I have a bad case of the dreaded out-of-sight, out-of-mind syndrome. Especially when it comes to my fabric stash. If I can’t see it, I swear it doesn’t exist! I also have a passion for color and I’m more inspired to do something creative when I’m surrounded by the materials I love. Do I see you nodding your head in agreement? I thought so.
When we moved into our new home, my husband put his foot down and told me I absolutely could not simply move all my bins and boxes into the studio storage closet. He said, “If you just put it all in there, you’ll never open the boxes, and you’ll never put the closet together properly. You know what? He’s absolutely right.
With a bit of imagination and some help from my friend DeNiece at TheFabricOrganizer.com, I now have a well-stocked personal fabric store in my studio closet. When I need a dose of color therapy, I simply open the closet doors and flip on the light. Woohoo! Here’s how it works.
The top shelf is packed with small pieces of fabric like fat quarters and half yards. I have a fair amount of fabric left over from the early days of my business when I was dying fabric and selling it. These pieces make great backgrounds when I want to play with fabric art techniques.
I wrapped the fabric on the second shelf around the small organizers from TheFabricOrganizer.com. (Personally, I think DeNiece is a genius for coming up with this idea.) I love the organizers because they help me tidy up my stash and actually see what I have on hand.
The third shelf contains fabric wrapped around the large organizers. If you have one or more yards of fabric, the large organizers are the way to go.
The biggest challenge was finding a way to keep the fabric from falling off the ends of the shelves. After much head-scratching, I decided to cut notches in a couple of organizers. (They can be cut with a pair of heavy-duty scissors.) Then I wedged the organizer between the shelf support and wire slats. It works like a charm!
If you want to make a similar shelving unit, look for
- Shoe shelf support brackets: They are made to hold shelves at a downward slant.
- 16″ tight mesh shelving: The wire mesh on this shelving is closer together and your fabric pieces won’t fall through the gaps.
If humanly possible, install a light above the rack so you can have an instant dose of color therapy, not to mention an easier time seeing the treasures you have stored on your new shelves.
How do you store your stash?
If you’ve got a favorite storage solution that allows you to SEE your stash, I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below, or post a photo over on our Facebook page. I can’t wait to see your great ideas!
Sandie Tombu says
August 9, 2012 at 11:04 amI fold my fabric around a 6″ x 12″ ruler and place in a small plastic container. You can easily estimate the yardage by counting the number of folds and standing them lengthwise in the container makes it easy to see when you open the container. I tty to put like fabrics together in the container (ie, Christmas Red’s, or all blues etc.) I then take a picture of the tote and save it on my computer, that way I can check what I’ve got without sorting through the containers. I also label the container with the description for easier access. As I have limited storage space, these stack nice and don’t take a lot of room and they are protected from sunlight and dust.
Joan Riley says
August 9, 2012 at 12:01 pmI just bought a shelf unit on Saturday and am in the process of folding fabrics on to mini bolts, I have also folded fabric around a 6 x 24 ” ruler, then remove it and fold again in half or 1/3 to fit a closet outfitted with clear plastic drawers from the Container Store. My plan is fat quarters on the mini bolts, yardage into the drawers – both sorted by color.
I really could use some ideas and help about organizing the larger scraps – partially used fat quarters, pieces too small to be folded and too large for the snips and bits. How do you handle these pieces?
Shelly says
August 14, 2012 at 9:49 amHi Joan,
For a great book on cutting up scraps, check out Cut the Scraps by Joan Ford. You can take a look over at http://hummingbird-highway.com/my-book/ Joan created a system for cutting and storing scraps of fabric, and is always coming up with new ideas and patterns for using them. Whether you prefer a more traditional look or use your scraps in a totally contemporary way, her method is definitely worth thinking about. Enjoy!
Diane says
August 9, 2012 at 12:16 pmI have just finished sorting and stacking all my fabrics in pull-out bins that keep the fabrics dust free–sorted by style and color and labelled on the outside of the drawers in alphabetical order-they are easy to find when I am putting quilt designs together and as the drawer pulls out completely it is easy to grab which one is needed
Diane says
August 9, 2012 at 12:20 pmIn response to Joan re small pieces–I cut them into squares or strips
10″–5″ squares and 2 1/2′ strips (most common sizes for quilting) and keep them at the ready for scrap quilts or charity quilts
Marlene Smithers says
August 9, 2012 at 12:40 pmI also keep my stash in see-through bins on 12″ shelves. My fat quarters are kept by color folded in a drawer. I divide my scraps in a see-through 3 drawer fitted under my sewing table. They are divided in squares, rectangles, and strips. I use my 10×12 room for painting also, so I have to be clever.
pattisj says
August 9, 2012 at 10:16 pmI loved looking at your fabric, and the new storage idea.
I have a metal shelving unit, and I found braided-fabric bins at my local Marshall’s store. The fabrics were sorted by color family, folded similarly to yours and stacked vertically (on end) for all to be seen at a glance.
Rebecca K says
August 11, 2012 at 6:14 pmI buy foam boards. They are the same size as poster boards and are usually located in the same store section. I cut the foam boards into what ever size I need. I usually cut the foam board into three different sizes determined by the amount of fabric in each piece. I can get enough cut foam boards pieces for at least 8 one yard+ pieces of fabric from each foam board. I use pins to anchor the fabric onto the boards. The best thing is that I can sometimes get the foam boards for $1 each! This method allows me to put my fabric on shelves like I would place books. I can easily view my ‘library’ of fabric.
Michelle says
August 17, 2012 at 8:28 pmHi Joan, I store my stash in colour range (reds, yellows, oranges for example) in a draw which is one of four drawers on a set of wheels. Then when I need a red quilt, I just pull out my range and pick n choose from the one draw. The draws are a little transparent so I can tell what colours are in what drawer. The drawers are light even with the stash stored inside, so I just slide them out and move them to wear I am working. But ur hubby is right, it is so so easy and convenient to forget them – just gives us more reason to expand our stash I say.