Ever wonder how you got so much fabric? Me too!
How does one little fat quarter turn into so many little pieces??
This Spring I decided to clean out the FABRIC CLOSET. It
hurts to even say the words. I would cringe every time I thought about doing it
and put it off for years. Enough was enough.
Here is what it looked like when I pulled it all off the
shelves:
One Hot MESS—and there were over 20 large buckets!
What to do with it? I
decided to separate it into piles—oh goody piles and piles of fabric to trip
over for the next week. I sorted all the fabrics into these groups:
·
Keep
·
Give away
·
Sell
·
Fat Quarters
·
Large pieces
·
Over 2
yard pieces
·
Small pieces
·
Throw away -- What in the heck was I saving
these for anyway?
KEEP-
I organized the large 2+ yard pieces by clipping them onto
skirt hangers. Brilliant! My neighbor thought of this and I copied her. Look how easy it is to find backings now and
larger pieces that I might want to use. It is Wonderful!
FAT QUARTERS
Fat quarters and those pieces that were close to that size
were sorted, folded and put in to storage bin and LABELED by color. I can grab
the color I want/need and find it instantly. Imagine that?
Large yardages that didn’t
fit on the hanging wall went into bins well as FQ bundles, selvedges, scraps
and small/medium pieces of fabrics. I leave the scrap bin open and every time I
sew and have extra it goes into that bin.
I keep all my scraps that are 2”
or larger. The scraps go into a bag like this and when I have a bunch I
make a scrap quilt— Like this one!!
So get yourself organized. You will find you can work more
efficiently and with confidence since you know where everything is …until it
gets messed up again. But keep it up and you will a happy sewer! I promise.
Such a stunning quilt and thanks for sharing tips.My fabrics are in the drawers and the scraps in plastic bags.
ReplyDeleteHave a fun weekend.
Jen I appreciate the post. I have been thinking of cleaning my sewing room when my husband leaves on his next business trip except I am afraid I am in more trouble than you, as I have been collection for a good 20 years. Where do you keep your books and pattern? How do you store your future projects or as my friend's husband calls them BIW (in bag waiting). In a few years we will move and I hope to have a gorgeous white cabinet sewing room like yours. Do you have any advise on that? How do you store the quilts you want to keep? Any info appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI know just what you mean about putting off fabric purging. I'm purging my house right now trying to get my nerve up to purge my studio this fall. I know it will be hard. Love the idea of hanging the backing fabrics. I just might see if I can make that work for me.
ReplyDeleteWhen our husbands die - lets move into together. We think alike. I love this.
ReplyDelete