I am taking the next few days to sort out quilting fabric, templates, threads, books, etc. I truly have no less that 9
huge totes filled with fabric alone that needs to be re-organized. I live in a tiny house and my sewing room is the dining room table. I am first getting all the totes unloaded and sorting by color except for Christmas, novelty, large backing fabric, scraps & childrens fabric. Then all others will just be sorted by color.
Anyway, any ideas on sorting are most welcome.
I have waaay too much fabric. Some is going to be donated to a local shelter or something.

My sewing room is small and has glass doors that look into my living room. For me, too much is when it won't fit into the closet in there. I don't like for the room to look messy from the other parts of the house. But that's just me.

If you have so much "stuff" that looking at it makes you vaguely unhappy... then you probably have too much.

So then, the key is... do you know a place to give it to, where it will be used and appreciated?

If so... let it go!

This year I decided that I wanted to "travel through the world a little lighter" and gave away all of my crafty patterns and a whole lot of fabric. And... the people I gave them to were very happy to get the stuff and I feel a lot lighter for having done so.

It's been several months since I did that, and I don't regret having done it.

Bottom line... if it doesn't make you happy, why have it around?

I have somewhat the same problem. This is what I am doing.
I received two jelly rolls recently in a fabric swap. They contain all kinds of colors and patterns. True scrap jelly rolls. I have been doing some tube quilts recently so I started sorting them into reasonable combinations and making tube blocks. Amazing how good they look. So my plan is to start cutting those smaller pieces into 2.5" strips and making tube blocks and give them to the guild for their Chairity projects. It keeps me occupied and produces worthwhile pieces that someone can use. It is also a good exercise in creativity as the excitement builds as the blocks come together into very pleasing designs working with fabrics tht I didn't know what to do with.
So sort those that you might not use and start "stripping"

I love my stash but if it was too much for me to enjoy I would start giving away some. I only have so much room and I don't want to be overwhelmed by fabric. I have a lot of totes too, but so far it works for me.

If any of you has any to give away, I would gladly take them. I'm still using clothing instead of fabric. I don't have money to spend for fabric.

Here is a good article from Quiltville on this same subject.
http://quiltville.com/stashing.shtml

I think it is too much if you look at it and feel uninspired and all the stuff makes you unhappy.

Sounds like you are on the right track with sorting, organizing and clearing some stuff out.

Right now I have an awesome studio but 1 1/2 yrs ago I was in a mobile home with lots of people and also sewed on the dining table. I did the bin thing too and it worked fairly well. Maybe keep the number of bins to what you feel you can manage/store comfortably and clear stuff out of bins in order to fit it in the bins that you really want.

I thank all of you for your wonderful suggestions. Yes, I am going to really just take the whole weekend and get my "quilting life" in order. I will be on & off all weekend if anyone has more suggestions. thanks

Why don't you take some of your larger pieces and piece some backs together? I just used my 12 1/2" ruler and cut squares and pieced them into a scrappy back for a scrap quilt. Now the quilt is two sided. A great way to use what you have and not buy new. You can always cut smaller squares if you have smaller pieces.

Any fabric that you like the colors alot, why not cut into strips for rag rugs? You can crochet one in front of the tv in a few nights...

Cathay, question some of my stash is smaller blocks pre-cut by others...can i sew the blocks together to make strips? then crochet?

I don't see why not, a bunch of different fabric/colors would look cool, but seams are a little "lumpy" for lack of a better word! When crocheting, it is like going over a speed bump!
That is why I always cut the total length of fabric...

Let me know if you decide to do!!

I am working on one that the material was 50cents on red tag sale at JoAnns right now...bunch of yucky flowers, but colors are wonderful and it is turning out nice!

good luck!

Never toooo much :!: :!: And if you EVER think its too much it can come live at my house :!:

you can never have too much fabric. :)

I would deffinatly post some of your fabric on here and share with those who are not as blessed as you with lots of fabric. just go into the pay it forward and leave a post you can do it almost any way. people can pay postage or you can. you could also sell some of it real cheep so that you can then get something else nice with the money that you get from selling. it is really up to you how you want to shluff off some of the old fabric to make way for new. if you are unhappy with how much you have then feel better by sending it to a new home that will love it.

I was up to 10 large totes when I retired last year. I started donating and selling those that I didn't think I would ever use, even though I still loved them.

I'm down to 7 totes now and starting back through them again. I get excited about them all over again and know I need to use them. If I don't get excited, it goes into a pile to be cycled out.

Good idea! Thank you, Holice.

Do you have pictures? Would love to see what you are doing.

what means: too much fabric. no comprehende :mrgreen:

If I EVER, decide to downsize, this is what I will do. I want to know that my near-to-my-hearts, will definitely go to other lovers!!! :XD:

I too, am a bit overwhelmed and in a funk due to too much stuff. I have totes in the garage, the man's cave, sewing room on the floor, in the closet and in the spare bedroom. Wow, when you spell it all out...holey mackeral. I have apparel fabric also. I recently told my niece, whom is learning to sew to come and take whatever she wanted. She told grandma she felt bad taking Aunt Ronnie's stuff. See, can't give it away.

