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#Post#: 15044--------------------------------------------------
Re: How do you organize your fabric?
By: VorFemme Date: October 1, 2018, 7:37 pm
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I have four large Sterilite cubes that I am sorting patterns
into as I inventory them on an Excel type spreadsheet. I have
quite a few smaller ones to use for patterns "for sale";
"particular family member", or other craft & sewing notions.
Not all of them can be stacked - as sometimes what is in the top
of the stack won't quite fit into the cube and it sticks out the
top...
I'm looking forward to a little less traveling in 2019 so that I
can finish the cleaning & organizing that I started in July
(first time we spent five weeks at home in a row in 2018 - and
the last time). Due to being hypothyroid, I have trouble with
my energy levels. I run out of spoons even when I'm trying to
pace myself - taking a nap may mean that when I wake up, it's
time to cook and I can't stay in the sewing room any longer.
I learned decades ago that trying to cut anything or sew it
after "dark" was not the best idea - if I'm the least bit sleepy
and I try to work just a little while longer, I will regret it
in the light of day when I see what I'm going to have to do over
again. If I'm lucky and it can be ripped out & done over or I
have enough fabric to cut out another piece...
#Post#: 15056--------------------------------------------------
Re: How do you organize your fabric?
By: gmatoy Date: October 1, 2018, 9:37 pm
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I've got the start of cataracts, so I try to make sure that I've
got a lot of light when choosing fabrics to go together.
Otherwise, I may do what my friend did: mix pinks and reds
without meaning to mix them. She thought they were all pinks.
Luckily, the DGD who got that quilt loved it! Friend consoles
herself with: 1) DGD loves it and 2) the thought that flowers in
the fields all look wonderful, no matter which color of flower
is next to them!
#Post#: 15057--------------------------------------------------
Re: How do you organize your fabric?
By: VorFemme Date: October 1, 2018, 9:44 pm
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Yeah - I have been told that I am starting to show signs of
cataracts. Excuse me while I look for those hook on sun glasses
since my regular glasses don't get dark enough to suit me
outside in the sunlight.
I bought the GE light bulbs (Reveal?) that are supposed to show
"true colors" and I have them on desk lights that are right next
to the sewing machines. If I have to remove black thread from
black fabric - I'll pull the lamp down almost close enough to
scorch the fabric. But I don't do anything complicated after
"bedtime" - because staying up an hour late usually turns into
an hour and a half fixing what I did wrong...even with good
lighting.
And I've been reminding myself of that rule since I was in my
late thirties...every time I push myself "just a little later",
I regret it at least 60% of the time. The odds aren't good
enough.
#Post#: 15082--------------------------------------------------
Re: How do you organize your fabric?
By: Chez Miriam Date: October 2, 2018, 7:03 am
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Don't do what I do: enormous blanket chest, filled to bursting!
I helped my mum organise her summer clothing, and had seen a
[Marie Kondo?] tip on the TV for scarves/t-shirts: don't pile
them on top of each other, put them as though they were
suspension files (or as though you'd piled them up with the
drawer resting on its front edge).
I don't think I'm explaining that as well as I could. [emoji15]
Then end result is that from the top, the drawer has lots of
very thin rectangles [folded edge of garment] visible, showing
the colours of all the t-shirts/jumpers/whatever. If you laid a
crate on its side, and then piled things in it would work, as
long as you jammed things in fairly tightly - that way you could
see at a glance what was in that particular location.
I'm also a big one for taping a label to crates with a rough (or
detailed) list of contents.
I tend to organise like colours together, with patterns
interspersed according to what appears the dominant colour.
Good luck with this, and I hope you are happy with the result.
#Post#: 15106--------------------------------------------------
Re: How do you organize your fabric?
By: Pattycake Date: October 2, 2018, 9:54 am
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[quote author=Chez Miriam link=topic=711.msg15082#msg15082
date=1538481796]
Don't do what I do: enormous blanket chest, filled to bursting!
... snip
[/quote]
That's similar to what I had before I moved to where I am now. I
used big Rubbermaid plastic containers. I really did mostly know
where to find stuff, but as the pieces got smaller, they would
sort of disappear in the piles. I was so glad to move here and
be able to put in the storage units I wanted. I also think that
if I ever want to sell my mobile home, and I move into a place
where I can't take them, that they will be a great selling
feature because mobile homes have no storage at all. And who
needs a 16' wide living room? (The cupboards are about 2' deep
and 18' long!)
#Post#: 15180--------------------------------------------------
Re: How do you organize your fabric?
By: cleargleam Date: October 2, 2018, 5:22 pm
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My fabric is all quilting cotton, and most of it is licensed
character fabric. I have most of the holiday fabric separated
into large ziploc bags for each holiday. The bulk of the rest I
bought to make gifts for my friends; the plan is to separate all
of the fabric for "Bobby" into one ziploc, for "John" into
another, and everything for "Eric" into the giant sweater bin
because I compulsively buy for "Eric". <headdesk>
#Post#: 15184--------------------------------------------------
Re: How do you organize your fabric?
By: daen Date: October 2, 2018, 5:44 pm
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My stash is yarn, not fabric, but I suspect that the principle
is the same - I sort by fiber, then by color. I have a lot of
laceweight & fingering weight yarns, so those get separated into
their own group, and then sorted by color.
One of these days I will knit a cabled sweater or two, and clear
out some of my stash, but for now it's going to be one small
project at a time. (The pending Dragon Cardi isn't going to
diminish the stash at all, as I bought yarn specifically for it.
Plus another yarn that I wanted to try out for the cardi, and
decided against.)
#Post#: 15218--------------------------------------------------
Re: How do you organize your fabric?
By: Chez Miriam Date: October 3, 2018, 6:54 am
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[quote author=daen link=topic=711.msg15184#msg15184
date=1538520292]
My stash is yarn, not fabric, but I suspect that the principle
is the same - I sort by fiber, then by color. I have a lot of
laceweight & fingering weight yarns, so those get separated into
their own group, and then sorted by color.
One of these days I will knit a cabled sweater or two, and clear
out some of my stash, but for now it's going to be one small
project at a time. (The pending Dragon Cardi isn't going to
diminish the stash at all, as I bought yarn specifically for it.
Plus another yarn that I wanted to try out for the cardi, and
decided against.)
[/quote]
Ah, yes, the grand ideas to knit something big enough to make a
dent in the yarn stash, and then having to buy a new yarn for
that project.
My current excuse is that I'm (finally) losing some weight, and
I don't want to knit a cardie that's too big for me... Happily,
my sweatpants/trousers are starting to sag onto my hips, and I
no longer look like a stuffed sausage in my new lime-green
t-shirt, so I may get around to using up that bagful early next
year...
Which makes me think of the smaller blanket box of yarn that we
pretend is a coffee table...[emoji15]
#Post#: 15238--------------------------------------------------
Re: How do you organize your fabric?
By: Jayhawk Date: October 3, 2018, 10:40 am
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I've heard of folks using old file cabinets and hanging the
folded fabric over hanging folders.
#Post#: 15287--------------------------------------------------
Re: How do you organize your fabric?
By: gmatoy Date: October 3, 2018, 6:32 pm
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[quote author=Jayhawk link=topic=711.msg15238#msg15238
date=1538581253]
I've heard of folks using old file cabinets and hanging the
folded fabric over hanging folders.
[/quote]
That is why I started putting my fabric in the Sterilite crates;
they are made to hold hanging folders. They take up less floor
space than filing cabinets; however, I eventually realized that
if I took out the files and just put in the fabric, I could fit
a ton more in. (I am still buying more than I'm using.)
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