I think I had heard that the plastic verses fabric 'rumor' came from a sealed plastic bag that contained some moisture... thus the mildew!!!! I use plastic bins (not entirely sealed, as some air circulation occurs) and have not had any problems. I did have some problems years ago when my fabric was stored in my basement in dresser drawers and cardboard (which attracted and held moisture)... Duh! Mildew!

I'm now a plastic girl! and no more basement storage!

I used to store my fabrics, in folded stacks on inexpensive Staples 28" wide x 70" high bookcases. Because the thin shelves bowed from the weight, I bought 3/4" melemine shelving blanks at Home Depot and cut them to fit my bookcases. No more bow and 6 or 7 shelves per case! Stacked by color families and type of fabric (dress, home dec, quilting in color ways). I just closed my miniblinds in that room when I wasn't working. I suppose you could also put spring tension rods in the top of each case and hang a sewn to fit cover down over the shelves.

But THEN, we had to renovate the house. My sewing room dimensions didn't change... but when I redid my sew room, I purchased three 24" wide x 16" deep RSI/Estate cabinets from Lowes - the models with the nice smooth finish inside and out. I refolded my fabric to fit the shelves. Now I close the doors.

On plastic: I used to also have fabrics in plastic bins. Silver fish are a huge problem in florida, so plastic it HAS to be. But I took care to keep the A/C on... and would open up the tubs to air the fabric out on occasion. :lol:

i do believe the not storing fabric in plastic refers mostly to the ziploc type bags. and that is for long time storage. i keep my fabrics in clear plastic tubs with lids, each color gets its own tub. theme fabrics get their own also. the size of the tubs depends on space and how much fabric you own. then all the tubs are on floor to ceiling shelves in my work room. i am in there often enough so they get to breathe alot.

Nice steel case shelving unit. Interesting idea about folding them on a 6 x 24. Fons & Porter suggested doing something similar. I may try that with my 3 yard or less quilt fabrics. The backings and many of the dress length clothing fabrics won't fold down to this size, so I'd use two stacks per shelf for those still.

Love the picture.

The problem with using cardboard, or the bolt cardboards that come from Joannes or your quilt shoppe... is that cardboard is not archival/non-acid. So over time, what ever you store rolled up or around on cardboard will be exposed to acids leaching out of the board. You will... WILL... get lines, bleaching, discolorations and such ... that look like they were 'striped' onto the fabric. The stains do not wash out.

Yes, Polor Notions has the plastic boards (as do at least 2 other companies) where you tuck the fabric into tabs on the board, then wind it around (just like if it were on a bolt). They work great. Another group of quilters came up with using Comic Book Boards. These things are archival and safe, for they are used by serious Comic book collectors to package their priceless comic books on. They are not as stiff as the plastic boards, cause they are treated foam boards. But they come in different sizes, and are slightly cheaper. Sometimes they are listed as 'silver' boards. You can google Comic Book Boards to see them, or Google Polar Notions for the other (polar makes both fat quarter size and larger piece sized plastic boards). Both the plastic Polar Notions boards and the Comic Book boards work great - you wind up your material on them, tuck or pin... then sit them up on your shelving/bookcases just like books.

But seriously... don't use regular cardboard or the bolt boards from the stores. They are not meant to store fabrics on for long periods of time.

I have heard the 'do not store in plastic' a lot too. I think the issue might have to do with how plastic gives off a chemical residue over time. Not all plastic is the same. Ever notice how something stored in a re-used plastic food container, or zip lock baggie... ends up smelling like... well... plastic? Food containers and zip lock bags are made of soft plastics that are not built/designed to store things for long periods of time. They are meant to be used and then tossed away. That 'smell' is really the plastic giving off cloroflorocarbins as it degrades. You don't want those chemicals near your fabrics!

Other plastics are formulated to maintain their integrity over a longer period of time, those (in a gross generalization) are your harder plastics... such as those used in making the storage totes, tubs, rolling carts, drawers, boxes, and cubes. Rubbermaid, Sterlite, Iris and several other manufacturers make these. These products would be better to store your fabrics in - provided that you don't store them totally air tight. As someone already mentioned, the humidity/moisture in the air... would get locked into an airtight tub and cause mold or mildew. Yuck. Fortunately, all of the storage bins, totes, tubs, carts and cubes that I've seen on the market... are not truly air tight.

