Wire shelving units
 

I am sorting and purging to (finally) organize my sewing studio. I have begun winding my fabrics on the comic boards. Some of my wire shelves have the grid configured so that the mini-bolts can fall through the cracks. I checked Amazon and shelf liners for these shelves cost around $10 each. I am thinking of making fabric liners that tie in each corner. Right now I have more time (and fabric) than money. Has anyone here come up with an affordable solution to this problem?

I'm with Tartan only because I think that the fabric might tend to slide when pulling boards in and out. A folded piece (double layer - fold to the front of cube)of brown paper bag or freezer paper probably would work too, while saving pennies.

I agree with Tartan. I think the weight of the boards would push through the fabric liner. The dollar store is a good place to pick up organizing items, like small plastic containers, etc.

How about using rubber shelf liners found at WalMart? I would think it could keep them from falling thru.

I have wire shelves in my pantry and things tend to fall through the bottom. I bought waffle weave place mats at the dollar store. They fit perfectly and keep things from tilting and slipping in my overcrowded pantry.

I have the wire shelving from Sam's. There is a firm sheet of plastic that covers the bottom of the shelving. Would something like that help?

Pat

I ruler fold my fabrics, mostly large yardages and stack them on my wire shelves. works for me. I stack small bolts too.

This was really timely as I have just purchased some wire shelves for my sewing room. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions.

I use sheets of plastic canvas on my wire shelving. They can be found at any fabric or craft store, are very inexpensive, and if you need more stability you can tie them onto the shelves using scraps of yarn or ribbon. Those little sheets are very handy to have around! :)

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. Please keep them coming. I made a fabric liner from some raincoat vinyl backed nylon lined with denim. The fit was wrong. I didn't leave enough room for the corners where the uprights go through. It took almost an hour, so back to the drawing board. I did order 4 shelf liners from Amazon. If they are amazing, maybe I'll "bite the bullet" and buy more. I haven't been to the dollar store yet to look at placemats and foam board. The plastic canvas may work, too, and I will also try the doubled freezer paper suggestion. You all have such creative minds!!!

Not sure how big the baskets are but would a plastic notebook cover cut to size work? They are cheap and probably on clearance at the office supply stores.

They make those thin plastic cutting mats. You might be able to cut those to work. About $4.00 for 4 of them at Wally World. Just another suggestion.

Use cardboard
 

If your really short on money. Use cardboard. Cut it to fit the size you need. You can always go to the grocery store or walmart and get boxes free that you can cut up.

I have wire shelving units I bought at Bed Bath & Beyond. I used the plastic file folders, cut them to size of the shelf, punched holes in corners with hole punch, then zip tied to the wire shelf. You get two pieces per folder and the slickness of the plastic does not grab the fabric when removing. If you having the long shelving the plastic smooth shelving liner would also work, again zip tie the corners.

I use cardboard cut to fit. Sturdy, cheap.

This is what I 1st thought of to.

I went to the local picture frame shop and asked for boards that were cut-out from the center of the matts [they were free] then cut to measure for my shelves. Laid them down and they work great.

I would cover the cardboard with thinner fabric, and use the denim/vinyl for a picnic quilt : ) free fun.

you can cover cardboard with tin foil and their will be no acid to bother your fabric.
Learned about tin foil from one of my old quilting books! :)

I have some left over laminate flooring, works great. If you don't have any try buying some vinyl or flooring from maybe $ general or family $. wouldn't be expensive.

You all really came through for me. We found some thin, painted paneling at Home Depot. I can get 5 shelf liners out of each piece $13). So that's the way I'm probably going. It will be fairly quick and nice and smooth with no seams. If I cover them with foil they'd also be very bright. The 4 shelf liners I bought at Amazon are also very nice. Maybe I'll sell something(s) and buy enough of them to do all my fabric shelves. Thank you all for the great ideas. When my room is in order, I'll publish pictures of my "new" and much improved space.

yippee! more pics :)

How about buying a remnant of clear vinyl from JoAnn's? I would buy the thickest one so that it is really stable.

Well, I broke down and ordered a total of 12 shelf liners. The first four I received were just so nice that I wasn't going to be happy with anything else. Some things are just worth it. Besides, I was feeling like rewarding myself for working so hard on this project! The room will not be picture-worthy for awhile, but I do promise to post pictures of my "new" space and all my hard work! Thanks, again. I am so excited to get this done, but realistically, I have set a goal for the sorting, releasing, re-organization, and re-decorating to be complete by September 1.

What about shelf liner or contact paper ( the sticky sort you can put anywhere)? You'll definitely need something the fabric can slide on and I think the rubber stuff might not do that for you. If you do wind up using your fabric and tying it at the corners, can you hit it with spray starch to stiffen it?

I think the fabric will slide just fine on the shelf liners I bought. I have 18" deep shelves and have set them up jutting into the room (think library bays) so that I have 2 rows of fabric with access on both sides.

Container store sells plastic shelf liners that fit the wire shelving from Sam's perfectly. Nothing falls through.

I agree! The liners are made to do the job and look nice.

I use wire shelves for my stash. I buy W&N batting by the roll and I cut apart the box that it came in to line the shelves.

I purchased my wire shelving (Closet Maid) from Home Depot and had the same problem with my mini bolts falling through the slats. I happened to have a roll of that plastic canvas for needlepoint, and was able to cut that up into strips and laid it down on the shelving. Works great and the shelving has air circulation! So it's all acid free.
I have not been able to find any more of that plastic canvas by the bolt tho. It was so many years since I had purchased the last piece that I no longer recall where I got it from. But it solved my shelving problem and made me very happy...!!!

I also have a wire basket/drawer unit.....I used an old Cutting mat to line the drawers...reuse & recycle!

Fabric finally on Shelves
 

It's been a long summer with my husband hospitalized 5 times, but things are getting back to normal and the re-organization back on track. My shelves have the liners from Amazon and all my quilting cottons (that I am keeping) are now rolled onto comic boards and shelved in rainbow order on one side of the shelves and neutrals and fat quarters on the other side. I have access to both sides of the shelves. I WILL be making curtains to protect my beautiful fabrics from light damage. I am so happy with how they look. I can now "shop my stash!"

Your shelves look beautiful! I'm so happy you made it work right - and I really like how you used plastic containers for your smaller pieces - I've just bought some comic book boards and realized some pieces just weren't going to work, but I didn't know how to shelve the small pieces so I could see them.

PS - for those who want to go cheap, acid-free, and cute, how about using cardboard wrapped in tinfoil wrapped in a piece of fabric with ribbon ties at the corners? I think I might try that as I have similar shelving.

I've used old cardboards from various sources to make the bottoms of wire shelves solid. Just watch out because most of them will have acid in them which is not good for fabrics. Foam core board would be an excellent choice for your use.

I use poster board I buy at Walmart. It is easy to cut to fit the size I need. I don't always cover the whole shelf. :):):)

MsHeirloom, I can see why you have such a beautiful smile. The shelves are great. Congratulations on a great job.

Looks awesome!

Thanks, everyone. Looking at all my organizational efforts does make me smile. It looks like I will meet my September 1 goal!!!!!

Use some comic boards on the shelf until you can afford something else. Cardboard from deliveries cut to size. At times I just don't want to go out and spend I use a substitute . I have been known to use old magazines I was going to through after taking out patterns I want.