I don't know how it happened, but I have officially become a fabric hoarder. I have such hard time passing up a beautiful piece of fabric, and after I bring it home it seems as though I can never justify using the beautiful piece of fabric because then it would be GONE. Its really an evil cycle as my fabric armoire ends up looking like this...
Please tell me that I'm not the only one that hoards fabric...its just what happens when you love to sew, right!?! Okay, enough about hoarding, as I don't want to end up on TLC's hoarding documentaries any time soon! :)
If you're willing to share, how do you store your fabric? I've been thinking about purchasing some of these fabric organizers. Does anyone use them? Have they proved to be a good investment?
I've never even seen those organizers before! Those look awesome. BTW - you have some fabulous things in your stash :)
ReplyDeleteI'd never seen these before either. I am just starting doing pretty much the same thing but with comic book backer boards - they're just thick (not corrugated) cardboard pieces you can use to make your own mini-bolts on (and they cost about $0.10 each - check Amazon.com). I love them. But I like to USE fabric, not "KEEP" it - I'm just having a hard time with time. Ya know? Like - how do you actually get all of your creative ideas DONE (especially with 3 little ones under foot...)!!! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I didn't put mine in containers. The containers to me just take up precious fabric space :) I'm thinking you can get a lot more fabric in there!! I took a cutting ruler that was about 5" wide, and folded my fabric around that so all of it would be a uniform thickness. I pinned it with a small sewing pin and then slid my ruler back out. Now I can stack it by color. When you want to use a specific color you are going to pull all of that color out anyhow and sort thru it, so just grab that stack and pull it out. Set it on the floor or table and sort thru it. Select what you want and re-stack what is going back in the cabinet. The pre-cuts are in a separate area on top so I will likely use those first.
ReplyDeleteI have my charms, jelly rolls & layer cakes stored on cupboard shelves. I keep a written list of all my precuts by category so I know what NOT to buy! Half yd pieces or more are stacked on shelves in a closet by color. For my numerous FQ's I bought 2 stackable shoe cubby hole shelves - there's 5 cubbies across & five down on each so I have 50 slots for my FQ's again by color - works great. I keep UFO’s in plastic bins that slide under my beds; except for blocks that are sewn but not assembled, orphans etc. – those I keep in pizza boxes – they are just the right size - I have them stacked on a shelf.
ReplyDeleteI'm in love with your stash! My stash is much smaller, and filled with lots of odds and ends. I have an entire bin of scraps, as well. At this point I'm trying hard not to add to it and have made a commitment to myself to use up my stash before buying new fabric (unless I need to buy something that I cannot find in my stash like the sturdy fabric I picked up to make the outer portion of my daughter's backpack). I'm also working through a lot of it by making baby quilts for donation to a local maternity home. It's slow going, but I feel better knowing that my fabric is finally being used, rather than languishing in a bin in my office. :)
ReplyDeleteIm a fabric hoarder! I also use the cardboard com in book boards and so far so good, no problems and I have yardage up to 2 yards on them with no problem..
ReplyDeleteI do a variety of things - groups in baskets under my cutting table, laid out on a shelf, in wire baskets - stacking kind from IKEA ;0
ReplyDeleteand last but not least in an dresser.
Enjoy!!
I'm a hoarder too. The down side for me is that I started hoarding fabric before I ever started sewing. I've tried plastic drawers, but it isn't really working. I love the idea of the comic book boards. So thanks for that!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jo and I am a fabric Hoarder. I have tried everything I can to stop but have decided there is no hope so I might as well enjoy myself! HOnestly I don't have a system that would work for anyone but myself and that doesn't even always work for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm a beginner hoarder. I haven't accumulated quite as much as you have, but I've only been sewing for a year and I just discovered quality fabric about 9 months ago.
ReplyDeleteHere is how I organize:
http://www.boutiqueuniquely.com/2011/08/sewing-room-organization.html
There has already been more fabric added to those stacks since I posted this last month. You're not the only one with a problem!
I used Jeni's folding tutorial here: http://incolororder.blogspot.com/2011/01/art-of-choosing-folding.html
I see fabric in that that I love! =) looks neat and orderly too! =)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the sweet comment! Hope you have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeletexo, Elsie
I inherited my grandma's fabric stash over 2 years ago. It is MASSIVE! It take up over 3 large book cases. The hard part for me, is that since I did not create the stash, I don't really know what I have. It is all sorted into clear plastic bins by color, but I don't necessarily know how much of each fabric I have (a small scrap or yardage). Since I make all of my Christmas gifts, I am going to try to not buy any fabric this year. I hope this will help me get more familiar with what I have and get some of the fabric used!
ReplyDeleteha!! love it! i hoard fabric, too. and? i dont even sew! lol
ReplyDeletei am a sucker for lovely material ;) those organizers look cool, never seen them before. xo
i loooove fabric, i even love looking at it organized and folded on a shelf. i dont know why, but i do. i've begun to only get the fabric i need for what i make but everytime i go to a fabric store there is a ritual of talking myself out of going crazy and buying everything i see. i actually wrote about this just last week, how i can wait to have a real studio to store things like this. the way you have it organized looks great!
ReplyDeleteAnother fabric hoarder here too. I saw this idea somewhere (cant remember where) but they used comic book boards and they were buying them off ebay for a very reasonable price. They didnt have the one for strips but you probably could figure it out.
ReplyDeleteGreat post
ReplyDeleteI am not a fabric hoarder yet but I can see I will be doomed soon. My grandmother always taught me not to buy any fabric unless it has an intended purpose already. So hard to do but it's helped so far so I don't have alot of overage (yet). I am a furniture hoarder however. (That's a story for another day). Love your blog! I hopped over from Soleil Selene.
ReplyDeleteI totally hoard fabric, and I think I have a lot more than that. Like you, I store it in plastic bins on shelves. Fat quarters are in plastic drawers (overflowing). I tried sorting them by color, but that didn't last. I need a bigger room. But Lloyd says I'd just fill it up again. He's right!
ReplyDelete