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How To Store And Arrange Your Stash

Summary

So you have a fabric stash and you want to know how to store and arrange your fabric stash?  We discuss the key options here.

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How To Store And Arrange Your Stash

You have been saving up those bits and pieces of fabric from your previous projects, and purchasing a few yards of beautiful fabric at a time for a "future" project to be determined at a later date, now where do you put it?

How To Store And Arrange Your Stash

 

A Closet

A closet with shelves is a wonderful home for your stash. If you have ventilated shelving that allows your fabrics to "breathe" they can be stacked on the shelves by color or type (all reds together, all blues together, all Christmas fabrics, etc.). This is an ideal storage method if you have the space in your stitching studio.

Closet Storage

 

An Armoire

Smaller than a closet but really helpful is an armoire. If you don't already have one, try looking at second hand stores, there are a lot that are becoming available as people move from housing their television sets in them to hanging the television on the wall, and they are a great way to keep your fabric clean and organized. I like to put an old pillowcase on top of the shelves prior to placing my fabric on them just in case there is any stain on the wood that could come in contact with my fabric.

Armoire Stash Storage

 

Filing Cabinets

No they are not just for papers anymore! You can wrap your fabric on comic boards and stand them up in the file drawers for a really neat storage option

File Cabinet Fabric Storage

 

Open Shelving

This option is good for those with a large stash of substantial yardage. It is far easier to keep large (5 yards and greater) pieces of fabric looking pretty on open shelves than it is to keep small scraps of fabric this way unless you employ the use of pretty baskets and bins for each color or type of cut of fabric. If you have limited space though, some people will purchase a set of shelves to use for storage and then hang a piece of flannel in front of the shelves to use as a design wall. This will protect their stash from light and dust a bit while still allowing them access to their fabrics.

Open Shelf Storage Stash Basket Storage

 

Glass Jars

These are perfect to store on open shelves with your small bits of fabrics as a beautiful colorful display. This is generally best used for those that keep small scraps to use in true "scrappy quilts" or by those who enjoy applique. This is also a great way to store embellishments so that they are not forgotten in a box or closet.

 

Pillowcases

How many of us have pillowcases that have never been used or that have lots of life left long after the sheets they match have been thrown away? Well put those "free" storage containers to good use by using them to store your scraps that can't easily be folded to look pretty on your shelf, but that are too good to throw away. These can be stored in a closet, or a basket tied with a pretty bow to look like a decoration rather than storage. The fabrics you put in there might be just what you need for a scrap quilt where the teacher requests you place your scraps in a bag and just pull one at a time out without looking at it to make a truly scrappy beautiful quilt and you know you already like the fabrics or you wouldn't have bought them in the first place.

Stash Pillowcase Storage

 

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Glossary

Applique
Attaching individual pieces of fabric to a background to form a design.

Same As: Appliqué


See Also: Freezer Paper Applique, Needleturn Applique, Machine Applique, Reverse Applique, Shadow Applique
Design Wall
Any wall where you can position quilt blocks, then step back to view the layout at a distance. Quilters often hang batting or plain white flannel on their design walls, because quilt blocks and other components stick to it easily without pinning. Heavier commercial design walls are available.
Flannel
A soft fabric which can be made from cotton, wool or synthetic fibers. It is usually loosely woven and slightly furry and is very warm. It's tendency to ravel makes it a very good fabric to use for rag quilt.
Scrap Quilt
A quilt, usually patchwork, made of many different fabrics, often left over from other projects.
Stash
A quilter's personal collection of fabrics. Buying more fabric is adding to your stash.
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