fabric justice

A few months ago, Amanda of Soulemama came across a great organizational idea for storing your fabric stash. The idea is that you wrap all your fat quarters and hunks of fabric around these plastic boards so that they're all the same size thereby making everything easy to stack and see. While my stash is not enormous by any means, I still couldn't justify the cost the plastic boards.

The idea of the boards had been rolling around in my brain for a few months, when I had an epiphany in of all places, a comic book shop. The Husband and I have a deal - for every moment (or dollar) spent at the comic shop, he'll spend an equal amount of time in a yarn shop. Accordingly, this means that I never put up a fight when it comes time for him to catch up on the latest Justice League issues. So while I was standing in the shop, somewhat awkwardly with my arms at my sides, not wanting to touch anything comic-y, it hit me. Comic book boards! True comic book geeks store all their issues in a plastic bag with a board in it to keep the issues pristine. The perfect size and stiffness for organizing the stash. 100 boards for less than $7. Can't beat that.

I spent yesterday going through my fabric bin and reorganizing. I folded pieces to the right height, wrapped them around a board and held them closed with a pin. Anything that wasn't big enough to wrap around a board goes into the scrap pieces bin. I'm not quite finished, but now my fat quarters and random yardage are all colour coded and can be seen perfectly. I love it when one geeky habit feeds another.

Comments

[amanda]

Wow! That looks so amazing! Ah, clean and organized! And what a great idea with the comic book boards.

[erin]

That is SUCH a good idea. Time to unearthe that plastic bin'o fabric...

[hillary]

very clever!

[Cathi]

Those look so great- almost makes me want to get a fabric stash so that I can do the same thing. :)

[Toni]

I like that idea. I have a friend though, that always hangs her fabric up in her extra closet. She used the paper towel tubes to put over even the plastic hangers, and then she can open the closet and see exactly what she has. She told me last week that she is even thinking of getting the plain see through trash bags for tall kitchen containers, and then just cut a slot to put the hanger through, and that will also protect her fabric from the dust. She is a quilter, and a seamstress.

Toni

[Kim]

NICE! Hey, I folded and sorted fabric this weekend too! Must be something in our water.

[Maureen]

What a fantastic idea!! I think I'll have to give that a shot with some file folders from the office.

[kathi]

brilliant...

[kelly]

What a genius idea! I've been trying to figure out something similar that wouldn't involve hours and hours of cutting cardboard myself... I'll have to check out our local comic book store! Thanks!

[Heather]

Love the idea!

[Amber Lee]

You are a genius! I want to pull all my fabric out of my dresser (where it is totally crammed in) and try this!

[Finny]

I'm so doing this -- now to find a comic book store...Thanks for the inspiration. This is just the answer to my bursting basket of miscellaneous fabrics.

[Jenny Factory]

Oh, GENIUS! I love this idea. I tend to buy larger cuts of fabric (3+ yards) since I make clothing, not quilts, but I think I need to adapt this to my needs somehow.

Love your blog, btw. I tend to lurk here from time to time. Your posts are always so much fun.

[larissa]

Awesome. I just googled organize your fabric stash and you came up first. I love this idea. I used to live with a comic geek and I know just what you're talking about.

[Simmyb]

Oh my goodness what a fantastic idea. I really want some of those comic boards but we don't seem to have them in England. I followed the link to BCW Supplies but sadly the minimum order is $50 if you are abroad. Must get my thinking cap on.......thanks so much for sharing though.

[Colleen Patterson in OK]

I am redoing my stash! it is so wonderful and fresh. I told my friend Jamie and she is really pumped! She dragged her hubby to the local Comic Book store and brought 4 packs of comic boards.

[Melissa]

this is an awesome idea! I've seen the quilting boards advertised, and anyone with any stash to speak of would have to take out a second mortgage to buy them!

[chelle]

Thank you so much for this idea. I bought the comic backing boards and organized my stash. Now I can see what I have!

[chasmyn]

Such a perfect idea! My hubby is a comic book geek, too, so this can be done easily! I love it!

[Kim]

Found a link to your pix from another site ... such a great idea! I too have seen the expensive plastic boards advertised in quilt mags and just could justify the expense. However, your idea is very doable.

The comic book industry should award you a medal!

[Trish Laffrenere]

Love your organizational skills. I have a lot of books with samples of fabric that I would love to organize. They vary in size but not big enough to do what you have done. Any ideas for storing them? Thanks.
Trish

[jennifer ramos]

Wow! That's extremely organized. I can't imagine that degree of organization.

[Jan]

I was reading the comments and someone said they usually buy yardage, and would have to think how they could adapt this ides, at the fabric stores they always have lots of empty bolts. Pick some up and then fold your fabric in 4s instead of halves, and wrap them on the bolts. Some quilt shops call these mini bolts, and then they will fit or stack anywhere.

[the aesthetic onion]

I had a lot of scrap mat board lying around (also archival, so it won't stain your fabric). Which I wrapped my larger pieces around. If they were one yard or less, I wrap them around an index card and place them in color coded baskets.