Help, Storing Fabric in Heat and Cold (Garage). How Damaging is this going to be??
 

I have completely reached my limit on how much fabric I can store in my house. Every nook and cranny is filled. I have lots of room in the garage but it is not temperature regulated. It will be blazing hot some/most of the summer and fairly cold and a bit damp in the winter.

I'm pretty sure it isn't a great idea, but I am feeling a bit "dysfunctional" right now with having fabric everywhere and not having enough cleared off spaces on my tables and shelves. I've sorted out what fabric I don't want and will donate that to a friend but the rest is all top quality fabric I want to keep.

Any suggestions to keep the fabric in good condition? My garage isn't leaky so the damp is really only from the effects of cold.

I store fabrics in our unheated garage, and have for at least 3 years. No problems so far. Of course, I visit the fabrics every time I go out in my car, and even more when I'm imagining a quilt.

I'm more worried about mice getting into the fabrics than heat/cold damage. However, that could happen inside the house or in the garage. So far we have had no mice/rodent problems, though.

cathyvv, what do you store your fabrics in? I'm thinking if they are in plastic boxes, it would be hard for rodents or other pests to get inside. I would look for those moisture absorbing inserts (the tiny balls) but maybe I am being naive about the bugs/mice???

I stored my grandmother's quilt in a garbage bag, inside a storage unit for about 9 months, and it rotted. I've also seen a friend store fabric in big plastic bins in the garage, and some of it was rotted. As I understand it, cotton fabric has to breathe -- it needs air circulation.

Recently I bought a bolt of fabric. It came totally encased in plastic wrap. It appeared that was how the manufacturer had packaged it. It was just fine. So I am thinking, if your fabric is clean and dry (not pre soaked in starch of any kind) you could keep it in plastic bins. If you have added any type of starch, that will attract bugs. Then, if you have a space that is not in direct sunlight, you could get some bins at least 45 inches wide/long, fill them with your fabric till full, put on the lid, and then do another bin and stack them on top of each other as high as you are tall (or taller if you are game). I am also in California, so I know what weather you are dealing with. I would rather keep my fabric inside the house. My son is possibly moving home, and I am looking at a similar situation. I must move (what my DH calls TONS of fabric) from the room he will move into. I am considering the plastic bin solution in the corner of my dining/living room. Not too attractive, but I am not willing to just destroy my stash. You have a friend here. Good luck :)

I would be afraid of mildew in a damp environment--and bugs, too. They love cardboard so that option is no good. So I wonder--do you underbed storage space? Any furniture pieces that could be cleared out to serve as fabric storage pieces? If I were desperate, I might put fabric in large Rubbermaid bins under the dining room table and throw a big, floor-length tablecloth over it.

I think I would look for more efficient ways of storing it inside the house instead of in the garage. Or persuade dh to move to a larger house? :shock:

I had fabric stored in Rubber Maid Tubs in a plastic Rubbermaid shed out side for at least 5 years and had no problems at all.

Don't store quilts which you have marked with frixion pens as the marks will come and go and come......