Quiltingboard Forums - How Do You Store Your Fabric?

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Love the Goodwill find!

I'm in the process of putting my fabric on magazine boards purchased at a local comic book store (100/$10). AND they're acid free. I'm still struggling with the whole sorting thing though. Hopefully I'll get some good ideas here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by roxie623 (Post 4653191)

I have mine folded by color, theme, & size on bookcases. My problem is that there is no cover on them I thought of using clear shower curtains hung to cover but dont know how it will look.

On one of the other posts people were talking about going to Lowe's and buying canvas painter's tarps. They said that once they're washed they soften up and are pretty cheap. Just a thought.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4dogs (Post 4679456)

I have mine stacked by color too.........the problem I see is, when I want a piece and its ALWAYS on the bottom, and it messes the others up, when I go to pull it out..........so how do you figure out some other way? I like the idea about using the boards and stacking sideways like the quilt shop.....but my shelves are deep, so that would be a lot of wasted space........guess I need more shelves, inside each cabinet. Thanks for all your suggestions, makes me want to fix mine better.

If you use a magazine or cardboard and slip it in under the piece of fabric you want it will slide right out. You can put it back that way too.

Is magazine board a cardboard? How much do they usually cost?

Quote:

Originally Posted by butterjoy (Post 4726520)

Is magazine board a cardboard? How much do they usually cost?

They're an acid free cardboard. They're really pretty sturdy and cost about $10 for a package of 100. Since they're acid free they won't damage your fabric. I did feel a little silly going into a comic book store - but hey I was on a mission. They have different sizes - comic books, magazines, etc. - so you can get the size that will work best for you. There's also a video on YouTube that shows you how to fold your fabric.

I get the free cardboard bolts from Joann's as they just have to carry thm out to the dumpster anyway. I usually get a big garbage bag full. I then cut them into 4 equal pieces and fold my fabric in half and wrap it around the board. since fabric came on it originally it should still be good. Plus it's FREE!!! I just have to take the time to cut and then fold and wrap.

I no longer stash in the formal sense of the notion. I used to be an Assistant Manager at Fabricland and of course had a stash that would rival any stash in the world. Then DH and I moved. I teased him about moving all of his fans (the man does not do heat well) and he teased me about my fabric boxes. After the move for some reason I realized a few things. 1) that if I got hit by a bus DH would be saddled (lovingly so) with a dog and 3 cats that he never wanted but had supportively accepted in his life; and 2) he would also be left with a hoarder's collection of fun stuff in my sewing room. Now I am not planning on going anywhere but I am married to the most wonderful DH and apparently I needed a brick to hit me in the head to realize how my habits and life would affect him. So, my solution....

I sewed up my stash and since then I only purchase fabric for specific projects. I do have several projects in the bullpen and I organize my fabrics by project. I have a series of plastic tubs that each project goes into for seasoning. When I finish one project and if I have yardage left I recycle the yardage into other projects that I might not have all the fabric for yet. If I have scraps left over I trim them into either squares, strips or triangles for inclusion in scrappy projects. I only allow myself two scrappy bins before they have to be made and emptied.

thanks KSDot for the idea of putting a magazine under / over the piece I am trying to get out.......... I will try that.....boy, what wonderful ideas we can all get from this board.......I LOVE it...............

Quote:

Originally Posted by np3 (Post 3094031)

You will get a lot of different answers here. And you can use the search for even more ideas.

I have learned that if I buy a collection or coordinates for a specific quilt, that I need to keep them together with the pattern and tie them with a ribbon. Otherwise I might use a piece that I can't replace when I am ready to make that quilt or project.

My "stash" I group by theme, juvenile, holiday, etc. Others will sort by color. You need to figure out what works for you.

I'm actually in the process of screening, purging and (re)grouping yardage (including fat quarters), but the system will be the same. Like np3;3094031, I also bundle fabrics for a specific project with a ribbon or ziplock bag (with front-to-back holes punched in it for the fabric to breathe better) if some or most of the pieces are alread cut; I also tuck a COPY of the pattern photo underneath the ribbon tie so I won't forget what I had planned. [I know that's never happened to anyone else....]

Fat quarters and yardage up to 1 yard are stored in my floor-to-ceiling melamine cabinets (no leaching of woods into the fabric), either in drawers (like sock drawers), or pull-out shelves. Fabric types are clustered together (1930's, civil war, batiks, kids, novelty, baby/infant, holiday, solids, etc. I have a separate drawer for precut shapes and appliques (hexagons, diamonds, tumblers, butterflies, etc.) BUT fabrics that can go with any of these fabric types are in the center cluster of drawers.

I have three pull-out shelves for projects that need finishing, mostly queen quilt tops, because the design isn't "done" yet, regardless of the pattern; I'm able to go back to these and knock them off thoughtfully. In one case I had to wait 3 years for the right fabric to use as a broderie perse solution to a not-successful color selection for a Yellow Brick Road quilt top.

What's gotten REALLY out of hand for me have been the scraps, but I finally settled on a system of how to cut them so that I'll actually do something fairly quick and easy; since a lot of the work of any quilt is cutting the fabric into shapes (rectangles, squares, strips), I took a look at what patterns I found attractive and made a master list of those precut components for several types of blocks for scrap quilts. My husband has enthusiastically volunteered (really, he did!) to help me after the first of the year with this scrap-taming task: grab a piece from one of the five copy paper boxes of scraps, cut it into the size and shape of choice (no overthinking!), sort into shapes (then by size) for sorting into fabric types (1930's, batiks, holiday, etc.), then by color. I won't get stuck with overthinking with someone else who loves quilts working beside me; I also like the idea of our doing something together like this. These new precuts will be stored in plastic shoe boxes. Then, using the Leaders & Enders approach, I'll just start knocking off block component construction (9- & 4-patches, half- and quarter- square triangles) to grab-and-go to the design wall to lay out those scrap quilts.

THE BEST PART OF SCRAP TAMING: FIGURING OUT WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE "SHAVINGS" & TRIMMINGS! Our guild is now collecting them from every quilter to use as stuffing for anti-ouch pouches (these go between the upper arm and side of women who have had breat surgery), Paul Newman's turtle pillows, stuffing for the bears our guild gives to charity, stuffing for Me dolls (dolls made for children undergoing surgery), pin cushions and such for fundraisers. Several of us admitted we hate throwing those shavings and trimmings away, so now we have something concrete to do with them, and our collective efforts can really make a difference.