I just read on the Clotilde hints column that you should not store fabric in plastic as it might create brown spots on the fabric. It didn't explain further so I don't know if it means all plastic such as in containers, zip lock bags etc. Have any of you had problems of brown spots or anything else by storing in plastic?

I have had all fabric for complete quilts (not cut yet) stored in Zip Lock bags for a few years, and when I took them out, there were no problems-that's all the experience I'v had with storing long term in plastic.

Ditto! Anyway, I think I'll take my chances with brown spots when the odds I'll get a mouse, a moth or other downer are much higher

I store a lot of quilt kits etc in plastic and I've never had a problem either.

I use plastic containers for all my quilting projects with no problems. some have been in the plastic a loooong time.

It's only certain plastics that are a problem. Plastic bags are generally not a good idea; they outgas chemicals that can eventually damage fabric. It may be only some types of flexible plastic; I'm not sure which.

My understanding is that solid plastic containers are fine. The only problem with them is the possibility of sealing in moisture along with the fabric (which could eventually produce mold). A few holes in the lid or body means there will be some air circulation and a means for moisture to escape. I do wonder, though, if they would give mice a means of getting in and out of the box.... :shock:

Try 15-18 years and they are like new.

well so far lots of my stash is in plastic tubs. not enough room in cabinets!!

oh dear I am in trouble then. I packed most of my stash in bags from Home Depot and the grocery store and it's sitting in the semi waiting for my house to sell and I am in New Mexico recovering from getting two new knees. I better hurry back to CA and un-bag it all. Yikes! And I thought I was being SOOOOOOOO smart!

I store fabric in plastic tubs with no trouble. As for the fear of trapping moisture inside the tub, I would place a packet of silica gel crystals inside the tub before I would put holes in the tub. I remember seeing pictures from the aftermath of Katrina with Rubbermaid tubs floating inside the homes. The stuff in the tubs was dry as a bone and salvageable.

Plastic bags give off a gas that will ruin your fabric.

I've always used big plastic bins for storing fabric and never had a problem. But I'm always digging through them looking for stuff so they are getting to breath for a while until I put them back.

This is one could be problem that I am NOT going to worry about! And yes, I have stored in plastic bins for years w/o problems.

This is exactly how I feel. And yes, I've stored in plastic with no problems whatsoever.

Sherriequilts, I think the problem is only for very long periods of time, as in years. So you should be okay.

There you go!!! Please no mice in my stuff!! YUCK!!! I've stored my material for at least 16 years in the huge plastic totes and have not had a problem. I do use the clear plastic ones though.

I agree with others....I store mine in plastic and have had no problems. I suspect someone stored their fabric while damp -- and the brown spots were mold.

The solid plastics can also offgas, or release VOC's, which are chemicals that can alter the coloration of some fabrics, depending on the dyes used. Is it a common problem? Probably not. I, however, have had it happen with some hand-dyed fabrics. If it's a fabric you really care for, I suggest not using plastic.

I've had fabric in Sterilite, Rubbermaid, and similar containers for 20 years, including outdoor storage units for years at a time while I traveled. I bought a house in 2009, and have been gradually unpacking, but I've been in the oldest boxes and they are FINE!

I have heard this a few times--mostly from a sister who repeats what she hears! :lol: But i have never seen any thing happen to things stored in plastic.

Gerald Roy, a renowned quilt appraiser and expert on vintage quilts, assured me that storing my antique quilts in plastic storage bins would not damage them, so I'm not the least bit worried about storing my stash the same way. I do toss a dessicant (the things that come in boxes with electronics to protect them from humidity) into each bin to protect against moisture without having to put holes in the bins.

I store my fabric in plastic storage containers with click lock lid and i also store coloured fabrics in a plastic five drawer wheelie storage unit and never had a problem with fabric so far but i always take tip and hints of this forum strongly so hoping i don't get brown spots on mine ,,,

If my main thought was to preserve my fabric and work into the next two or three hundred years I might worry about plastic, but I figure that by then people will not be interested in it. Kind of like making a scrapbook from paper and glue that will preserve my pictures for the next hundred years. I truly hope that by then my pictures have been relegated to some recycle bin. I don't want to bury the future in my stuff.

