In a previous post, A Giant Reconfiguration, I set out on a journey of reorganization. In that post I assembled and finished my new design wall. The next step was to tackle my stacks of fabric. This post picks up where that one left off.
Storing fabric can be an art in itself. Some quilters go all out and design or setup elaborate systems to catalog and store their fabrics. It’s even quite possible they just might spend more money on their filing systems than they do on fabric.
Being the neat freak and numbers person that I am I must admit I could be tempted to follow in their footsteps. On the other hand I think my overwhelming desire to just sew would lead me astray long before I ever finished. I can get a bit distracted when it comes to monotonous tasks. In the spirit of simplification I opted for a much simpler method.
A quick survey of my stacks of fabric would reveal that most of my fabrics, when purchased, were fat quarters. I typically purchase fat quarters rather than yardage because it allows me to add more variety with less expense.
The fat quarters, when purchased, are neatly folded into a self contained, small package. Previously I left each of my fat quarters as is and stacked them into piles. Often organized with other fabrics within the same collection.
This time I decided to remove the vendor labels, unfold the fabric, take a quick pass over it with my iron (to gently remove the soft creases) and cut a 2 1/2″ strip. The strips were set aside in piles according to color. The remaining section of fabric was folded in half and then half again. Those too were stacked according to color.
Once I had cycled through my entire collection I was quite impressed with not only the volume of my stash but also how much easier it would seem to have access to them. The reorganized fat quarters were then stored away. Some are on my three shelf rolling cart while the rest are in my stacking plastic drawers.
Bet you are curious what I did with the 2 1/2″ strips? Well you are just going to have to wait because I’m not going to tell you today. I won’t reveal that until another time.
Want to see how neat and cool my stacks look……here’s a glimpse.
Thanks for sharing your time with me! I look forward to our next visit.
Cindy Anderson of In A Stitch Quilting
Isn’t it fun revisiting fabric while you organize it? I find organizing my fabric stash helps me not go buy more! I like the blue container – very cute!
It is, but I reserve the right to buy more fabric. It’s like chocolate…..I can’t live without it.
I guess I will have to stay tuned. Yes, you might find another retreat besides, they look all professional like your labels.
I can’t reveal everything all at once. How would I get you to return for another visit. Besides, suspense is exhilarating!
True. Yes.
What? You can’t leave us not knowing what happened to the 2 and 1/2 inchers!!!! I like your storage unit with your name on it btw.
LOL! Oh yes I can! 🙂 I really didn’t want the label showing up in the photo but it was hard to avoid. I put those on when I went to the retreat in May. They proved to be difficult to remove so I decided to leave them on. Besides that could be a good thing. Who knows when I might find another worthy retreat to attend. Thanks for being such a faithful follower and commenter. I love receiving my readers input.
Love the little blue stacking container! The top layer looks like you have “just enough” to make a bright sunny quilt. Looking forward to what you do with those strips you cut off.
Thank you! Me too!