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How to Quilt>Organizing Your Fabric Stash
Organizing The Fabric in Your Stash
The fact that we quilters refer to our extra or leftover fabrics as “stash” makes us feel like we’ve got some kind of habit we’re trying to hide. The stash grows and grows and we avoid it most of the time, until we begin searching for that perfect piece that we just know we’ve seen somewhere. There are several ways to organize your stash so that it’s not something you feel the need to hide and can actually turn into something you get to show off. The easiest way to organize your stash is to use baskets, bins or boxes. Categorize them into divisions such as stripes, florals, licensed characters, etc. Go through your fabrics and put them in the appropriate box. Avoid the tendency to break these categories into colors. If you are like most quilters, your stash has many fabrics with many color coordination possibilities. Trying to break your fabric into color categories for box or bin storage is just too big of a task! Colors are easier to see in the shelf storage method. Fold your fabrics neatly and arrange on a shelf. Seeing the colors and patterns are easier this way. You could arrange your shelves by color coordination, patterns, or textures. The benefit to this method of stash storage is that you really don’t have to arrange your shelves at all. All the fabric will be visible, so you can see at a glance just what you have or don’t have. If you want your fabric to be truly flat, try using a product called a Flip-Fold. It is generally used for garments, but you can also use it for folding fabric. Constructed of plastic, the simple apparatus presses the extra air out of your folding. So, you get really flat folds of fabric. The third way to store your quilting stash is for serious organizers. You will need a bookshelf. Actually, the number of shelves you will need will depend on just how much fabric you have. You could use brackets and add shelves to your walls for even more space. With this method, you will create mini bolts on which to store your stash. You will recreate the look of a fabric store. Measure the height and depth of your shelving. Cut thick pieces of cardboard about one-half inch shorter than your measurement and about two inches narrower. Use the mini bolt you made to wrap fabric around. As you begin wrapping, tape the fabric to the mini bolt with a small piece of masking tape. When you roll the last layer around the little bolt, secure it with a hair pin or clip. If you just clip or pin the last couple of layers together, you won’t get an indention in your fabric. Another hint: be sure to use the rust free clips and pins. You don’t want to discolor your fabric. Once you have all your small “bolts” of fabric, store them on your shelves. You can arrange any way you’d like or don’t bother teaming them up at all since you can see exactly what you have at a glance. If you have some large, odd shaped pieces of fabric in your stash, why not go ahead and cut them into fat quarters? In terms of yardage, a fat quarter is cut down from a half of a yard. When cut from a yard of fabric, an actual quarter of a yard usually measures 9 inches x 22 inches. Fat quarters are typically 17 inches x 22 inches. Cut your own fat quarters and you can even make your own fat quarter jelly rolls. Use raffia to tie your roll together. These also make great gifts for quilting friends. So, in addition to organizing your stash, you are saving money and giving a wonderful gift to a fellow quilter or crafter!
P.S. This just in from Quilter Linda Wooley: "I discovered a really great way to store scraps. The plastic zippered bags that you buy sheets, comforters, Bed spreads and blanket in are great for storing smaller pieces of material. I have one for blue and green, Peach and pinks, white, black and brown, etc. They are great because they take up less space, securely closed, and you can see through them so if you need the little piece at the bottom you don't have to take everything out To see what you have and you can reach down and get that one piece you see at the bottom."
Happy Quilting!
Penny Halgren www.How-to-Quilt.com
©2010, Penny Halgren This article courtesy of http://www.How-To-Quilt.com. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.
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