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Organizing the stash?

Organizing the stash?

Old 03-22-2020, 06:20 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Rff1010 View Post
I've been keeping most of the stuff in color order but making some sets where the fabrics obviously go together.

But I've been wrapping the pieces around 5x5 squares of cereal box cardboard so they stand upright and I can see the edge...and I'm out of cardboard! Quick kids! Eat more!
HaHa..thanks for the chuckle!
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Old 03-23-2020, 05:30 PM
  #22  
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Toogie, i like the way your plastics look. Thats a good idea.

Not sure i will ever get to that point of organization!!!
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Old 03-24-2020, 04:23 AM
  #23  
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Originally Posted by Rff1010 View Post
I've been keeping most of the stuff in color order but making some sets where the fabrics obviously go together.

But I've been wrapping the pieces around 5x5 squares of cereal box cardboard so they stand upright and I can see the edge...and I'm out of cardboard! Quick kids! Eat more!
I do the same. Some have been wrapped that way for 8+ years. Just used it and still good, I also use a straight pin in them. No rust issues. I do use a dehudmidifer (sp.).
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Old 03-24-2020, 05:46 AM
  #24  
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thanks for the link
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Old 03-24-2020, 07:47 AM
  #25  
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As you read there are numerous ways to organize your stash. As you can tell from everyone's responses it's really an individual choice. For me, I have to see it or I forget about it. I am lucky enough to have a nice walk-in closet and stack the majority of my fabric. I love to look at my fabric for inspiration so most of it is by color & print.
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Old 06-19-2020, 03:12 PM
  #26  
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Default Thinking of adding comic book boards soon.

Originally Posted by SusieQOH View Post
First of all no fires

I bought comic boards on Amazon. Got a bunch for a few bucks.
I like to coordinate by color because I can see at a glance what I need. It works well for me.

I see some pretties there!!!
Susie Q OH, how did the boards work out for your yardage? I only have half yards to like 3 yards for most cuts. Would that work? Also, how tall are they? I'm wondering if they might fit standing up in a Michaels' cube.
Thank you
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Old 08-29-2020, 03:33 PM
  #27  
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The important thing to remember is when you are looking for somethin, you have a pretty good idea where it is. If you need a specific piece of yellow batik, do you look in batiks or yellows? Doesn't really matter as long as you can easily find it. Beyond that you want it to look reasonably presentable and be able to work and live with your system.

Whatever you come up with will probably evolve over time.
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Old 08-30-2020, 07:32 AM
  #28  
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Most of my fabrics are ruler quilted (or guesstimated) and sorted by color, then put on shelves. Those that are multicolored are on a different shelf. Large pieces are in their own stack. Big plastic boxes (about 7" deep) on another shelf are used for specialty fabrics like taffeta and satin, and odd/unique fabrics with sequins, etc.

I used to go to swap meets where vendors bought leftovers from manufacturers and sold them for $2/yard. Sometimes much less if you didn't mind going through piles of fabrics and trims on the floor. It was great fun and now I am grateful that I have a stash because I've been able to make art quilts that needed to get out of my mind and on to fabric.

As an aside, some of those fabrics from the floor became award winning wearable art, photographed and written about in sewing magazines. I've had judges and teachers who would buy only cotton, but I'm not a fabric snob and, sometimes with interfacing, could make "junk fabrics" work.

I also use plastic shoe boxes or sweater boxes to store supplies & info from classes I've taken, and sometimes I label them. I don't always use labels because not knowing what's exactly in a box forces me to look through them and I always enjoy that.

It took a long time to get everything sorted, but when I go into my studio now, it gives me feelings of peace and excitement at the same time. There's wonder there, too, because when I started to sew, not even into my teens, the only fabric I had was what I could buy with money I earned from babysitting.

I feel so lucky, even more so in times of Covid, to be able to escape real life when I go into my sewing room.
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Old 08-30-2020, 10:09 AM
  #29  
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Since we are all think differently, I would ask myself 'how do I want to see my fabric?" To me, it is all in how you see your fabric. For instance, do you see your fabric as:
Color
Design: stripes, flowers, dots, geometric, etc.
Dark, medium or light fabric?
If you have just a little stash, I would do it by color. If you have a lot of it, like I do, I stopped using the color method and started putting my stash into types of fabrics like: dots, stripes, geometric, floral, holidays, solid colors, panels, etc. I found this easier to put sets of fabrics together when making a quilt.
All the small pieces, I would put in shoe boxes with similar widths and sizes.
I hope this doesn't sound too confusing, as I said, we all think differently when putting quilts fabric together.
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Old 09-01-2020, 05:58 AM
  #30  
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I sort by colors. I find that many times the fabric store will fold up the fabrics purchased so that the back side of the fabric is what shows when folded. I open the piece up and refold it so that the top side of the fabric shows.

~ C
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