and when my lqs closed out, while women were grabbing the fabrics for a fantastic price, I went straight for the embroidery threads and the Aurifil. Made out like a bandit and now have the website that sells both at rock bottom pricing. I use the storage boxes which holds up 30 spills of Isacord but my grand daughter needs to come over so we can revise it. I am now redoing it and leaving blanks for the threads I do not have so if an when I decide to order more I know which ones I need. Sorry.. the dogs only listen to me when I say "treat?". hum Les is the same way.... oh well, hopefully I have you all... hopefully..

I use sweater and shoe organizers I got at Target. I like them because they use velcro strips instead of clothes hanger hooks. I store my fat quarters in them by color. Large pieces of fabric is organized in plastic boxes that fit under the bed. These are organized by theme,( holidays, children,pets, and misc.large panels and yardage. )
Batting is stored where ever I can find space.

OMGosh I love your closet, my husband told me I was the only one in the world that got rid of clothers to have room for fabric.

OMGosh I love your closet, my husband told me I was the only one in the world that got rid of clothers to have room for fabric

I use old woven baskets so I can see everything. I find them at auctions etc and put them in by color. I store them under and around my cutting table. I love it. Really big pieces fat backs are in a closet.

Folks, there is NO sUCH THING as TOO MUCH FABRIC!!!!!

At the moment I have all my stash in plastic bins. But I have been washing and folding on those plastic boards from Polar Notions and now they are back in the bins but I plan on getting the glass door bookcases from IKEA and organizing them on shelves like books.
The only problem is I have to empty out the back bedroom then pull out old carpet,redue floor,paint then I can get it back together all nice and organized. Wish me luck I think I'm going to need it. Somehow I don't think my DH is going to be much help, so I guess it's going to be all my job. kjym Kathy

I try not to have a very big stash. I don't have much room for storage so I try to use up extra fabric and scraps making children's quilts for a local women's resource center.

Joanie, I love your organized stash. Do you ever come to Oregon lol.

I have the large plastic drawers stacked. 3 of them, about 10 roll carts for supplies, and shoe boxes for pre-cut shapes. Then in the closet I have shelves half way up the way on one side for fabrics, and a bookcase (tall) at the end of the closet full of fabrics that are NOT for quilting. My goal is to have it in clear boxes on the shelves.

My DH bought four 4"wide by 6" high and 18" deep cabinets. I promised him I would get rid of all the fabric that didn't fit in the cabinets. I put my fabric in clear plastic bins according to color and put them on the shelves. And fabric on bolts fit in too.. It worked fine at first but I have outgrown it and gotten a wee bit unorganized. I also have a set of those wire drawers, and 3 small plastic drawer units, plus one wall with shelves almost the full length of the room. A table that is covered with my latest purchases, and several of those plastic boxes for projects on the floor. I also have a clothes rack on wheels, I hang projects that I'm working on over the rod so they don't get wrinkled. One year I am going to stop and organize.

I've got may fabric all over the place. I have a room dedicted to sewing. I have a sewing table I built. Plenty of storage under it. I have 3 metal shelves full of fabric, many totes in several sizes (all clear) full of fabric. I have 4 sets of drawers on rollers (clear also) full of fabric. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I have a bunch of fabric in cardboard boxes just because I haven't had the time to put it all away. Basically I really need to reorganize because I have fabric all over the place. Who would have guessed, lol.. I have my fabric organized ( if that's what you want to call it, lol) by color and theme. Christmas, patriotic, halloween, fall, etc.

WOW !!! That's some stash....I have never seen so much material outside of the stores....good luck with that!

I am about to enter the realm of closet shelves and stashes. I don't know that I have an answer but Closet Maid(?) makes a very easy system for putting up shelves. One long bar across the back of the closet from it hangs the rack (you can screw these into the wall too) that you put the shelf supports on (like in a pantry) then the wire shelves are locked into place. The long bar gets screwed into a stud.

I have a question though.... doesn't having your fabric in tubs cause then to mildew (smells that way) somewhat? In the deep south I think it works because it is wetter outside the tub than inside but what about other places?

I have a friend who stores her batting in the spare bathtub... :)

Oh wait! I DO see some clothing in your closet! How can that be? I'm thinking of paring down my wardrobe to make more room for my stash.

I have mine on open shelves, the cheap plastic ones. It's out of the way of the sun coming in the window. I like to keep it where I can see it, and it's stacked so I have to re stack it when I use some, that way I keep fresh ideas of what I have. It's sorted by neutrals, pastels, brights and flannel.

I just have to tell you about my storage space. We had an outdoor swimming pool built in 1984. Sometime in the 90's
my husband decided to enclose it and attached it to the house. In the last few years it was used about 3 times. He decided to fill it in and make me a big quilting room. At first I said no, but the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea. Here are a few pictures, as you can see you cannot keep your workspace neat if you are using it lol, at least I can't. I didnt take a picture of my cutting table because it is really cluttered, and by the way it use to be a hot tub. The hottub cover is wooden with a vinyl cover. I have a 56 inch cutting board on it.

I have a closet 10ft long all set out with top to bottom shelves , all pinks together reds etc, easy to find , some stored in tubs , and lots of other places around the house , even have it stored under mattress in the guestroom ,makes the bed a little uncomfortable but then they dont stay long , having guest cuts into my sewing time .... Happy SEWING

That is a great idea for fat quarters.....with 2 kids who have just moved out of the house....I know I have some dvd shelving around here somewhere. I have an old, beautiful chest, carved with horses that I keep my larger (3+yards) in. Others are stacked on shelves and some area stacked in clear tubs under my 8ft table. I'm already running out of room and love the idea of putting yardage on the corragated thingy's. I have some old chest of drawers which belonged to my grandmother that I'm thinking of bringing into my "quilting studio". I have visions of haphazardly letting pieces of fabric hang out of them. Wouldn't that look cool??

Oh my gosh, I have stash envy.

I want Joannie2's closet!!!!!

Love this site , I just brought my husband in here to see some of the pictures , just to show him I am not the only only one in the world, he thinks it is a disease that is taking over the world ...........thanks other stash builders you have taken the pressure off me a little .