My fabrics have been in plastic bins for years - some decades, and I have not had one bit of problem. The bins are in cabinets.

I have 4 large plastic totes under my cutting table. Full of fabric. I know it has been there at least 3 to 5 years. No spots, smells, anything. I will continue to store stuff in plastic. Rather have it in plastic than dusty and faded.

Me thinks it is a marketing ploy by Clotilde to buy their fabric storage boards. I've had some fabric since 2005 stored in a plastic bin and it is fine.

My first thought was "what were the selling"?

I'm with Julie R...I've never had a problem storing in plastic and I wouldn't want to take the chance of other downers either.

I'v purchased many a quilt kit in a plastic bag. I still have some that I have had for several years. No spots there.

I just received a batch of lovely kits from my DH for Christmas, all of them arrived in plastic bags. He ordered them from the Connecting Threads folks. Over the years I haven't had any problems. Wonder what they were talking about: brown spots? Input, I need input :) (does anybody remember the robot No. 5 Alive?)

Hahahaha me too!! We sure are a cynical bunch lol :D:D

I had never given a 2nd thought about the fabric, yarn, stitchery, Beanie Babies etc. I have stored in plastic bins until I read this. It kind of scared me because just this week end while at a craft store another customer was looking for cardboard type boxes to store things under her bed and was all panicky because all she could find was plastic and she DID NOT want plastic - I didn't ask her why. But I think I will just leave well enough alone and keep my "junk" in the plastic bins. I have had no problems so far.

Cotton is a natural fabric and needs to "breath", which is why you aren't supposed to store clothes in plastic either. That being said I store clothes and fabric in plastic all the time and have never had an issue.

Many of these 'old wives tales' began back before modern materials were manufactured. Therefore, I think that they may have been accurate at one time, but perhaps aren't any longer, as we've change the chemistry so much.

I do believe that fabrics need to breathe, as I've seen dry-rot and molds myself plenty of times on a wide variety of things, not just fabrics. Coming from TX, were there is a constant high humidity and very high heat, this may be our contributing factor (remember, it even gets in our walls here, if not cared for).

If you haven't had a problem to date, you probably won't. But, it's a choice that we each have to make - whether to believe these tales are viable in today's market, or not. And whether we're willing to take a chance :)

Debbie in Austin

P.S. Reminds me of the tale of sun fading...it can happen if you have older windows, and most are wise to avoid it, but since I have the 'newfangled' energy windows that don't let in those harmful rays, I've never seen any fading of my fabrics, threads, carpets or draperies...so it doesn't concern me in the least.

I wonder if the people who built the pyramids worried about the effects of erosion? I am making quilts, not pyramids, and if they don't last forever, it doesn't matter!
BTW - just went out to the garage, checked my vintage crochet and embroidery - in plastic, garage gets wet, dry humid, cold and they are all just fine. Well, they smell a bit dusty, but no spots!

I have fabric that has been in plastic tubs for nearly 11 years and it is still just fine. I have on occasion looked through the tubs so they haven't been sealed in there the whole time.

I store my fabric in plastic totes and have some in zip lock bags and no problems either

I put mine in plastic too and haven't had a problem. I wonder if the brown spots were from a mouse?

I, too, had fabrics in plastic bins for 20+ years--when I sorted them this summer they were absolutely like new--no smell, no mold, no nothing. Like many of the rest, I will continue to use them. I did buy special archive storage boxes for my 2 antique quilts, but one was appraised at $2500.00 so I thought it deserved its own storage box.

I read years ago that you should not feed your dogs from a plastic dish. There is a bleaching action going on, that is why their noses lighten up over time. Also, they might have changed the way they are made and that no longer applies.
You can always line those totes before storing fabric in them.