Keeping track of my fabric stash is essential for me. I easily forget what I have. I started out by using a binder and stapling fabric scraps onto a form (see
Deepika's Tip This worked great for me, but I didn't want to have to carry the whole binder (or even a page) with me when I went shopping for notiions, patterns, etc. Also, my fabrics were all over the place (different types mixed on each page) since I added them to the book as I added them to my collection.
I decided to staple the scraps to 3x5 cards and put them on a ring. This was OK, but then, I didn't like having to flip through the cards to see what I had. Finally, I came up with this idea.
I bought page protectors that are made for baseball cards that open at the top. The sports cards are 2-1/2 X3-1/2 inches. I bougt 4x6 index cards and cut them to 2-1/2 by 4. These slide perfectly into the pockets and leave 1/2' sticking up that you can staple the fabric to. On the card I write the yardage, content, where I bought it, price paid (if known) and any other information. (see picture above)
I have my pages organized by fabric type: wools, cottons, silks, knits, etc. Now, when I get a new fabric, I can put it in its appropriate category.
I store my fabric in boxes. Right now I have my boxes labeled A, B, C, D etc . Now I write the box letter on each card so that I can easily find what I need.
Now when I want to take a few samples to the store, I can just pull them out of the page protector and take them with me!
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Nancy...AWESOME idea. This makes total sense to me...and is convenient to get to, is organized as to type of fabric etc..and WHERE you put it...so you can find it easily. Now...if I could only find a way to organize my patterns so I could find them as easily...I could spend more time sewing rather than looking for my things TO sew!!! LOL. Thanks for the super tip. Marcia (chip1980)
6/15/07 12:31 PM
Thanks for the great tip. Cheers Lynne
6/15/07 11:52 PM
I LOVE organizational ideas like this. The only problem is I don't have a large enough stash to use this system. But, it's still a great idea!
6/16/07 10:20 PM
Nancy - What a great idea. Thanks for taking us through the thought process as you came up with the perfect system. I have also tried a variety of systems but none seemed to work for me. The baseball cards holders seem like an improvement over what I've used before. I'm going to give this a try.
6/17/07 0:43 AM
I could do this!! Thanks so much for pointing this out. I didn't like the other suggestions as they seemed too hard to maintain, but the baseball cards trick is a good one. I can take out the cards and make SWAP groupings and put them back how I want. Very cool. Thank you.
6/18/07 12:37 PM
I agree -- best organization tip yet!
6/20/07 4:19 PM
chip1980-pattern organization was a must for me. I cut the pattern envelope apart. Put the front pattern illustration and line drawing cut from pattern back in a page protector, these I file by type of pattern, such as tops, coordinates, dresses, etc. then file in 3-ring binders. Then, in a 1 qt ziplock baggie, I put the pattern pieces, just pulled directly out of original envelope, the instruction pages with the line drawing showing out as the front of the baggie, and cut the (English for me) back of the original envelope and use as the back of the baggie, so you can flip the baggie over and see the pattern line drawing and fabric/sizing info on the back. Then, I file these patterns in baggies just numerically in small boxes, such as shoe boxes, and put on a small shallow shelving system. The key to looking neat is having all the filing boxes the same, so you could buy the same type, such as photo organizers. Then, I just look through the binder section I am interested in making, note the pattern number and find it in the boxes, with the patterns arranged by number within each box, or go to the next box if the number goes up, etc. Totally easy to find those patterns, I could not sew without this system! Cherie (long time sewist but took a 10-year break. I am now back at it!)
6/21/07 1:26 PM
Thanks for this tip! I went to office depot last night to pick up the baseball card pages and I also found index cards that were already cut in half!
6/21/07 1:47 PM
Such a good idea. I feel like I keep finding fabric I forgot I owned!
6/25/07 8:13 AM
This is the technique I teach my students and it is by far the best one I have used. The only trouble I have is keeping it current and not removing the samples I have used. Must be disciplined
8/12/07 12:12 PM
This is a great system and a great tip. Thanks very much.
8/17/07 2:33 PM
I do this too, except I use the business card protector sheets-and I am baaaad about adding the new stash. I may have to organize in catagories too someday :oP
10/8/07 4:36 PM
Thank you for the very helpful tip. This looks like it would work for me - I have so much fabric I hardly know where to start but I must get some of these baseball card sheets and just start in somewhere.
11/17/07 7:05 PM
I really like ths idea! I may have to try it one day.... have fabric in two states!! :-)
3/24/08 8:13 PM