I have been quilting small quilts for my children and grandchildren and have a nice selection of fabric stash, but no orginazation. Any ideas? Right now I have all the fabric in clear containers, but they are all combined. Would appreciate any ideas.

I sort by color, type, and size. I have a huge basket for scraps, shelves for fat quarters and yardage, and I beg, borrow and steal the cardboard bolts for yardage over 3 yards, which I store under my sewing/cutting table.

When I group my fabrics together as to color, I generally will separate out all the flannels and homespuns as well as specific holiday fabrics, and they all get their own stack. I also have a stack of fabrics that don't really fit any category, such as prints that have a multitude of colors.

I agree with Loretta about doing it to fit your space. Some people really like to use the heavy plastic containers, and some don't. I prefer to have mine out where I can flip through them easily. I'm lazy that way. :P

Sorry I can't be much help here :oops: . I have yet to get control of the stash :shock: . I keep trying buy that bad boy keeps winning :lol:

I'm still new but I was able to get cardboard boxes that fit my shelves from the local fabric store. I have them my colour. But my flannel and novelty are separate. I'm goning to take a tip from this thread and put my Christmas ones separate as well. Under my cutting table I have a clear plastic tote that I put my scraps into.

Wow, we are a band of organizers, aren't we? I do the same, I group by color, size, type. I have each holiday in a different container or box and I keep my scraps in two containers for sizes. One stays by my sewing table and the other in a closet out of sight. (What he doesn't know doesn't aggravate me.

I have a square basket that I keep my "tool's" in and different small bags I've made to keep markers, rulers, etc. in so that I can keep the basket semi-organized. I have the rotary cutters and scissors in their own holders by color so that I know immediately which is which.

NOW all I need is a maid so that I never have to clean or cook, I can just quilt all day long......
:roll:

I'm with you on the maid. As long as the person doesn't come into my 'room' and touch any of the stuff in there. I'd never be able to find anything :)

Oh, no, quilting stuff is off-limits! Wouldn't it be nice to be able to sit and quilt without thinking about the next meal, the floors needing cleaning, the furniture needing dusting, the beds needing changing, the laundry to be done??? Oh, who am I kidding, when I get into a bit of quilting THAT's all that is on my mind. Sooooo relaxing!!!!!!!

:wink:

I try to keep fabric that I have picked up for future projects stacked together and tied with a ribbon, that way I don't use it by mistake. The rest of the "I just couldn't resist it fabric" if piled by color in my small antique hutch. The closed in bottom is used for scrap bins.
I have recently hired a cleaning lady who insists that my quilting room "needs a good dusting and floor mopping to get rid of the dust bunnies". So this week I finally let her in with my supervision. I lifted piles and she dusted, we moved tables and cabinets, and I guess it was a good thing because I found 2 rulers and my tiny rotary cutter. So I'm good for another year before the dust bunnies attack again. I guess we're all protective of our space, I had to wait until my kids moved out, before that we ate in the living room when I had a project going because I took over the kitchen.

Good luck organizing. I've been working all day on my fabric stash. Im stacking it very neatly folded on shelves. I had it all in plastic containers but didn't like it because I couldn't see what I had. Now I will be able to see all of my fabric. Hopefully that way I will use more of it. I have the plastic drawers for all of my scraps. I try to keep then as organized as possible. I cut what I can into strips and keep the different sizes of strips seperated into seperate drawers. The small pieces are in a seperate drawer. I think I will probably keep my Christmas fabric on a plastic container. I also keep all of my flannel seperate. Its going to drive me crazy before I get it all done and organized.

Judy in Ohio

Rubbermaid totes by color, style (Christmas, 1930's, watercolor, etc), and fiber (I have a lot of dressmaking fabrics, too)