Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Fabric Folding & Fabric Storage Solutions

After posting accessories for thread and bobbin storage, I got to thinking further about fabric storage.  During the creation of the TOSN, I was originally going to include examples of fabric storage but it overwhelmed me b/c the ways of storage are limitless.  We all have different organizational/storage needs so to try and touch base on all of them seemed daunting and I opted not to include them.  Then some mamas were discussing that adding them to TOSN would be a bonus to TOSN and make it more wholesome.

After debating the idea and talking it over with Will, I have decided that I will sell out of my current listed stock on my Etsy cart, take a few weeks to revamp the whole TOSN and relist it.. chock full of more useful information.  (All previous purchasers will receive the updated version FOC of course!)  I have also had ideas of additional chapters, so this will be the perfect time to complete them as well.

So for now, I'm going to share some of the best fabric storage ideas I have found.  I have searched countless blogs and spent hours getting lost on Pinterest to share fabulous ideas at a glance for you.

Starting with how I store my fabric. I am lucky to have a full double door closet in our shared office room (lovingly called "the room of chaos"). I store ALL of my crafting supplies there and it works perfectly for me.

To store my fabric I bought these at Target on sale for $17 each set of (4) cubes.  I bought (3) sets, but ended up splitting up the 3rd set to help the toy storage in my son's closet.


After years of checking out other people's craft room ideas I found the neatest fabric storage is to use comic boards. The below picture was taken from a blog that shows how neat and clean fabric storage can be.  This is the answer to any OCD organizer's dream! 


Also, over at Smashed Peas and Carrots, she shows more ways to use the comic board storage and how to fold the fabric. 


If your feeling up to making your own boards, here are some dimensions to get you started.  Thanks to Alaskasunshine's Fabric Folding Tutorial over at QuiltingBoard.com
 

On to more fabric storage ideas!

Since we touched base on comic board storage, other's have chosen full bolt storage.  I found this lovely photo on Flickr that was posted by GardenPat.  If you like this idea and don't have full sized fabric bolts handy, go to your local fabric shop, Joann's or Hobby Lobby and ask if you can have the ones they put in the trash.  



This is a fabric addicts dream! Just looking at this shelf makes me want to run my fingers over the fabric.  This blog also has a great tutorial on how to fold the fabric in flat squares by using an Omnigrid Ruler.  Check out Within a Quarter of an Inch


Bunching together a couple 6 shelved wire drawer units provides the ideal storage solution.  I found this great idea on The Little Green Notebook



My heart filled with instant happiness when I saw this picture.  I want this.. I mean.. seriously... how awesome is this?  Not only a pretty piece of furniture, but the color is inspiring, and the dresser is useful for storing fabric and using the top for other forms of storage. It's a double win! This was a find on Flickr posted by Cindy {K}



This is something I covet... I yearn for it... but I simply don't have the space... unless I kick the kids computers out of the office and make it ALL mine... hmmm.. LOL.. It's 4 cubby shelves combined together to create not only fabric storage but a cutting and pattern layout area.  *swoon.  I found this great idea over at: GeorgiaPeachez 


I love the Sterilte clear storage units. I use them for multiple storage uses.  Here is a great pic of how it's used for fabric storage and there is a tutorial on the blog on how to fold the fabric to allow it to fit in the shelves. Thank You Sunla-Designs



Using a letter sorter as fabric storage is clever! I can see myself utilizing this along with my Projects at a Glance Page.  This idea was found over at Design Mom


Fabric canvas storage cubes. To determine color family stored in the cube, place a color example (fabric swatches or paint swatch cards from a hardware store work great for this) in the windowed note section. This picture was taken from the Etsy blog (Everything Etsy.) 



Clear plastic tubs or shoe boxes are a great way to organize fabric as well. Not only do they not take up a great deal of space, it's easy to see the fabric.  I buy my clear shoe boxes at the $ store for a buck!


This was a very interesting idea and I had to share it! This would work perfectly with the Project at a Glance page, she combines all the fabrics, notions and pattern together and hangs it for future reference. I found this and other great pictures over at The Mother Huddle 



This is a fabulous idea to hang pre-ironed fabrics.  5 layered pant hangers. I found this great post on the Etsy blog (Everything Etsy) referring back to a blog called: FilmandThread. 



Behind the door storage! This is such a great idea! For those of you who live in tighter quarters, using the back of the door is perfect! This can be used for fabric or for ribbon (as pictured)


For fabric stashes that are stored in tubs.. here is a pic of a PVC shelving unit.  The tutorial and directions for making the PVC shelving unit can be found at Studio 5.


Now only will you be recycling fabric scraps with this idea, but you will be recycling a piece of musical history.  Using cassette case dividers to store fabric scraps.  This idea is simply music to my ears and can be found at Tonyastaab   



For multiple sized fabric pieces, this make keeping track of them a breeze.  While storing scraps in a basket is easy, I find myself always searching for a certain sized piece and hen having to measure pieces. This takes the guesswork out of finding the size you need.


For quilters who have fat quarter's it's difficult to store them b/c of their size... I found this brilliant idea on a blog and am going to utilize this myself...  for fat quarter storage ideas with a PDF form to create labels, visit Quilting Gallery

If you find other great fabric storage solutions please share!  Some of us could use all the help we can get!  (yes, I'm talking about me.. the self confessed fabric-a-holic).

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Organizing!
=) Kristina

6 comments:

  1. Perfect timing for me.
    I have used before, a metal shelf in a closet for storing my fabrics. When I had an entire closet for fabric, it was perfect.
    Now I only have a small hall closet, but if I rearrange everything I think I can make it work for me. I will be using a few of these ideas.
    I already have some fabrics on the pant hangers, and others on the bolt.

    I also covet the 4 cubbie system, but I don't suppose it would look very nice in the middle of the living room.

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  2. Great ideas! I have used a few but see some more to incooperate into my new space, especially that 4 cubies. Thank you for sharing what you have found.

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  3. Tip for cassette storage, get two of them and make double-sized slots in one by pulling out ever other divider. (The dividers on mine were glued to the bottom so a bit of flexing worked them free.)

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  4. Very nice ideas to store fabric items. You can use Folding Crate Containers from SHG Foldabele Crate or Sino Holding Groups for all kind of storage solutions.

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  5. FYI for the metal cubbies you can make "shelves" in them horizontally or vertically by securing with plastic zipties. I used extra sets to store all my 12x12 paper, custom organizers for my kids room, plus custom bookcases for the kids. We reuse these over and over again as our needs change. I love doing a no-guilt room reorganization!

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  6. thank you for all the wonderful ideas! I'm just starting to get my fabric stash organized and needed all the help I could

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