Sorry to just burst in your thread, but I was reading this and wondered if you could please post a pic of what the crochet looks like when done. I can't seem to picture it in my mind and would love to know what it looks like because it sounds like fun!

My rule? When fabric is stored in the bathroom(s), you have too much. I'm still way short of that point. :D

I love the article thanks for sharing.. Jan

Sounds to me like you need to start sewing some quilts and use up some of your stash. And not buy anymore fabric until you use up the fabric you have. :thumbup:

after my girls left home i took one of the bedrooms and made it into a sewing room,,it isn't large but it is full,,,,i still have 1 bedroom left ,beside ours, for company

If you are going to give some of your fabric away, you can send it to me and I would really apperciate it. I am on a fixed income and don't have much money to spend on fabric. I love making quilts, and giving them away to friends and family, I have only 2 for myself that I have made.

Do husbands count? I'm a little ticked off at mine at the moment!

If you love it, keep it. The rest, sell it or donate it.

Good morning to all! Well I paired down and i am getting rid of 2 totes of fabric trim & patterns I will be posting in the days to come. All very inexpensive and some free. All I ask is that you pay postage to your area. I will be labeling my offerings "Cajamk Stash" followed by a number. If you are interested PM me with your address to include zipcode and I will quote for shipping. I will accept Paypal, check and money order. Note: I do work long days Mon & Tues so don't fret if it takes me awhile to get back in touch.

I always thought I had just enough fabric. I rarely bought fabric just because I liked it or without a specific project in mind. Well, then something that didn't fit into my fabric collecion happened to me...in February, I inherited a huge (and I mean HUGE)quilter's stash. She passed away in October and I work with her daughter-in-law. She gave me all of the fabric, the unfinished projects and about 500 books. After I let my friends and my sister pick through the stuff I was ambivalent about, I spent about 6 weeks sorting into bins. Now I have about 25 sweater sized bins sorted by color. I do have a few sorted by type, like Asian, Batiks, Chidren and novelty, Christmas, bling, etc. In addition, I have about 60 bolts that I am slowly rolling onto "The Fabric Organizer" and will further sort those into bins as I can afford the organizers. Don't know if that answers your question, but my husband has firmly told me that I don't need to shop for fabric for a very long time. We will see...sometimes the fabric....it "speaks" to me and calls me...."you must have me", "your life won't be the same unless you buy a yard of me"......

There is never enough of too much fabric, but I guess that really depends on your space. ;)I have a bedroom just for my sewing and quilting. My dresser in the closet is full so I started plastic containers and label even thow I can see thru them and used milk crates zip tied together for extra shelving. I stack the smaller containers in them.

oh how i would love one room devoted to my crafts and quilting. but my extra room is an office for my home business. but i am thinking of the bureau in the closet in my office to store some of my favorite fabric and notions.

I sort and store mine by theme:

* 1930s Repros
* 1800s/Civil War Repros
* Batiks
* Kids prints
* Holiday fabrics
* Whites/Solids
* Prepackaged (Jelly Rolls/Layer Cakes, etc.)
* Kits

It was the only way I could make sense of it all and find something when I wanted it.

I've been saving crumbs and small strips to use for paper-piecing and applique. Almost nothing is too small. But recently my little drawers were I keep them are beginning to be stuffed to the gills. I was thinking of bagging up some of it and taking it to my guild. Some of the women are always happy with every bit of fabric they get. We had a speaker in who made the cutest bags from the tiniest bits of fabric. She laughed about going to retreats and classes and cleaning out the stuff others threw into the trash. She said she could use anything larger than one inch.

First of all what kind of home buss? I sort mine by color in a dresser with a label on the drawer and in plastic containers see thru. Other plastic containers that you cant see thru but thats for all differant strips rolled up like jelly roll.

Also check with local churches or quilt shops or even a senior center. They may know of groups in your area that accept donations for making charity quilts. Just a thought.

My sentiments exactly - unless it is cheap or ugly - or worse - both.
Judi

I just recently completely reorganized my quilting room. I had all of my fabric sorted by color but that included scraps and larger pieces. This wasn't helpful when I started looking for fabrics to make a quilt. So I pulled out everything 1/2 yard and over. sorted it by color and ruler-folded it. All of this is in my Ethan Allen cabinetry I got from my Mom.. Then I took all the smaller pieces and sorted them by color and they are in one of those hanging storage units you get a Bed,Bath and Beyond. I also use this unit to store zip lock bags that contain unfinished projects. (I have way too many because of this board: I see something, then run to my sewing room to try out the technique...once I play with it..it ends up in a baggie and I have no idea what or if I will ever do anything with those pieces.) The thing about having a large stash (and mine is small compared to some I have seen here) is that it affords me the opportunity to share with others without regretting it. I am blessed that for 3 years I haven't had to buy much material since I do mainly quilting for my church (Prayer Quilts) so I get a lot of donations of fabric so the stash keeps growing. I think "too much" is when you spend more than you can afford. Good luck with your organization. I found it was invigorating to have mine organized.