Organizing my out-of-control fabric stash
I have an insane amount of fabric. It isn’t only the fabric on the couch above, but also more in my actual sewing room and elsewhere in the house!
Some of it was fabric I had purchased, but most of it is fabric that was given to me. I am not in the least sorry about any of it, but it truly was out of control. I wasn’t sure how I was going to organize it.
At first I thought large plastic tubs were the solution, but I don’t really have space to put them once I fill them. They are also very expensive.
After thinking about it for some time, I decided that the best way to store my fabric would be in storage bags because they would take up less space and be less expensive.
I found these storage totes on Amazon and knew I was heading in the right direction.
I decided to cut 2 small swatches from each piece of fabric to help me identify and locate the fabric I would want when I wanted to make something. I numbered the bags 1 through ten, wrote the type of fabric on my tag and then attached a small plastic bag to the outside of each bag with the fabric swatches inside. I also created a second swatch bag to keep on the peg board in my office.
You can see all my fabric piled on the couch below (can you see the couch under all that fabric?).
The plastic bags are great because they have strong straps and can be stacked. I kept the two heaviest ones downstairs in my sewing room. The rest went upstairs in a large closet in our bedroom.
The tags and fabric swatches make it easy for me to find the fabric I need when I want to make something.
The very last photo below shows the empty couch after all of the fabric had been organized. Phew!
I had also entered all of my fabric into Stash Hub before I started on this organization project. Stash Hub is fantastic because it helps me keep track of all my fabric and patterns. I can also plan and organize my sewing projects. I store people and their measurements in the app and use its time-saving functions to enter information using web site links.