Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Fabric Freak?

So I had like 8 tub of fabric, a cupboard of fabric, and random fabric here and there... I thought I would have the playroom double as my sewing room, the tubs of fabric out numbered the toy tubs {I think} and the only time I can sew is during naps, and there is a sleeping beauty in there, soooo... I got a bright idea... I would put ALL of my fabric in Space Saver bags and then fit all of the bags in my ONE fabric cupboard... I sorted fabric by color and neatly folded it. This took a couple hours no joke! Here are my bags, ready for the vacuum!

ummmmmmm I could only fit two bags on a shelf, I had 6 bags!

I had a closet next to my fabric cupboard, it was home to childhood {meaning mine} comforters and blankets, and TONS of odds and ends, let me tell you this closet hardly ever got opened, because if you opened it, junk would fall all over you! I decided to Space bag the items in here and move them to the fabric cupboard...
...and stack my fabric in here, now it is ALL in one spot, but I am thinking I am going to hate this set up, you know the fabric I want will always be on the bottom and it will probably be a mess in no time... Ugh... What to do, What to do??


13 comments:

Empty Nest Full Life said...

I am feeling the same way right now. A little bit of everything, everywhere. I am slowly trying to bring some organization to it all. Jackie

Elise said...

I have no advice for you, unfortunately, I have the same problem.
Elise

Kelly Bergsing said...

I think it looks great. I know if I did that, I would only ever look for the fabric on the bottom. That is the way it always works for me. I have seen people hang them off rods (curtain or towel...) and it looked great. That takes up a lot of room, though. At least you wouldn't need art. The fabric would do that for you!! :) I am glad you got organized and I hope it works out for you!! It looks great!!

Georgia Girl said...

well I don't know what to say cause I don't have that much fabric...I have a few pieces from the fall and a few fat quarters to make a garland that everyone makes online...I think Em makes them all the time...

sherri said...

Gosh you do have a lot of fabric! I think you are on the right track tho with wanting to organize it...is there some way you could stack them so that you can see all pieces at a glance, and won't have to dig through them? I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Lemonade Makin' Mama said...

I have an idea!! (I love to organize and if I could get my hands on that closet... )

Can you get a shelving unit in that closet with shelves only four or so inches apart? Let me explain- My husband took an entry coat closet and bought four long metal shelving tracks which he then nailed to the inside four walls.(corners) After that, you clip in the shelf brackets and simply settle a board, cut to size, on top of the shelf bracket. With shelving tracks, you end up spending very little, they are easy to install, as my hubby is not a handyman, and you can place as many shelves at whatever heights you need. You can purchase shelving board at Lowe's and in most stores, they will even cut your board for you for a small fee. (or even free, if you bat your eyes a little and tell your husband to go look at nails or something... not that I did this...I'm just saying it MIGHT work) You could then stack your fabric on the shelves by color groups, (and you could even label the shelf!!) and before you even install the shelf, you could paint the inside closet a fun color. (I did that in mine)

Good luck!

Tammy said...

I agree with Lemonade makin mama- I was going to say put some shelves in there. Organize by color and then you are good to go. I love that she said paint the interior a fun color--I'd say either a fun color or white so it would be bright to see the fabric.
Seems a pretty easy task with the shelf tracks. And you can always find those tracks used at habitat restores so that could save you some money there.

~tammy

Unknown said...

All I know is WOW---you have a LOT of fabric. And how funny that I cut out a picture of a crafty room to give to you "next" time I see you. (Its on my hutch.) But I wouldn't know what to do with all you have. Lemonade Mama ;) has a great organizing idea. And I know YOU would be the one making the cuts...heeeheee!
I'll see you soon with that picture.
~TinaW

Roxanne said...

I agree on shelves! They have those cheap wire shelves too. Then you can put the fabric on the shelves or put them by color in containers on the shelves. if shelves are out of the question then fabric in bins or containers by color would be manageable. You could just grab the bin you needed then throw the fabric back in and close the lid and stack it on the other ones!

Ruth said...

Same thing here. Our house was built in the 50's and one thing it really lacks is storage. I never seem to have enough room no matter how I organize things.

Maybe some little shoebox size totes could hold some of your fabric on the shelves to keep it visible. I don't know if that is any help with how much fabric you have. Could some underbed storage drawers be a help?
Ruth

Em said...

I have been finding baskets and spray painting them and then sorting my fabric into colors and putting a color in each basket on my hutch in the garage room... I still have MANY stacks though!

Yarni Gras! said...

omgosh, that is hysterical. I would only need the fabric AT THE BOTTOM of the heap...

my hubby put up a ton of those wire shelves for me but I don't have to share the room with anyone.

Amy said...

I might have an idea for you. I hated digging for sheets so I hung them.

Grab some of those plastic pant hangers, and even some of the collapsable pant hangers that hold more than one pair.

I would install rods at about 2'or 3' intervals from each other. Fold the fabric into 1.5'(ish) lengths and hang from the pant hangers (or I suppose fold into 3' (ish) lengths and hang over plastic hangers...

I bet you can fit a ton in there.

Also - if you are worried about being able to see things without digging you could also cut a sample from each fabric and binder ring each row. hang each binder ring off of hooks inside the door.