Organizing Fabric

[Sonic]

**sonic sighs longingly for the day when when she will have this "How do I organize my fabric" dilemma....**


If everyone who has a problem organizing your fabric would send said fabric to me, I promise I will "super organize" them so you won't have to worry about them any more...........

[LRM]

**sonic sighs longingly for the day when when she will have this "How do I organize my fabric" dilemma....**


If everyone who has a problem organizing your fabric would send said fabric to me, I promise I will "super organize" them so you won't have to worry about them any more...........

I used to pride myself on not having much fabric because it meant that (1) I only bought fabric for projects, not just because I wanted it (thrifty), and (2) I used all that I had with little or no waste (resourceful). Then I discovered M*. I really don't have nearly as much as others (two organizers like this and some craft fabric like felt and burlap). But I still want to stay organized. I have very little space, so I still have to be thrifty and resourceful, I just like organization.

[Hulamoon]

I do mine by theme. polka dots, check, stripes, childrens, Hawaiian, asian, then the rest is by color. Too much scraps in shopping bags on the floor. I cringe when I walk in there

[Sonic]

Uh oh...sometimes my sense of humor comes across as flat as the computer screen...
Louise, I have no fabric to organize because I'm just learning to quilt.... so I'm longing (seriously longing) for the day when I have to organize like all you guys.

[Hulamoon]

**sonic sighs longingly for the day when when she will have this "How do I organize my fabric" dilemma....**


If everyone who has a problem organizing your fabric would send said fabric to me, I promise I will "super organize" them so you won't have to worry about them any more...........

You can help me My coffee maker is down stairs. lol

[Rhealene]

I store all of my fabric by the collection...I buy a lot of FQ bundles with coordinating yardage for borders, binding and sometimes backing and sometimes I buy layer cakes, jelly rolls or charm packs..if I buy a lot of one line, those all go together, if I buy a layercake, jelly roll and yardage, it all goes together. Sometimes if I only like a few prints in a line, I will buy 2-3 yards each and sometimes more but they all are stored together since they coordinate. The only time I have bought a one or two off piece of fabric is for a backing on a scrappy or for making sewing machine covers, pot holders, etc..small projects. I don't care for the idea of buying just a piece of fabric just to stash...I must have others that go with it, enough to make at least a queen size top. I don't want to dig thru tons of stash to find a piece here and a piece there that might go together..so that is why all of my fabric is stored by the collection/line. I can look at any particular line I have and know if I have enough to make whatever it is I am planning..I don't want to have to hunt all over the internet for pieces way after the collection is out of print...I usually buy everything I think I will need at once for any given project and keep it all together. As far as scraps...those get separated by cool colors, warm colors and neutrals, I don't cut them up, I like to wait till I need something then decide what size to cut. I am still a fairly new quilter but this is working great so far for me.

[Sonic]

You can help me My coffee maker is down stairs. lol

Packing bags now!! I've only been to Oahu so can't wait to make the jump over!

[Heather]

Mine is more or less grouped by lines I purchased together for potential projects / background creams & whites / holidays & fruits / kid themed, and lastly precuts. Just how my brain works. But really, I'm happy if it's folded and the closet door shuts!
PS
I don't know why holidays and fruits belong together in my wierd little fabric world.

[Carrie J]

Packing bags now!! I've only been to Oahu so can't wait to make the jump over!

Lorie, oh boy did you ever do it!!! ROFL! And Leah, I have the funny feeling I'll have happy animals dancing on my lawn now!! Please tell me you aren't "air dropping" them en masse!!!!

Regarding the organization, strips & squares are by color and in clear bins. Larger pieces are by "collection" and by that I usually mean I pick out 2, 3, 4 colors/patterning for a specific design. Tag and wrap with 1" strips of fabric with design note and pics of the pattern. The rest I wrap on corrugated plastic boards cut to size and T pin them. I never buy FQ's, just me, and the yardages I buy, I get extra by at least a yard. Background colors whites (stark, off, winter), tans, blacks, greys, beiges, reds and blues are on bolts. Anything smaller (strips) than 1" gone to the scrap bin for stuffing, along with small pieces of batting. The only fabrics that I'm really picky on are batiks and paiselys they have their own special place on the bookcase.

[BellasQuilts]

When I make quilts I have a bin for scraps. When it gets full I take a day and go through it. First I look for strips (1.5, 2, 2.5, etc.) I have baggies labeled by strip thickness. Then I look at the "chunks" and cut the largest square I can. Then these are sorted by size: 6, 5, 4.5, 4, etc. Any scraps left over go into the baggie for making scrappy borders (i.e. sew to a piece of adding tape). I rarely through anything out.