quiltsfor

When I start a quilt, I usually do all of the cutting at once. That way, if there is a delay in making it completely, I still know that I have all of the same fabric that I need.

When I started quilting, I just placed the pieces together in a plastic container (box) and laid a piece of paper on top of each cut to say how many there are, the size of the cut, and what part of the quilt they are. But, as you can imagine, the papers end up every which way and it is a chore figuring out what is what.

Then, I switched to using a straight pin to pin the paper to the top piece, but again, pins work themselves out. See, where I'm going with this.....

So, then I decided that I would put the pieces in a Ziploc baggie, some even in the 2 gallon size and label the bag, then put it in the container. This works okay, but. I don't like keeping bags on hand, and they slide all over the place when I'm ready to start working on the quilt. Plus, it is a lot of waste to use the non-degradable plastic bags.

I'm thinking about going back to the straight pin.

What do you use to keep the different pieces together/labeled?

I even thought about using a post it, but wondered about the sticky adhering or leaving a mark on the fabric if it was on it for too long or in the heat.

Sewgood

If my pattern doesn’t name each piece that I’m cutting I’ll mark the pattern with an “a”…”b”…”c”…and so on. Then as I cut my pieces I clip a small of piece of paper to each stack (i use those small or large clips we use instead of pins…what the heck are those called??) with the corresponding letter to mark each stack. If I’m not sewing the quilt right away I stack them carefully in a flat box - like a pizza box - to keep them organized.

Snooze2978

I write down every size piece and how many of each as well as each color. I place a straight pin with a letter glued to it and mark it on my piece of paper. I find those clips that came out awhile back hold my pieces together nicely. If I have too many pieces, then I place them in a plastic bag. I have 2 drawers full of small plastic bags in all sizes for this idea. The straight pins with letters glued on them were made using Elmer's glue, baby beads from Walmart and straight pins with the yellow ball on their ends. I made 7-10 sets of them so I always have enough of the 1st 15 letters as it seems I'm always using them.

Also once I've cut my strips, then subcut, I mark it on my piece of paper so I know I'm done with that step. I also cut my sashings, borders and bindings at the beginning and marked that I've done it. Forgot to cut the strips for the binding once and when I finally got to the point of putting the binding on, I no longer had any of the fabrics used in the quilt. I keep all my bindings wrapped on TP cardboards, marked for which quilt it's for and then placed in a container with other bindings waiting to be used. My sister says I'm OCD but I prefer being as organized as possible.

QuiltE

Agree, post-its can be dangerous for not staying stuck in place!
Green painter's tape is a good alternative.
Stays put and does not leave any residue behind on the fabric.
If a bunch of the same shape/size, I would hold them together with a long straight pin and just the top one labelled.

Another hint ... when fabric comes into my home, it is washed first before going to the sewing room. If going into the stash, I put the measurement (after wash/shrink) on the yardage with the green tape.

sewingpup

In general, I don't like to use straight pins because I end up getting poked with them. I do use those wonder clips or if I run out of those I use those metal clips that you squeeze the hinges together to open and flip them down to close (I don't know what they are called, you get them with the office supplies, come in different sizes, used to hold papers together but not paper clips) I usually clip them in stacks of 10 and neatly lay them in a flat box, or on a jelly roll pan, or a cake pan, or even just paper plates. If it will be a while, I also place the pattern or clue (do a lot of Bonnies' mystery quilts) on top of the pieces and then label the outside of the box or boxes. I even label the boxes 1 of 1, or 1of 2 so I know how many boxes of parts I have. I do have a baggie of baggies and I do use those on sometimes, but I do reuse those baggies.

bearisgray

A caution about using pins - if left too long in fabric, sometimes some of them will rust.

So - if using pins, try to keep them in the seam allowances.

SusieQOH

I like to use little baggies for each one and put the number or letter on the outside of the bag.

Tartan

I don’t cut all at once. I like to do a trial block to see if I even want to proceed. If I like it, I usually jump right in and cut a block, sew a block, press the block. I like to break up all my tasks so that I don’t get sore from doing any one thing for too long. Once all my blocks are sewn, I will sometimes pack it away ( with all my fabrics) in my project drawer. I have one of the rolling plastic multi drawer units from Walmart that hold my works in progress.

tallchick

If I cut everything out at once, I label with a post it note and attach using a wonder clip (I have various sizes) and I place in cardboard trays that I save.

EasyPeezy

I use *Heavy Duty* clear sheet protectors...label them 1-100.
That way I can reuse them over and over. No waste.
I store them in a big Rubbermaid tote with all the instructions.