Hey folks! Just got a couple of fabric sales to tell you about today!
Fat Quarter Shop – 20% off all Riley Blake Chevron until June 30. 50% off Children at Play by Sarah Jane with code ATPLAY at checkout, ends Sunday 6/13/13. 20% off Sewline products until June 30.
Pink Castle Fabrics – New Wallflowers Quilt Design Contest, sponsored by Pink Castle, Thread Bias, and Stash Books!
Stash Modern Fabric – 20% off Cotton Couture now through the end of June! Plus, over 100 prints added to the sale section of the shop! Stock up now on basics and some of your favorite prints before they’re gone!
I also wanted to think about the topic of fabric stashes and hoarding. How much fabric is enough? How many projects do you need to have fabric for ahead of time, and will you ever get to those projects, or is it just wishful thinking?
I’m always trying to think of better ways to take control of my fabric stash. There are just some things that I need to have on hand at all time, and those things are different from person to person based on what you are sewing the most of. For me, my order of sewing preference is bags, then clothing, then quilts. I have a ton (a ton) of fabric scraps, but I never use them. Does it make sense to save them? There’s a small chance that I might have a use for scraps in a couple of years for whatever project, but that’s a big ‘what if’. Some of my yardage is things I have because they are nice fabrics to look at, but so far I haven’t found a project for these fabrics – will I ever? These are really hard questions to answer.
It’s really nice to happen to have the perfect fabric on hand when your next project idea comes to you, but I feel like, for me at least, it makes me a little crazy when I have so many ‘groupings’ of fabrics for future projects. Sure, you love most of your stashed fabrics…but if you loved them enough, wouldn’t you have used them already?
I took some photos of my sewing room so you could see what I’m working with; I didn’t clean anything beforehand, so this is the usual state of my work area, because I’m always in the middle of something. Where quilts are concerned, I seem to enjoy using solids the most, so I have a good stock of solids on hand, as well as some multiple-yard pieces for clothing. Underneath my sewing machine are most of my ‘designer’ stashes…Amy Butler, Thomas Knauer, Melody Miller, Laurie Wisbrun, Echino, Tula Pink. I really would like to pare down, but whenever I glance at my fabrics, I have trouble finding even one thing that I would like to sell off. And maybe that’s a problem.
Well, for now I suppose my fabric stash is okay. If I wasn’t sewing a lot, I think it would be a problem, but I’m literally creating at least one new thing a week (and when I’m working on a bag pattern, that’s one week devoted solely to that bag), so for now it’s fine.
What about you? Do you have any tips for how you keep your fabric stash manageable and under control?
Maybe you should sell your scraps by weight if you’re never using them? At least then they can help pay for yardage 🙂
i have no solutions for you. but i like your computer desktop 😉
It’s nice to see a ‘real’ space. 😀
I use comic boards for 1/2 yards and up. When they are nicely folded and on a shelf the amount of fabric looks nicer and is easy to find and use. http://www.flickr.com/photos/luckyduckdreams/7790745888/in/set-72157626127671469
Oh I LOVE the bags! I just bought some great fabric at the thrift store that I am going to use for bags.
If you’re sewing all the time why not have a good stash of fabrics to pick from? I think (by what I see in the pictures) that you don’t have too much as to call it hoarding. About the scraps, maybe you can come up with a project or two to use them and assign a week to just use scraps.
All my fat quarters are organized by color in plastic containers stacked neatly on a shelf. All of my yardage is folded and stacked by color family except my cat/dog fabric which each has its own stack. Scraps are organized by color and bagged up and then put in plastic containers on the shelf with the fat quarters….as for managing the stash quantity….I finally started using my stuff when fabric skyrocketed to $11/yd! I buy some fabric, but I must really really love it and have a project in mind. I find myself saying….this is sooooo pretty, do I really want to use it on THIS. And of course, the answer must be yes….because it needs to be used.my oldest piece was a 15 year old piece by Kaye England, designed during her kalidiescope years….and I finally used it to make a nice bag for a friend and I’m glad I did! I will still buy fabric, but it’s got to be a good deal. I recently found some Yuwa fabric for $4/yd….couldn’t pass that up. It was white toned, but I have fabric dye so…..
