Storing Folded Fabric Question
 

I would like to reorganize my fabrics by folding them as I now have tons of plastic bins taking up a lot of space. I don't have time to sew much, so I am worried about dust because the fabric would be on shelves of open book cases. I could put a fabric drape over it , I suppose. What do some of you do? Thank you ahead for any ideas . Also, there was a tutorial awhile ago about using small cardboard to fold fabric. Does anyone remember it? Thanks so much.

I have my fabric folded on shelves inside the closet and dust isn't an issue. Pieces 1 yard and up I wrap on the cardboard comic book boards. Pieces over 1/4 yard I ruler fold. FQs and scraps I have in clear plastic bins.

To fold, I lay the fabric out as it's folded on the bolt. Fold in half again so the fold and selvedges meet, wrap on the board (or ruler fold). I use a 4" ruler on the smaller pieces. You don't NEED the boards, you could just ruler fold all of it. I'd use a larger ruler for larger pieces. Maybe a 6-8" or so.

I folded mine on a 6" ruler, smoothed and tried to keep the ends even. Some larger ones I folded like on the bolts then folded in half - cut end to cut end. Then rolled with the ruler, looks like bolts. Smaller yardage I folded in half, like on the bolt, then folded in half again, then used the ruler. Looks like smaller bolts. I lay these stacked on wire shelves in a closet with doors.

My stash is on comic boards and folded in clear plastic with exception to the much smaller scraps. My comic board and some larger fabrics (on bolts) sit on shelves out in the open. I have an old but pretty table cloths folded neatly length wise that cover my fabric when not in use.

My fabric is ruler folded(4 inch) and put into drawers, depending on the background color. Since your fabric is going on open book cases, instead of a fabric drape over the book case, I think it would keep the dust of better if you covered the shelves individually.

Because of dust and dog hair mine are stored in clear plastic bins, easy to see what is in there much of the time and when it get some out and "play" with it i refold it. House is air conditioned so not really humid, but lots of sugar sand dust.

Thank you all for the great advice and for the information on the tutorials. I will for sure check them out. I had totally forgotten that the cardboard used by some of you is from comic books. Can I just go to a comic book store and ask for it? I will try the ruler method many of you have mentioned. Thanks again!!!! This board is the greatest!

i have my fabrics folded on open shelving, but I have a sheet over the shelves.
I am going to refold and use tin foil over cardboard as i have a 90's book
that says tin foil doesn't hurt fabrics.
Refolding keeps creases from setting in.:)

Most of my fabric is folded and organized by color in a dresser drawer, front to back. When there's plenty of fabric in there, they stay neat w/o a bin. When the pile of one color gets small,I put the fabric in plastic shoeboxes in the drawer.

I aslo buy sheet of styrofoam at the dollar store and cut (with rotary) into 9x12 pieces with a narrow piece left over.
I wrap yardage around the 9x12 pieces and line them up like books on the shelves. Dust hasn't seem to bother them when they're snuggled up next to each other.

Try to avoid exposure to light - to avoid fading on the crease lines.
I cover the stacks on the bed with a sheet.

I keep smaller cuts of fabric and fat quarters in plastic boxes on shelves on the wall so they are up off the floor. Larger cuts of fabric are on hangers in the closet since I have a dedicated sewing room with a large closet.

If you live in a large enough city, they may have enough to sell to you. I ordered mine from Amazon. as I do not live near anything.

Alaskasunshine's, is the method I have been using since she posted her tutorial, a works very well for me. I have IKEAs 16 cube bookshelf. I have 2 pull out plastic drawers for misc and a fabric cube for scraps and the rest is used for the folded fabric easy to see what I am looking for. I have a quilt top hanging over the open end, to prevent sunlight and dust from getting in. When I want in I just flip it up. :)

Judy in Phx, AZ

I like to hang a roll up blind over the front of the shelves. It is covered with flannel and is also a design wall.

Yes, just go to the comic book supplies store (if you have one) or on line. They come in different sizes, and different brands have different dimensions. Try to get the 8 1/2 x 11 for longer pieces. The guy at the comic book store here said they sell more for fabric storage than comic book storage.

Not that I'm this organized...or ever will be, but I found this very interesting: http://www.incolororder.com/2011/01/...g-folding.html

DUST isn't so much a worry as light should be. Light will fade and ruin your fabric. Make sure it's kept out of the light and make that a priority. I've inherited so much fabric from quilters that has been damaged by the sun.

I have fabric stored in several places. For 2 or less yards I have an over the door shoe caddy that I roll pieces up and put can put several pieces in each pocket. Use this for things I want quick access to. I have three large milk crate type crates that are stackable and the bottom one has rollers. This is in the corner next to my book shelves and I toss a sheet over the top to protect from dust.

I have some nice boxes that I got frrom work when I worked in a commercial kitchen. to lock shut. They have a lid that folds over and tabs that go in slots I keep special fabrics or projects in thses, use marker on the outside and stack on shelves.

I have a roll around fabric laundry sorter with three bins. I put fabric for a currenr project quilt in it. I can sort the fabrics that go together for the blocks and back. I can be rolled to where I am working. Or I can put back fabric that hasn't been cut yet for that project and know where it is. I keep a basket by my recliner with ziploc bags with cut pieces in. Different bag for each fabric . I keep another bag with the thread for the project in the basket

I found the comic book boards to be rather flimsy and difficult to put in and take out. They are expensive, too!

Mine is folded on shelves in an enclosed amoire. (stuffed armoire! wish I had not sold its mate when I moved from Austin TX 7 years ago!!)

Small pieces (less than fat quarter-more than 2" square) are stored in clear totes on open shelves in amostly darkened room.

Jan in VA

I bought large pieces of the foam board at the dollar tree and it will cut up into 4 pieces to use for folding and holding your fabric, and I have it in cabinets, by color, like books on a shelf...easy to see what you have and to get it out..the problem I have is it is crowded in there.........and I need to do better on putting the same size pieces together...

here is a link to the tutorial
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...om-t43871.html

My BF has some foamcore board that he purchase for mounting photos onto, and he isn't using it. So I took it to use for my fabric. It may be a solution for folding fabric and have it stiff enough to stand upright like mini bolts and be a cheaper alternative to the comic book boards. I don't know where he got it, or how much he paid for it as we have had it around for a few years. Another alternative that I didn't see mentioned in this thread is matboard. The stuff used to mat photos would be acid free, so it should be okay to put inside our fabric and not harm it. It can be purchased at Michaels or JoAnns, in large sheets, and you can use a coupon for it. I have cut matboard with my rotary cutter before, so it would be easy to cut to the size you need.

I fold my on the comic book boards and then store those in plastic bins based on color..