my hubby asked for one of my quilts to hang at his office- i gave him a black & white one i had finished- about 4 months later i stopped in and found a few of the strips of black background fabrics were very noticably faded- a couple gray- a couple a brown---i was quite upset- it was from the florescent lights- not the sun- i reclaimed the quilt-
and replaced it with one the fading would not be so---damaging
i think any light can cause problems - in my sewing room i have a roll up shade over my fabric shelves- i roll it up when i'm working- and drop it down when i leave the room

I agree, that sounds like a great idea.

I like the idea of a shade with flannel. Very clever. You definitely need to cover it with something. I made a large ironing board and covered it in fabric and it didn't take any time for it to fade. Really surprised me since it wasn't even in direct sun light.

I've read, with interest, all you thoughts and ideas. Thanks to you all! It's frustrating to realize that a piece has faded - when you thought you had it covered well. Very soon - I'm off to check and make sure my stash is as fade proof as I can make it.

The sun will damage your fabric. I had bookcase shelving for my fabric and had to throw a lot away and do some creative cutting on a lot of it. I got rid of them and bought cupboards to keep my fabric in. It works great, and protects the fabric. Fabric costs too much to let the sun damage. By the way, I live in Michigan, and the sun is not seen as often as in the warmer climates and I only have one window in my sewing room.
Sue

I store my fabric away from the windows. I suffered some damage awhile back. I have a closet and the rest is stored against a wall where no sun hits the material.

You could use the plastic with the UV coating. It reflects the sun back out instead of going thru it and you can see thru the plastic. It is the same thing as tinting car windows

I have the UV film on all of my windows and the highest % of blockage on the west windows where my sewing room is. I also keep my fabric in a closet and glass front cabinets that are tinted. You might try making curtains to cover your shelving - I've used this in the past and it worked great. P.S. use a light colored fabric for the curtains because it reflects heat.

I store mine away from all light, natural or flourescent. I lived in Arizona for a while and learned the hard way. If you use large bin or boxes, be sure to line with cotton muslin as another precaution against off-gases from plastic or acid from wood. Hope this helps.

Me either! LOL - but I think it I saw it was a nice day outside I'd want to be outside.