Hey everyone...I have a question. I need to re-organize my fabric and I just wondered a few things...
Do you organize your fabrics by type? Homespuns, cottons, 30's, etc. THEN color?
Do you organize them by color no matter what type?
I seem to end up with piles and now I'm all jumbled around with colors mixed here and there, my homespuns separate from the cottons, backings in a separate pile, etc. Thanks for any answers you give, it will help me figure out how I want to re-do these messy shelves!
25 comments:
i kinda do a little bit of everything. i put all of my civil war repros together (bkgds and all), and then my prim stuff on another shelf...then all solids (minus bkgds) and then bkgds. it works for me!
I organize by types, reproductions, 30s, childrens, and then organize by colors. Then I have a huge group of lighthouses, and nautical that are in a group by their selves, and red, whites and blues.
I have a hybrid system in that I sort most of my FQs and small pieces by color in bins. I think of these as my palette for small projects like applique and blocks-of-the-month, etc. My 30's, Civil War, Batiks, kid prints, and Asians are in separate bins. Finally, the larger hunks are in big bins and I've scanned most of them with notations on quantity so I can look at them from my computer. I can almost always find what I want....almost always. =)
Well I sort (or stuff as the case may be) by colour, but I keep my homespuns and handdyes and batiks in a separate place. Hope that helps.
Because I haven't got a lot of a certain type I sort by type then colors.
Mostly they are sorted by color (red, pink, orange, yellow/gold, brown, tan/white, blue, green, purple, black/grey) but I've also got separate pile for 30's, Fat Quarters, Christmas, flannels, Multicolor novelty prints that I can't decide what pile to put them in, homespun plaids & solids. Backings and 'big' pieces (5 yards or more) are rolled on bolts and separated too.
I can think of 2 fabrics that I would sort by type - my Thimbleberries (but not really, since I've stopped buying them) and my hand dyes. Otherwise I sort by color.
I think another factor needs to be how much do you use collections *together*? I'm ALWAYS using my hand dyes with other hand dyes. I don't wish to intermix them with other fabrics. Everything else pretty much falls under "hey! it'll look good in my quilt, never mind what collection it belongs in. :)
I sort by color with cottons and homespuns together...30's on seperate shelves by color...Civil War on seperate shelves by color. Fat Quarter bundles together on several shelves.
I keep prim/folk-art fabrics separate from civil war repros separate from All Other trendy fabrics. Then by color within those 3 groups.
I just pulled all my Civil War prints to store in a separate spot. I usually keep homespuns and brushed cottons together, then another group of cotton prints. If I have a fq bundle of coordinates, I try to keep them all together in a little fq corner *s*.
I have boxes for colors but I also have boxes for separate collections such as 30s, asian, solids. plaids, novelty, large scale multi-color florals, kaffee fassett............Too much fabric, I know....And I quilt very slowly.....Oh my!
I sort by type or designer -civil war, 1930's, Batiks, Kaffee ,etc. then sometimes by color but I also have a large section of fabrics that are sorted by color. Pile of purples etc.
My scraps are sorted by color. I do keep my 1930s scraps seperate mainly because they are so much brighter then anything else I own. I keep large pieces for backing all together no matter what the fabric style may be. Usually anything 5 or more yards is backing. I also keep all of my fabric in one closet. Right now the closet is full. :)
Most of my fabric is sorted by color but specific types like Homespuns, Kiddie prints, Christmas or Autumn prints are in their own spot. When I get ready to use those fabrics (except the homespuns) I'll pull coordinating fabrics from the rest of the stash that's sorted by color.
This is fun to see the answers! My reproductions are sorted by color and under the bed in a plastic lidded box. My 1930's are grouped together in the guest room closet. My brights/childrens are in another bin behind the couch in the living room. My miscellaneous fabrics are sorted by colors in 6 stacking bins in the closet in the computer room. Oh, for a sewing room!!! Grins!
Julie
Great question, Judy and I've enjoyed reading all the responses you've received. My fabric is a huge mess! I used to buy fabric only for a specific project and then I started buying 'just because'. My "just because" purchases have caused major mayhem in my sewing room.
I usually sort by size, then by color. If it's something that is very specific for a project it has its own place. I know it's weird, but this way, if I know I need 1/2 a yard for something I can bypass all of the fat quarters and go straight for the right yardage. The only thing I've found myself pulling out are my Lakehouse fabrics -- and that's mostly because I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with some of them. Hope this helps.
I keep 1800s repros and 30s repros in their own tubs. Everything else is mixed together and sorted by color.
I'm open to using any and all fabric styles combined in any given project -- I'm more of a color person than a style person. I even use the repros with the other fabrics, but I do keep them sorted separately for accessibility I guess.
Interesting to read the other replies.
Jeanne
I organize by colors then prints or plaids.
Also I divided a yard + fabrics for another shelves.
Hi Judy,
I leave my fabrics with the family they belong to. If it is a Moda line I leave them all together. Now if i buy say a certain green, I have a tray with misc. greens and in it goes. But never ever, ever mix a family. LOL!!!
I sort by color but keep all batiks in a separate bin.
I have tried sorting mine by colors on numerous occasions, but they eventually end up getting all mixed up again. The only sort of semi-organization I have is that I have my homespuns separated out and the 30's fabrics are all together.
Awwww to separate or not to separate...... that is the question! Seems we have a concensus that we most of us keep the larger stuff together... things that we got a good deal on so we bought more... (you never know when you may need it!) And well I'm with the others... I like to separate somewhat by colors. Then I also have a place for fat quarters, and then a few that jump out at me.... I have some like Thai silks, Japanese prints, Holidays... I have an entire drawer that is nothing but Christmas prints/materials although they are slowly but surely getting smaller. Also, I have one bin that is nothing but different textured stuff! What can I say... it's organized kaos! You need to do the thing that meets your needs. Whatever is going to work so that you know where things are... I finally put labels on my bins... I have one that is nothing but white/creams... believe it or not it's over-flowing! Good luck! The thing is we all need to be able to handle and see what material we have, so we won't keep buying the same fabric. Have Fun!
Jean-o
Wow this has been fun to read all these answers! I started sorting by color years ago but not anymore as I've been trying to answer this I'm realizing what a mess my sewing room must be LOL!!! I guess I mostly sort by what looks pretty together :)
I am clearly mixed on the fabric sorting: 30s and novelties seperate, everything else by color.
Type, then color - more or less. The general fabrics are all by color. The plaids are separate but that's it. The reproductions are more by era than color - they started out by color also but have gotten mixed up as I use them. Then there are novelty prints and florals. Then a stack of fabrics I no longer love that I'll use for pieced backs. I bet that doesn't help you at all!
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