How do you store your fabric? I usually store my fabric as flat as possible in plastic storage bins. I know plastic is not the ideal storage medium, but it is the best I can do on my budget. If it is already rolled or on a bolt, I leave it that way. I try not to leave fabric folded too small though because I have found that those folds can be hard to get out.
What about you?
What storage solution have you found for your extra fabric? Or are you better than I am and don’t amass extra fabric stash and use it up as you buy it?
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Interesting question – I have recently begun to amass a fabric stash…and I had been putting them individually in zip lock bags with the count and fabric size on the front…but I hadn’t considered the long term effect of having the fabric folded.
I am in the process of updating my kids rooms and removing a small dresser I used for my son when he was a baby…3 drawers – that I now realize will be perfect for laying out my fabric in…I have seen fabric on hangers (with the plastic covering you get from the dry cleaners)…I do have one of those long plastic bins under my bed – holds old sweaters and I could just as easily empty and use that…been interested to hear others storage ideas!
AndreaB in Dallas
Back before kids I kept my stash wrinkle free by clipping them on pants hangers and hung in the closet. My fabric went into plastic underbed bins after the kids where born, but that was soon taken over by the wooden train set. Now my fabric is in cloth bins in shelves in the closet, but my cat is fond of digging half of it out and sleeping in the bin. I had to wash it all once to get rid of the cat hairs,, and the threads and ends all fused together. My iron is currently out of commission from making doll diapers last month, but I think I will try filing the fabric next in plastic bins with lids. I like how you can see all of the fabric at once. http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2012/01/tool-time-tuesdayfile-your-fabric.html. Maybe line the folders with tissue paper?
I have been storing my fabrics in clear totes so I can see them. I just recently had a friend tell me that the clear totes are thinner, so I should not stack them because they can collapse if you have a lot of them. Now I think I will go through the totes and roll the larger fabrics up to better protect. I do have some cut squares for quilting in ziploc bags, will check to make sure they are packed neatly so they don’t get wrinkled from getting mashed up against another package!
Okay, now I don’t feel too guilty/bad/so much like a hoarder when I saw that you use plastic storage bins, too. Well, that’s what I did when I had to temporarily give up my sewing room. But, now I store it all on shelves (heavy duty ones from Home Depot or Lowes) in flat folds. Every single piece is bought with a project in mind, too. And every time I sort through them, and I do, I remember which pattern each piece was bought for…lol. That fabric gives me a lot of inspiration and it’s my therapy.
Debbie…(O:
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I like to roll fabric (and clothes) when packing. Paper towel and wrapping paper rolls are helpful and can be cut to size.
I have my stash stored on bookcase shelves. I fold the fabric about 6″ wide and the depth of my shelves (12″). I have the shelves oriented so that no light from the windows falls on them. I line the shelves with old pillowcases to keep my fabric from touching wood and its acids. I have had minimal trouble with fading with this scheme. I have most of it organized by color families. I have the wacky; joyful; silk-screened and the animal prints together in another bookcase.