Fabric Organization

Over a year ago, my dear son moved out of the house, and before he could decide to move back home, I stripped everything out of his room and remodled it into my office/sewing room. I ripped up the rug and put a vinyl floor product in that looks like wood. I repainted the walls a pale lavender and sage, and then proceeded to pile everything in the room that I had stashed everywhere around the house. Most specifically, fabric. And lots of it. I have a nice sized closet in the room, and I decided to take off the bifold doors. My intention is to have shelves installed across the entire width of the closet, from top to about 36" from the floor. This would leave me room under the shelves for rolling drawer units for miscellaneous storage. Ok. So that was my INTENTION. What has ACTUALLY happened is I shoved everything in the room and closet, just to get it in there, then never got any farther. In the mean time, I have continued to buy more fabric and such, and the closet ended up being "stuffed" with piles of fabric in various condition. Some folded, some still in the original bag it was purchased in, some sorted into "P.I.G.S." (projects in grocery sacks), and a few "W.I.P.s" (works in progress).

Did I mention I moved into this room over a year ago? Well, I have finally decided enough is enough. I can't find ANYTHING. It's so frustrating, I close the door to my long awaited, treasured space just because the disorganization has stressed me out. So, this is what I have come up with to help me organize my wonderful fabric collection.

When I buy fabric, I buy yardage. Yes, I'll buy a fat quarter or two, but my fabric collection consists of 1 - 7 yard pieces of fabric. I usually buy at least 2 - 4 yard of something if I really like it. If I LOVE it, I buy 5 - 7. Crazy, I know. :) ANYWAY, I was trying to think of a way to fold and store it so that I could SEE what I have at a glance. This is what I've come up with.

I have purchased 3/8" Poster Foam Board sheets that measure 20" x 30". I can get these at my local hobby store (i.e.: Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc.), and can usually get them on sale for about $1 each.

Using an old rotary cutter and my 6" x 24" ruler, I cut the board into 5 pieces, giving me 5" x 20" pieces. I use these like fabric bolts.

Then, I measure my piece of fabric, and using return address mailing labels, I record the yardage on a lable.

Next, I lay my fabric flat on my cutting table, take one of my foam board "bolts, and lay it on my fabric towards one end.

I then start to fold my fabric onto the bolt, keeping the fabric smooth and taught.

When I have the entire length of fabric wrapped on the bolt, I take the label with the yardage amount and use it to secure the end of the fabric so it doesn't unroll.

Not only does this secure the end, it also tells you how much is on the bolt. And, since it's just a sticker, when you cut fabric off the piece, you can re-label it with the amount remaining on the bolt.

The other thing I can do with this is wrap entire projects on one bolt, noting how many yards of each fabric, and what I may be missing to complete the project.

When I'm finished (and I'm only about 1/3 of the way finished), I intend to have my shelves installed, and I'll be able to stand these bolts up and put them on my shelves, just like you would see in a fabric store. I can organize them by color, and I'll be able to see what I have at a glance! :)

This may end up taking a while, but at least I see the light at the end of the tunnel. And it's NOT an oncoming train! LOL!

More later...

Dee