It's easy when you first buy a fat quarter or meter of fabric and haven't cut into it yet, but what happens when you start using it and have uneven bits hanging off it everywhere???? This for me is when the mess begins!
So first of all where do you store your fabrics? On shelves, in drawers, in plastic bins??? With what logic do you categorize them? There are so many possiblities! I'll tell you what works for me but I would love to hear other ideas as I'm always trying to improve my organisational system!
Here are my categories:
1. Large, small pieces of fabric and scrap pieces - Large pieces go on shelves, fat quater pieces go in drawers and scrap pieces go in Ikea plastic containers
2. Colours - all of the above are divided into colours
3. I have a separate draw for geometrics - stripes, checks, dots etc - this one is always a mess!
4. Antique hemp, old tea towels, old sheets etc - go on their own shelf
5. Antique florals - on their own shelf
6. Mid to heavy weight stripes - all together
7. Plains - all together
8. Vintage embroidered tablecloths, tray cloths etc - folded in plastic containers + they are divided into coloured and plain
Then there's the tiresome task of keeping them tidy. When they are a mess I can't find anything does anybody else have that problem???
I found a fabulous method on Pinterest that has revolutionized my shelves! I blogged about this a couple of weeks ago. You can read about it here.
This just the fabrics, of course we don't only have fabrics do we??? We have trims, felt, buttons, zippers, batting, threads and the list goes on. Some I have successfully stored and others not so well! Maybe someone can suggest some better methods!
For my trims (old and new) and smaller doilies I have these fabulous Ikea drawers. They have dividers! I wrap them on trim cards and store them in rows. This works quite well but does need to be tidied fairly often!!!
For my antique trims I made some fabric baskets that fit nicely into the drawers.
These classic wooden Ikea drawers are great for zippers, sewing machine threads and so on. I decorated mine with some lovely gift wrapping paper I found on a visit to Melbourne. When I was home in Sydney I saw my sister had done hers this way and loved it.
I love antique and vintage tins and have been collecting them over the last year. I love these for my buttons! And they look so pretty to have around!
My felt is a bit of a mess to be honest! I divide the felt into colours and slip them into large bags and have them in a largish plastic container. It's rarely in order so is a continual thorn in my side! Any suggestions?????
There are many ideas on Pinterest for storing fabric in a tidy fashion. I guess the method you choose depends on how much space you have. My sewing room is small so I have shelves along one wall, I like to see my larger pieces of fabrics there.
Earlier this year I bought Margaret Sampson George's book and was interested to read she stores her fabrics in plastic containers based on large and small prints. I considered trying this method but feel dividing by colour is better for me.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I would love to hear what works for you! If so please leave a comment below.
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Thanks for reading!
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