Today is Friday, the sun is shining and there are many things I could be doing- outside or in, we have visitors coming to stay for the weekend and it would be great to have our home schmicko, in a clean and uncluttered sort of a way, to welcome them.
But I tend to get abit distracted. The room where our friends will be sleeping is also where my fabric stash is stored. Rather than making beds, I decided I might spend some time 'organising' my fabric (read- folding and refolding and admiring along the way). One of the reasons I am prompted to do this is because, amazingly, I am going to use said fabric, rather than just hoard it to look lovely for 'one day' use (I was inspired by Gina to think about my approach).
I have temporarily misplaced my camera (well, I am not exactly sure where it is and I haven't had a look) which means I can't take a photo of the right mess my fabric is in at the moment. I am pulling it out and prewahing it- being a quilter I have never been a pre-washer before (I like my quilts to shrink abit and become lovely and crinkly) but I am led to believe that as I convert to sewing clothes, not prewashing could get me into strife. My line is looking lovely!
Here's a tip for quilters who don't make clothes- it's amazing, you can whip something up in a few hours rather than several weeks (or months in my case). Case in point- here are some photos of my cap that is now finished.
Here's a tip for quilters who don't make clothes- it's amazing, you can whip something up in a few hours rather than several weeks (or months in my case). Case in point- here are some photos of my cap that is now finished.
So, back to the fabric. It's lovely. I am just not sure the best way to store it- by colours, by size of piece, by fabric type (linen or cotton I mean, stretchy fabrics are in the next cupboard). I have had a bit of a system, but I tend to think that some peoples brains are better at organising than others- and if you have one of those brains, I think it would be very nice of you to share your secrets! How do you organise your fabric bits that have been cut into but there is still enough to make something else? And smaller scraps?
Do tell...
Nice cap Tan!
ReplyDeleteHmm,
* stretchy- rib, interlock, fleecy, etc,
* big vintage pieces- curtains, tableclothes,
*small vintage pieces- sometimes placing ones I like together for an upcoming project,
also, I like to group 'like' colours with the vintage ones,
*little linens, embroidery, etc.
*newer stuff,quilting,
*woolens, heavier weight stuff,
*plains-into denim, drill, cotton,linen, etc
*then whatever else kinda fits where it can! ;)
Good luck with all that :)
Mmm I'm not the one to ask.
ReplyDeleteMy fabric just gets roughly folded (read sometimes scrunched)and popped back into an enormous plastic tub - known as the tardis - and pushed down hard so that the lid goes on again. Not effective at all.
But I do dream of a white room, with walls of shelves and drawers all sorted by colour and size ....
Hey Tania, ah yes, if only there was a universal method to storing all the different fabrics. I generally fold and put florals, with florals, checks with checks etc, all the plain colours get stacked with their colour range. Felted jumpers and scraps go in large plastic storage bags and then I have plastic tubs with lids for other bits and pieces.
ReplyDeleteWorks okay, but definitely not perfect as I don't have one of those super organized brains!!
Love the cap despite the upside down vespa.
Hey Tanya, thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a comment. I am in N.E. Vic 25 mins South East of Wodonga and just out of a beautiful little town called Yackandandah. That's where the market is held 3rd Sunday of the month, it's run by the Lions club.
ReplyDeleteMy son has more hair than alot of people!!
Hope you have been getting some rain recently, all the best with the fabric situation!
Thanks for the reply and tip Tanya, hopefully it's all sorted and all systems are go.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend
So I'm working my way toward order, but it's more 'contained logical chaos' than anything very strictly ordered, as that's just setting myself up for failure!
ReplyDeleteI have a set of wire drawers which contain ( in no real order) all non- quilting fabrics and thrifted materials... Bits of denim, fleece, clothing I intend to chop up etc.
Then I have what I consider my craft/ quilt fabrics, kept on a shelf which has doors on the bottom. These can get in a real mess, but I keep paaterned fabrics folded by size and 'vibe' ( no colour spectrum tho!). So i have basically one deep shelf worth of half yards, fat quarters and the like folded up in there in size piles. It's a small enough stash and when I cone to make something I can pull out the size pile and find the vibe I want! I have a neatly folded pile of lain ( eg backing) fabrics on another shelf.
Smaller than that? That's what I'm working on now. Using a series of small containers to put different sized offcuts (2", 4" etc) into for future potential projects. The plan is to get into the habit of sorting my offcuts directly into these containers as I go and then chucking out the remaining skerricks. At the moment they're all jumbled in several scrap baskets and I find that overwelming.
I love your fabric choice for the cap! I am wanting to make some more Lazy Day Hats, but despite have a huge amount of fabric here, nothing seems right..... off to the shops again.
ReplyDeleteLovely hat - great fabric! Mmm mine is in tubs ad shelves in a big mess
ReplyDeleteFinished cap looks awesome Tanya!
ReplyDeleteI store big pieces of fabric (over 1/2m) by range or designer and then smaller pieces folded by colour and then scraps in a big box altogether!
Should take a photo of it one day... :)
Love the cap Tan - you are so clever. I am working on Pete to get us pigs - a girl at childcare called me to say they have had 17 and would we like a couple.... have been planting out a jungle of vegie seeds and need to look at Cam's catalogue again over a cup of coffee...good luck with the visitors!
ReplyDeleteThat is one fab cap! And now I have nothing useful to add because there isn't a scrap of organisation within spitting distance of moi. At least at the mo. In previous lifetimes, the organisation always happens in a colour coded sort of mode. Not unfraught, but never fails to look gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI thought id put my ideas in here even though its my first visit. Hello, and I love your hat.
ReplyDeleteGinas 'vibe' stack system is similar to mine in the way I put things in piles according to how ill use them. I constantly update these though.
I pile things by colour on the grand scale through a large wardrobe as I find it easy to sew from and very instant to grab things that match (to me).
Within this I have sorted girls fabrics and boys fabrics ( I make kids clothes). And there are summer and winter stashes on seperate shelves again.
My quilting fabrics are in the hugest size red white and blue bag because when I quilt I dont want to fold! I just want to sew! I tip this out in the middle of the floor and love to see different things landing next to others as it helps with mixing my choices.
BUUTTTT My biggest secret is that I keep fabric waiting to be made into cushion covers for me personally in my linen cupboard. This 1.frees up space in my fabric cupboard but 2.and much more importantly
hits me between the eyeballs and inspires me to sew when im doing my chores. Try it if you have the room.