I think I have more fabric coming in than going out. I have started going back in my stash and using fabric that I bought before I became “a modern quilter” for charity quilts. That is my way of reducing my stash rather than giving it away or selling it.
You know sometimes I feel frustrated not to have so much fabrics but on the other hand it does challenge me to use what I have on hand. It’s really our own preference and the way how we look at it. Just do whatever is right for you.
I definitely have more coming in than going out and since having a baby the “out box” has completely halted. I was hoping to get a few tips from other readers, but I see many of us are in the same boat 🙂 Looking forward to more comments!
What a nice sewing studio, makes me want to jump right into those pictures and start working 🙂 I don’t think you can ever have enough fabric, especially if you sew on a regular basis. But I agree it can be a little tricky to find the right order for them. I sort mine according to apparel and bag making and these have more subcategories (like fat quarters, home décor, knits..). And I have the same problem as you: one drawer full of little scraps that I „will definitely use for some project in the future“. So far, this hasn’t happened…
When you sew on a regular basis,I think there is a need to have an ample stash on hand. If you were just collecting and not sewing,then it would be considered “Hoarding” 🙂 If your scraps are overflowing,maybe you could do a scrap giveaway,or set aside one day (s) a week/month to just make something (s) from your scraps.. Thanks for sharing your sewing space with us 🙂
I had a friend of mine — build me a wooden shelving unit with 28 (8″x12″)shelves. Each one contains one colour of fabric, with several different shelves holding the same (beiges, browns, blues etc.)Then…. I have complete quilts (block of the month, and kits) in plastic scrapbooking containers -waiting to be sewn. I also hoard all my scraps and for what???… I don’t know. I tend to buy material when I am stressed therefore my huge stash. I am going to try and limit myself (Can’t buy anything until one quilt is done)or- to go 2 months without buying anything and then maybe “treat” myself. I have four projects on the go right now and try to sew at least a little bit each day.
Love seeing your cute little Sew Petite machine in your photo. I love mine, but the tension is off and it would cost more to repair it than to replace it…which I don’t want to do. So she sits waiting for me to take care of her…
When you keep scraps, just measure them and make sure that they are big enough to be used in a quilt. I keep scraps that will make a 2×2 inch square, however I think I want to concentrate on bigger squares for quilts so I think I will throw those smaller scraps away. Then just make a scrap quilt. It doesn’t need to be perfect, think of it as a way to commemorate all the projects you have made that resulted in those scraps! It’ll be a fun thing to look at, a game of I Spy.
WOW – I really like the layout you have in yor sewing room.
The way that you have all your fabric on show and accessible at any time is something I’m thinking about doing in my sewing room.
Thanks for sharing and keep the great posts coming 😀
Gemma (EDiS) x
I don’t have good access to local quilt shops so I have a good sized stash. I love being able to start a project right away because I have the fabric already but I am choosy about what I buy and really try to choose what I will use.
I quilt but I give away scraps if I start to feel paralyzed. Giving it someone who will use it feels good, too and frees me up to sew the things I love and/or need.
Keep sewing!
I started out this year on a fabric diet. That went pretty well for a while, but then I fell off the wagon big time. I am trying to only buy if I have a plan in mind. I have a lot of fabric that I bought because it was pretty and now I have some things that really don’t go with anything else I have. I keep all my projects in those Art bin containers. I just found some labels that stick on and you can insert new paper when you change the contents. I do like to be able to see and pet my fabrics.
My stash control method is pitifully useless i.e saying to myself “you do not need any more fabric”. Trouble is, I also know that when you see a really fabulous fabric,you may not see it again,unless you take some home…I have just bought some shelves to organise myself a bit better and get the tottering piles of shoe boxes/plastic boxes into order.The boxes are all labelled, so that’s a start! My computer chair is the same as yours, but mine is lime green, so that makes me feel WAY more organised and professional! Like Beth above, I did quite well this year just reminding myself that the stash had plenty in it for every project, got UFOs busted, then fell off the wagon last week.It was a long fall…