Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Sew Organized Part 3: Fabric and Scraps

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Welcome to part 3 of our Sew Organized series.  Today we're talking all about fabric - ideas for storing and organizing yardage, pre-cuts, fat quarters, scraps...all of it.  

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner

First of all I want to just say that there's no one best way to organize your fabric.  We all create differently and we're all inspired by different things.  

If you already have a system in place that works for you, great!  I'd love to hear any tips and ideas you have to share.  

If you don't have a system yet, take a minute to think about how you choose fabrics when starting a quilt.  Do you first reach for a particular designer?  Or do you look for certain colors first?  Or maybe you like to work in specific styles, like Civil War era?

To be honest, I use a combination of all of these!  Here's where I store most of my fabric stash. 

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner

As you can see, I use a combination of shelves and bins to organize and store everything.  

Storing by Color

When I start a project I often begin with colors in mind.  So it's most helpful to me to have my yardage stored by color.  

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner

I try to keep myself limited to one stack of each color but as you can see in the photo below my aqua and green stacks have overflowed and are taking over the purple and brown spots.  Time to thin those out a little!


Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner


I also prefer to sort my scraps by color but you could also sort them by size.  My scraps are stored in the bins on the very top shelf and everything is just stuffed in there.  When I need to dig through for a scrap project it's kinda fun to just dump the whole bin out and make a colorful mess.  Clean up is easy because I just stuff everything back in, click on the lid and put it back on the shelf.  

Here's another way to store fabrics by color:

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner
photo from Lori Holt, Bee in My Bonnet
This is a view of Lori Holt's storage - cute baskets with everything sorted by color.  


Storing by Size

There are a few sizes which are handy to keep separate from the others.  Anything about fat quarter size or bigger is folded on the shelf.  Everything else is sorted by size or stuffed into the scrap bins.

Orphan jelly roll strips and leftover binding strips (2.5" wide) get put together in this bin.  This is sure handy if I ever want to make a scrappy binding!  

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner

I corral charm packs in this bin - which makes them easy to find when I'm ready to make a charm pack friendly quilt. In this bin I also have a stack of hand cut low volume charm squares.  The bin keeps them from fraying and I can easily grab a few to add in to projects!  I bought my bin at Walmart, and they no longer stock these.  But here are some similar ones on Amazon.


Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner

And 2.5" squares go into this bin.  These are so great for small projects and scrap projects like these!  Sometimes if I don't have an immediate use for a mini charm pack, I'll open it up and put all of the mini charms in here with these squares. 

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner

I don't have a ton of jelly rolls, fat quarter bundles or layer cakes.  A few are kept in the closet, and my favorites are on a shelf and do double duty as cheerful decor!

Since pre-cuts like this are already conveniently bundled up there's not many storage options besides keeping them on a shelf or in a box or bin somewhere...

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner

...or displayed in a lovely cabinet like this one!  I love it with the cake stands on top and the bundles of fabric all arranged inside.

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner
Photo from Jessie Lathroum / Inside the Paper Box



Storing by Designer or Style

If you have a favorite designer it's nice to be able to find everything from that designer without doing a lot of digging through everything else.  I have a friend who loves everything from Fig Tree & Co. and keeps all of her Fig Tree prints together on the shelf.  I have two bins set aside for Bonnie & Camille fabrics. Another friend of mine is a huge fan of Lori Holt and keeps Lori's fabrics separate from the rest of her stash.  

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner

 You could also sort by style - all reproduction prints together, all low volume prints together, all Civil War together, etc.  Most of my stash is very similar, but I do keep my 1920-30s reproduction prints together in one bin - and I've been using them a lot lately and have found it handy to have them all together like this.  


Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner

I also keep I-spy fabrics (mostly juvenile prints) in a box together and all Christmas prints together.  When I want to make a Christmas quilt I start in that bin and then add in some basics and blender prints from my stash.  


Need ideas on WHERE to store all of that fabric?  
(click on the photo for more information)

How about in drawers:

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner
Photo from My Fabric Obsession


Stand alone shelves like these from Amazon:

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner
Photo from Tallgrass Prairie Studio


Or in a filing cabinet?

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner
Photo from The Thinking Closet




This hanging storage was meant for shoes - but works great for fabric:

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner
Photo from Bryn Alexandra


Plastic bins like these fit great underneath a bed or under a desk:

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner
Photo from Flamingo Toes

And I love this idea - an over the door shoe organizer that's now used for scrap storage.  The clear pockets make it easy to see just what's in there: 

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner
Photo from Pioneer Valley Girl

And another fun idea for scraps - mason jars in rainbow order!

Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner
Photo from Canoe Ridge Creations


There's really so so so much out there for fabric storage and organization ideas and I know I've just scratched the surface!  If you have any tips and ideas you'd like to share, comment below.

Want to see even more ideas?  Check out my Sewing Room Organization pinterest board - and be sure to follow me because I'll keep adding great ideas to the board as I find them!


Next week will be our final week and we'll be talking about organizing projects.

Did you miss part 1 and part 2?  Find them here:
Sew Organized Part 1: Tips for Storing Quilting Tools and Rulers
Sew Organized Part 2:  Tips for Storing Patterns, Magazines and Books




Fabric storage and organization, tips and ideas from A Bright Corner

19 comments:

  1. I love reading your blogs. You have a gentle, helpful, friendly spirit : ) Thanks for all these ideas and your work in compiling them!

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  2. I'm glad to see you store your fabric in a closet. I worry about fading with open storage, although it does look beautiful! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  3. According to your stash, I am your new best friend :)

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  4. Wondering about best ways for storing yardage: folded on shelves, rolled, on cardboard as bolts? I buy 4-8 yard lengths on sale for future backs and don't have much shelf nor closet space so currently roll in dresser drawer or folded in tote.

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    Replies
    1. I keep large pieces of fabric destined for backing in a Rubbermaid tote. Ideally I would like to include them on shelving so I can see them, but I just don't have that much shelving space!

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  5. Thanks for the great ideas. I am always looking for ideas on better ways to store things so I can fit more into my small space.

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  6. The plastic zipper bags from sheets and blankets are great storage alternatives

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    Replies
    1. Great idea - thanks for sharing!

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    2. Yes, I have also used these to store projects - some are the right size for patterns or instruction sheets. Being clear, I can slap a note to indicate the project or ideas, which can quickly read without having to open.

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  7. what are those drawers with the holes on the front called?
    They look perfect size for the fabric on comic board storage!

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    Replies
    1. They do look perfect don't they? I'm not sure what they're called. I found the photo on the My Fabric Obsession blog and she mentions that she found them at Target.

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    2. Fabric cubes, I've found Menard's have the most economic supply

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  8. Can’t find link to Amanda’s Crafts Shop for pattern for sewn bags.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Judy
      It looks like the pattern has been removed from Craftsy (now called Bluprint). I did a search and was unable to find Amanda's pattern published anywhere else. Sorry about that!

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  9. Once I finish eating my organic spring baby lettuce, I wash out the container with lid and use it to store fat quarters or smaller pre-cuts. It's a cheap, transparent holder. I can see what is inside.

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  10. great ideas. i have large pieces of fabric that i store in old suitcases. i think of cutting them up and creating the plastic container effect. would you know any other way to store large pieces of canvas,please?

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  11. I store my fabric on comic book boards vertically which makes seeing and getting a particular fabric without having everything come off the shelf with it. I love this system now that it is established.

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  12. Do you cut your “scraps” into squares before storing or leave them in “scrappy pieces”?

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    Replies
    1. I usually just store my scraps in whatever size pieces they currently are.

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