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QuilterMomOf3 10-04-2012 09:11 PM

LOL!! I to laugh about your 1st sentence, "I store my fabric in a lot of places, too little storage, or too much fabric???"

I use plastic gallon ice cream & butter buckets (run through the dishwasher 1st of course...), as well as plastic shoe boxes, pirouette cans, plastic filing boxes; OH, my fave so far is those large Enfamil GentlEase baby formula plastic storage containers!!!

Pretty much anything that comes to me free, or was originally used to store something else & is reusable!!

busy fingers 10-04-2012 11:49 PM

I store mine in plastic tubs with lids but I do make sure that the tubs are covered in heavy scrap fabric to stop "fade" happening through the plastic.

canuckninepatch 10-05-2012 03:11 AM


Originally Posted by Veronica (Post 5561096)
I fold my fabric with a 6x24 ruler and stacked by color on shelves in my sewing room.

I fold my fabric the same way and then store it on shelves that my husband built for me in the sewing room closet.

patricej 10-05-2012 04:12 AM

1 Attachment(s)
i store mine in stacking plastic drawers. i bought a few stacks at a time over the course of several months so i could move my fabs off the shelves where i had been keeping them.

i prefer the drawers because they keep the fabs clean, they don't fade along the folds, but i can still see what's in each drawer when i'm shopping my stash or reorganizing it. (because fabs come out and don't always go back in where they started. LOL)

JENNR8R 10-05-2012 04:20 AM

I put pieces that are a yard or more on clothes hangers in a closet. The smaller pieces are in a cardboard box on the closet floor.

Pieces2 10-05-2012 05:11 AM

Never store fabric in plastic bins, formaldhyde gasses will form. Fabric needs to breath, so which ever way you decide to store your fabric keep this in mind. I store my fabric in metal wire bins attached to the wall in my sewing room closet.
These were purchased from Lowes, easy to install. They work great and gives me great storage and easy access.

Geri B 10-05-2012 05:39 AM

To solve the problem of dust on fab stored on open shelves...I purchased clear plastic on roll from JoAnn's and just like in the grocery stores in front of open freezer, I stapled on 2/4, nailed to edge of top self and then cut into about 15" strips from floor to wood strip, can get my hand on the shelves and see fab but keeps most of dust out......

ShirlinAZ 10-05-2012 05:51 AM


Originally Posted by Tartan (Post 5561605)
I believe that the ruler method is used in place of the mini bolt boards. For the mini bolt- you fold the fabric again (selvages to the factory fold edge)so that it measures about 11 inches wide. You start rolling/ folding the length of the fabric around the mini bolt until it is all wound on like the fabric bolts at the store but smaller. In the ruler method you use a 6 X 12 or longer ruler in place of the mini bolt board. The difference is when you have the fabric all folding/rolled around the ruler you carefully pull the ruler out and store the folded fabric on the shelf. Those who ruler fold, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Good description Tartan. This is the way I do mine and I then stand it on edge in dresser drawers. I used to lay it in the drawers until I learned this method here on QB. Found out I could store twice as much in the same space! Oh, drat! Had to go shopping to get enough fabric to keep a partial drawer standing up. LOL Anyway, it works great. I keep FQs, strips, squares, and UFO blocks in the stackable plastic drawers from WalMart. I still keep anything that is not quilt cotton in plastic tubs, but I don't have much of that anymore. I don't like cardboard; it has to many spaces for critters, especially cockroaches which love to eat the glue.

Anyway, as someone else said, the main thing is to keep your fabric out of direct sunlight and reasonably protected from dust.

anita211 10-05-2012 06:28 AM

Hi,

I have about 50 clear plastic shoe boxes that houses a whole lot of fabric. Some of that fabric has been there 20 years, and is still very useable. I keep fat quarters in boxes cut down so I can see the fabric, and baskets for jelly rolls and other precuts.

rj.neihart 10-05-2012 07:11 AM

I store my fabric two different ways. The smaller pieces, those I can fold into a square, go into a small bookshelf, stacked in as close to color coordination I can get them. The larger pieces of fabric are placed onto cardboard strips - I took boxes and cut out wide enough pieces so I could fold my fabric over each piece. Then I put those upright, into a large book case. I can see the colors, fabric choices are quicker, and I feel organized!


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