Fabric Storage

Now that both kids are gone from the house, very little of their stuff remains - woohoo! To not wade through clothes, shoes, and other stuff scattered on the floor and chairs throughout two rooms is heaven!

And in the process of cleaning out, several under bed boxes were freed up, one of which I quickly laid claim to for a growing stash of gray fabrics.

What is this particular box? It's a clear Sterilite under bed box, 6 1/2" tall, with square corners and a latching lid system. These are found where storage supplies are sold, for around $8.

The other boxes had curved ends, no locking handles, and where a bit smaller, not good candidates for fabric storage.

So, why do I like these boxes so much? For me, they are the perfect way to store fabric! Here's 7 reasons why these under bed boxes are great for fabric:

1.  clear, so you can see what's in it

2.  keeps fabric organized, by theme or color

3.  big enough to store several yards of fabric, but won't become so heavy that it's impossible to lift or move

4.  allows fabric to be stored out of sunlight, which can cause huge damage to a stash

5.  latching covers cuts down on dust collection

6.  easily stacks - I have 4 groups stacked with 3 or more

7.  when properly folded, fabric is stored on edge, meaning it doesn't get crushed by the weight of other pieces on top. This also makes each piece easily visible, like going through a file folder. 

So, just what is properly folded fabric? Fabric that is folded to have a 6" dimension on one edge. Since I buy mostly 1 yard cuts, I'll show that one first, followed by larger cuts.

Fold the 1 yard in half, fold to fold, and selvage to selvage.

As the fold lines show, fold on a third,

then a third again.

Fold in the opposite direction by a third,

and once again, which is the final fold.

This piece measures approximately 8" wide by up to 6" tall, a perfect height for the box.

A 2 yard (or more) cut is handled a bit differently, just because there's so much fabric to fold. Start again by folding the 2 yards into a piece approximately a half yard tall.

Instead of thirds, fold it in half,

then in half again in the opposite direction.

And fold once more, in the opposite direction, which is the final fold.

This piece is a bit wider, around 10", but the height comes in around 6", again a perfect height for the box. Here's the two pieces, end to end, showing they're equal in height for the box.

And now they go into the box, on edge, easily seen, accessible, dust-free, not crushed by weight, etc, etc. The two pieces folded for the demo can be seen at the white arrows.

Now, not only am I happy with a de-cluttered house, but all of my grays are together, not in several shoe boxes, a drawer, or mixed in with the black/whites - hooray! Hmm, looks like I have a bit more room in this one, don't you think??

Happy Quilting this weekend!