How do you store your fabric?

[auntjana]

I have shelves that contain baskets - each color is divided up - lights and darks in separate baskets - so if I am looking for a dark blue - I go and just pull that basket out. Each is labeled.

I also have baskets under the LA for entire quilt top fabrics - that is ones bought to put a certain quilt together.

There are also baskets that contain batting and a scrap bin for all the pieces that are smaller than a fat quarter.

On other shelves in that room - I have baskets that contain UFO's waiting for me to quilt.

I also have 4 filing cabinets that contain patterns, quilt stencils and the like so that I can find them. All of my magazines are on a shelf that goes around the room at the top of the door height in magazine holders by magazine name and year - I like to be organized.

Jana

[scrapquilter48]

I store everything in seal tight hard plastic containers, I know this isnt recommended, my 1st house near a river overflooded brought mice in basement..You can imagine opening up fabric to find a mouse sent screams down the hall. Now, I have changed my ways..

A cat shares this home. He follows closely when in basement and already chased a mouse away..I'd wake at night at every noise, fear it was a mouse invading my new home. The fear it left behind was unreal. My old house had become out of control with mice and rats, rest you can imagine.

[Thywillbedone]

I store all my fabrics in clear plastic totes all labeled by color. I also have some labeled "scrapes" with all the smaller than fat 1/4 peces. I use these when making my granddaughter a baby doll quilt. Then I have small plastic boxes with projects in, the material and pattern I want to use so I know why I bought the material. I use a large tool box with all the compartments in to hold all my small stuff like needles, thimbles, erasers, pens, pencils, small rulers, tape etc. I then know where they are all in one place. My sewing room is small so I have to be organized. Lenore

[DeniAZ]

I have two chests of drawers - one sorted by color, the other by christmas, brights, novelties... a couple of tubs that need to be sorted. Then some plastic drawers with my 1-1/2 and 2-1/2" strips.

Any ideas how to use it all up quickly? I'd love to buy some new fabric, but don't have a home for all I have already!!!

[caranjean]

I put shelving in a walk-in closet. I bought a couple of boxes of manila file folders and folded each piece of fabric into thirds. I measured how many yards was in the piece, wrote that on the tab of a manila folder along with the date I purchased it and the cost (if available). I then tuck one end into the side opening in the manila folder and wrap the fabric onto the file folder. I did this with each piece in my stash that was bigger than 1/2 yard and stacked them on the shelves sorted by color. For pieces shorter than 1/2 yard, I fold them down to fat-quarter size and put them in small shoeboxes - one shoebox to correspond to whatever colors I have stacked on that particular shelf - and store the shoebox on the shelf beside the larger pieces of fabric which are wrapped around manila file folders. I can see what I have at a glance, and reference the yardage written on the file folder tab rather than to unwind and measure each time I need a piece of fabric. As I use some off the file folder, I amend the yardage on the tab of the folder.