Organising my fabric stash. HELP!

I really need to sort out my fabrics. I have lots of boxes (I do love boxes) but I'm unsure whether to sort by colour or pattern (polka dots/floral/gingham etc). I've seen various blogs about folding the fabric etc and they always sort by colour, but I usually go by design first then colour.

What do other CO&K'ers do?

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15 replies since 15th July 2011 • Last reply 15th July 2011

i'd go by how you most likely are to choose your fabrics for a pattern. are you more likely to pair reds together or the balloon pattern together? less digging (hopefully) in the long run that way.

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I'd say by colour, im not very organised with my fabric stash or my bead and jewellery making stash, but for me its a organised mess lol!

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I know by colour makes sense - but that's not always the way I think.

I'm really trying to avoid to many sub catagories.

I'm not really organised but every now and again I get the urge!

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Maybe the plain colors and the ones with minimal print sorted by color.
And the rest sorted by print.

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how about this----
you organize by color AND pattern.
what i mean is u have some fabrics tht are just color u organize those seperatley and u organize the patterns seperatly by pattern and color. hope i helped

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OK so I actually organize by size.
Large pieces are in a trunk.I have 12x12 box for medium and shoe boxes for small.
For up-cycled pieces these go in another box.
Felt and made papers go flat in document boxes.
This said if another can find a perfect system let me know !

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I do mine by size as well. That way I don't have to sort through all the fabric I use on ATC before I can find one to make a tablecloth.

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I do fabric types usually.
Like chiffons, then tules, then patterned, etc.
if theyre big I fold them, if they're smaller I might put them in ziplock backs
and scraps I put into jars based on color mostly.

Happy Good luck

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i literally just joined this site because i was searching around to see how other people organize their fabric, and i think i've come up with a pretty good method. well, for me at least.

i have a few large tubs, and i fit a medium size tub inside (sans lid), separating it about half and half. solid greens go in one part, for instance, and green prints go in the other. that way i can satisfy my ocd like need to keep colors together! small cuts or scraps go in baggies, but still in their designated bins. i also have a separate bin for the fabric that doesn't fit one specific color scheme.

i also have to reorganize about once a month...i get lazy after projects and stuff is everywhere, along with yarn and my jewelry supplies.

hope i could help! Happy

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i do type too, except mine are in bags at the moment because i dont have any drawers (i dislike boxes because what i want is ALWAYS on the bottom) so all my fur is in one place, fleece, felt etc and i have a separate section for fabric i dont like (was probably cheap) and another for flawed fabric
i keep scraps/small pieces in a small ziploc bag inside a bigger plastic bag.

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I love to sew, so I have a drawer seperated into type of fabric (cotton, quilting exc.)and color. Pattern can be found in the different color seperations. I find it really keeps me orginised.
Hope this helped!

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I decided to organize my fabric like a fabric store. I use a filing cabinet so I began with cardboard forms (cutting them all the same size 8X11). I fold and roll my fabric to the cardboard creating the "bolt" then "file" them in the drawers. I am kinda loose on how they are filed. I began with colors grouping all solids/patterns of the same color together. As my stash has grown over time I do have some drawers by fabric type such as keeping cottons, flannels ect together used for quilting. I do have a "scrap" box for the smallest pieces but if the piece is large enough to "bolt" I roll on the cardboard. You can see a guesstimate of how much is on you bolt but I do mark them with masking tape and write on it since I usually secure it with the tape anyways.

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Well it's sort of more up to you, but I'll tell you what I would do, and I'm a very organized person:
I would fold the fabrics and separate them by color. (You could separate them by both, but I would do color.) Because if you want to make a Yellow chicken, then you have all the different pattern types you want, in the color you need. You can make a yellow Polka dot chicken! Haha!
I would put colorful fun labels on each bin.
And shelves are always nice to keep your bins on.
That's what I'd do. Hope this helped!

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I store my fabric on the bookcase by color, design, and type.

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