Sunday, February 10, 2013

Studio Reorganization Question

I have been busy reorganizing the studio since we switched out a bureau. We purchased two bookcases to replace it. Like these:



Now, I have to decide what method to use to store fat quarters. I have been folding 1/2 yard and up fabrics and stacking those.



The shelves are 11 inches deep and 11, 14-1/2 or 16 inches high, so I am reluctant to simply stack the fat quarters. I want to have easy access and need to be able to easily determine the color range/theme. Does anyone have any suggestions? What works best for you?

As far as I can tell, my options include baskets, bins, plastic shoe boxes, CD cases, boxes of various sorts, and trying to fold the fabric to fit. Are you using one or more of these options? Do you have a preference, if you are?

I appreciate any help you can give me.

6 comments:

  1. I like Fabric Organizers. http://thefabricorganizer.com/ They have worked very well for me. I arrange my fabrics by color and style. So all my batiks are together, Orientals, etc. and then they are arranged by color within those groups as well. I have been using them for years and they work great for me.

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  2. Lois Hallock of Clearview Designs has a book called Creating Your Perfect Quilting space, I live in Venezuela but I still want this book. Lois works as an engineer by day and at night she uses those skills to sort out how to make quilting easier for us. The fabric organizers are great and I have some from Polar Notions but am going to fold my fabric eventually as Lois suggests in a newsletter and in detail in the book I don't have. This is a copy and paste of the line from a newsletter, cardboard or thin MDF cut to the right size should do it for me as I don't have the rulers.
    4) Fold your fabric by rolling it on your rulers and sliding it off for a final fold. Small pieces can be rolled on 4” x 14” rulers and large pieces on 8 ½” x 24” rulers. When folded and stored on shelves such that the final folded edge is the only one that shows, your fabric makes a neat stack.
    Hope this helps, Good Luck P.S. I like your Blog!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, so much, for your vote of confidence and suggestion.

      I have Hallock's book and used her suggestion for 1/2 yard plus fabric folding, but the book does not describe the folding method for smaller pieces. I don't think I have a 4" x 14" ruler, but have to check. If I don't, I too would probably cut a piece of cardboard to the right size.

      Another method might be to use Nancy Zieman's technique and make the final fold the other way. You can find it here: http://www.nancysnotions.com/text/pdf/FatQuarterFabricFoldingTech.pdf (If it doesn't come up as a hyperlink, you can copy and paste it to get to the link.)

      The book has proved well worth owning, since I've reorganized the studio several times and keep referring back to it.

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  3. You could use 'Comic Book Boards' instead of fabric organizers, they're much less expensive.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Faye. Expense is a consideration. Could you tell me more? I've never heard of "Comic Book Boards."

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