Use the search above, or you tube, to locate "Ruler fold" fabric storage method.

I also store my fabrics in translucent plastic drawer sets. Each set of 3 drawers on casters is 25" X 22" X 14" deep; I have 2 of these side by side, giving me 6 drawers to organize all my folded fabrics. The are currently: Christmas fabric; plain colored fabric; colored print fabric in 2 drawers and a separate drawer for pre-quilted fabric and then an entire character fabric drawer for: Disney Cars, Tinkerbell, Ariel, Frosty the snowman, Jungle Babies, Winnie the Pooh, and specific character princess fabrics. Keeping fabric organized is an excellent idea... When you want to create a quilt, potholder or reversible vest, look in your stack of fabrics first. Each fabric style stays in its own drawers and they are marked with stickers so its easy to find specific fabric for a specific project. Hope this keeps your fabrics organized for 2011. from, Debbie, Phoenix, AZ

I tuck used dryer sheets between pieces of fabric I store on shelves.

I just reorganized all my fabric, from cardboard boxes which I had a hard time seeing what I had, to a shelving area in a closet, behind mirrored doors. I used the 6 x 24" ruler method, and I think it went very smoothly. I can now just glance at what I have and find it. I found I could fold with this method up to 4 yrds. I've posted this pic. before, but in case you missed it, here it is.

I am just now refolding my fabrics and organizing them. I roll them around my 6 inch ruler. On the small lengths I start with selvage to selvage fold then fold again and wrap. It makes a short bundle. On the longer lengths I just wrap it around the ruler as it came off bolt. This makes for a longer bundle. Does this make any sense? Then the short ones stand on the back of my shelves and the longer ones lay in front of them on the shelves. That way I can see each piece of fabric I have without messing them all up. Works for me.

izaquilter - that is a beautiful stash!

DonnaB, Awesome looking stacks of fabric. Gosh, Now I want to refold all mine too!

I just bought the polar notion plastic panels. You can roll up to 10 yards of Fabric on each one and can easily the different fabrics on them by the way you roll them. I just love them. They fit standing up on a shelf and take minimal room compared to what I was doing before. Then I can see what I am looking for and can easily pull the fabric, reroll and reput on the shelf like a book. I lOVE THEM!!!!

I love how you have put your door to good use too! Smart Idea! currently, my rulers are in a drawer beneath my cutting table with the longer rulers on the shelf. I do like your ideas.

That was my DH idea, it's so handy now. My cutting table is real close to the door too.

I have learned over the years that if you store cotton in plastic it cannot breathe and the fibers will rot overtime. When I finish a quilt and give it to someone or sell it I am now making a pillow case out of the same backing or something I have of cotton so they can store it in this instead of a plastic bag or bin.

Wonder what would happen if you "hung" the fabric on coat hangers. Using a clothes pin and taking each end of the fabric and clipping it onto the hanger. Or maybe "rolling" the fabric? That may help with not getting creases? And what is the difference between Starch and Sizing?

Where did you get the polor notion plastic panels? And what do they look like? They sound like something good to use. :)

I do that also. I was told to do that to prevent your quilt from picking up odors in your house.

I have a lot of my fabric stored in barrister bookcases. There are four doors and they are glass. They raise up and slide in. Why? I want to see my fabric. It is washed, pressed, folded the same size and it is beautiful.

I have a lot of fabric stored in three drawer plastic containers also along with the barrister bookcases and totes under the bed and in one of my closets. I try to run when someone says "look at this fabric".

I got the bright idea to store mine on boards, standing up, like at fabric stores. My room is probably 16 x20 with shelves ceiling to floor. With my stash stored that way, I have created a monster. I have run out of room! But it sure is easy to see what you have. (Nothing that is just right for what I am working on right now!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I've never heard NOT to store in plastic. What is the reason? gulp, that is the way I've always stored mine.

http://polarnotions.com/index.htm

As someone else said, cotton needs to breathe, storing in plastic or airtight containers will speed the rotting process and weaken the fibers at folds, etc.

in boxes, hopefully in colours ---why bother about creases as you will wash /iron before use.

Sorry, what is a tyvec bag and where can we buy them, thanks.