quiltin-nannie

I'm trying to get my fabric into plastic totes in anticipation of moving in the fall. Over the course of a year or two, I have purchased yardage off the internet when I could find a good sale. It almost always came wrapped in plastic inside the mailing envelope. Since a lot of it is white or off white, will it hurt to leave it sealed in this plastic stored inside a tote? Sure didn't realize just how big my stash was until I started this project! I could live for another 50 years, sew constantly, and still not use all this fabric!

Thanks,
Julie

ManiacQuilter2

If you are putting your fabric into a tote, I would remove the plastic and maybe store the fabric within a pillowcase. I sell fabric and I place mine in a Ziploc bag not totally sealed because of weather and the machines that the mail goes thru.

Snooze2978

When I was packing to put my sewing room into storage as I was putting the house on the market, I also had fabrics that had come in plastic and I forgot to take them out of it before I put them into my plastic totes. The fabrics are finally out of the totes after 7 years but still in their plastic bag and I haven't noticed any damage to them...........yet. Plus I still have some apparel fabrics still waiting to be let out of their plastic containers...............lack of room to put them on the shelves.

LTeachergeorge

When I put my fabrics into a closed plastic bin, I throw in a dryer sheet. I feel it keeps them fresher (could be totally psychological!).

Linda in Missouri

quilting cat

I recently stored most my stash, and lined my totes and moving boxes with sheets and pillowcases. They need moving, too, and will protect fabrics from fading in clear totes and from any discoloration from the cardboard boxes. The main reason I see for taking things out of their bags is space reduction.

NikkiLu

I don't know the answer to your question but here is my advice:

Do not put your fabric into too large of totes - that makes them SO heavy to lift up. I had to empty my sewing/craft room a couple of years ago as the floor in there actually collapsed - YES, collapsed - due to the age of the floor and probably not well built to begin with. Anyway, they had to remove the whole floor clear down to the dirt underneath and start over. I bought a dozen or so, very large plastic totes from WalMart and proceeded to fill them up and had my DH to carry them outside to a room in our detached barn/garage room. They were SO heavy. The lids were just the snap on kind and would not stay fastened - so I had to unload them all, take them all back to WalMart and get the ones that had the latches on the lids and also, got smaller totes. I had to wait a bit while WalMart got in another supply of that size totes, but finally got everything packed up and out of that room so that they could work on it. Oh yes, I got the clear totes and that was so much easier to see what was inside. Then my BFF passed away and I got some (not all) of her stash/fabric and she had most of it in clear plastic totes also. Still in them and fabric is doing fine. Hope this helps.

toverly

If it's different whites and beiges, I would leave it in the plastic just to keep each order together. Sometimes it's very helpful to have the same white fabrics together. If you plan on storing the fabric in the bins after your move ( I keep mine in bins) then you can pack them the way you will keep them. I don't think the plastic bags will matter, I use ziplocs all the time to keep collections together.

quiltin-nannie

Thanks for all the advice! I did get smaller totes that I would be able to handle. I think I will leave it in the plastic bags. I do usually keep patterns with the fabric also. I try to buy all the fabric I might need when I get a pattern I really like.

klswift

I keep a lot of mine in plastic totes. Inside much of it is in plastic bags. But, these bags are open at the end and I have a dryer sheet in the tote. (I also throw these dryer sheets in the containers that I store sleeping bags in and extra bedding.) Totes that I haven't been in I will open a couple of times a year and replace the dryer sheet. I try to think about it with daylight savings time changes when I change batteries in the smoke detectors. This also makes me think about what I have in the totes! I find the sheets not only keep away the musky smell but also help with any moths or possible other little critters in the garage area.

mhollifiel

A note as to the type of plastic bins you use. Before she married, my niece ran marketing for a disaster clean up/reclamation company. She swore that Rubbermaid bins would protect the contents in a fire. The bin would suffer but, she said that the contents would make it through. Since she told me that, I have used that brand for my most expensive and beloved fabrics as well as other valuables that I store. Fortunately, I have never had to put it to the test.