How to Store Fabric

If you are like most sewers and quilters, you can't resist adding that beautiful print or great-looking piece of background fabric to your ever-growing fabric stash. But those piles of bright colors and textures can get out of control, and unless you have an organized storage system, you'll be lucky if you can find that perfect fabric that you purchased 6 months ago.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Invest in a storage unit consisting of a wire frame with baskets that slide on rollers. A standard-size closet can hold eight baskets. Fabric will be visible and easy to locate.

2. Hang larger pieces of fabric on covered hangars. Fabric will be visible and easy to access without taking up much space.

3. Roll easily-creased and delicate fabric such as satin and taffeta on long cardboard tubes to keep them free of wrinkles and fold lines. To secure the fabric on the tube, wrap a piece of thin paper around the middle of the fabric and tape the edges.

4. Purchase an inexpensive photo album to catalog your fabric. Place small pieces of each fabric in the album along with storage location and date of purchase. Arrange them by color, type or pattern.

5. Keep scraps and small pieces of fabric in shoe-box size plastic bins.

Tips & Warnings

• Pre-shrink fabric before you store it. That way, fabric will be ready to sew when you start your project.
• To keep your fabric stash looking bright and fresh, make sure that your storage areas are cool, clean, dry and free from drastic changes in temperature and humidity.
• Don't leave pins in stored fabric. The pins can leave permanent indentations in the fabric and may leave rust marks.
• Never store fabric in direct sunlight, which will fade even the sturdiest fabric in your stash.
• Be sure fabric is clean before storage. Dirt will damage the fabric and stains will be much harder to remove.