Organizing your stash.

[Lady Toadflinger]

  I also have a sewing room that doubles as a guest room, so there isn't as much room as I'd like.  For my fabric, I use a large wicker trunk in the living room which is also a coffee table.  All of the rest is in the sewing room in various plastic bins and boxes, many under the guest bed.  (love that plastic!)  My mother-in-law had a great sewing room in her last house with deep wall shelves for fabric.  She then put curtains in front of these shelves to keep the light form fading the fabric.  I really wish I had enought space to do that!

[Artemisia]

I keep my patterns flat underneath the cardboard pattern board I keep on my cutting table.
I use kraft paper and I can't get myself to fold the patterns. Something about the crease in the paper makes me crazy. Don't know what I'm going to do when the patterns really pile up. Maybe hang them using skirt hangers or something.

My fabric stash is laid flat on a 5 tier wire shelf by fiber content. I have few commercial patterns. They are all in a small basket waiting for attention.

I use ziplock bags and baskets for trims and keep similar items together on another tiered shelf. One bag for braid trim, one for bias edging, one for elastic, one for cord. I keep all glues and adhesive sprays in a basket. All cutting and pattern marking items are kept in a small bin on the cutting table. Sewing items are kept at the ready in a flat jewelry display case so they don't crawl all around the sewing table. Then I have this big plastic heavy duty craft organizer-suitcase-type bin where I keep all my beads, paints, craft items and other miscellaneous items. Works double as a sturdy step stool.

I'm cheap so $20 wire shelving systems go a long way. Throw some upholstery fabric on them and they make for great portable storage for Pennsic. I use a portable 5ft heavy duty utility table as my cutting table. When the kids were home the computer was in a nice oak desk/hutch combo which is now my machine table. I removed the TV shelf of the kids old entertainment center, added a hanger rod and now I have a place to hang current projects.

This is all in a dedicated faire/sewing/hobby room which was once my daughters bedroom. Gotta love the empty nest.

[CaraGreenleaf]

Here's a question for you, ladies...

How do you store your bolts of fabric (if you have any)? I have just come into a (heavily discounted) 50-yd bolt of muslin and am wondering about the best way to store it....

Thanks in advance!

[sealion]

I am another member of the plastic tub brigade when it comes to storing folded fabric.LOL The three bolts I have are standing upright and held in place by the tubs. My patterns are in gallon bags standing upright in a drawer. My tools, threads, beads, etc. are in a repurposed rolling tote with drawers (a Crop-in-Style Storehouse that used to transport rubber stamping supplies to classes).

[CountessofPhoenix]

I'm planning on building a new cabinet in my kitchen for my fabrics, etc. Until then I decided to just sew as much of it up as possble. Since I received word this week that I have been accepted into nursing school (Big deal over 300 applicants only 70 spots) and as much of my sewing that can be done will have to be done this summer. Started last night, made 2 grandsons their capes. I am building my cabinet deep enough to just slide my plastic tub of patterns and the one of trims/notions right into it. In my big notions tub I have things in individual ziplock bags. I also have a board with all my thread on it. Made it myself so I can add nails as needed. Bolts of fabric are my biggest problem, have 2 bolts of fleece for capes that are constantly in the way.  Guess I'll get back to sewing.

[Hoowil]

I also have a board with all my thread on it. Made it myself so I can add nails as needed.

I've got so many scaps of 1/4" pegboard, even some of the vinyl stuff. I keep meaning to get some doweling to make a thread board, but its just another 'to-do' on a very long list...

[Baroness Doune]

How I learned to organize my stash.

Finding Time to Sew by Stephen Bergdahl

[Pascal]

Organize?

[Jess Devyne]

I, too, have a huge part of an unfinished basement to utilize.  I have two very large cabinets with shelves and doors (try to keep the cats and most of the spiders out).  I have 95% of my fabric pre-treated, folded and sorted in the cabinets, mostly by color.  Most of them have been measured and have a small "price tag" pinned to them with yardage.

I have small plastic bins on one shelf that holds elastic, ribbons and trims.  I also have the rubbermaid drawers that hold my grommets, eyelets, buttons, snaps, frogs, etc.  I have a thread holder for regular thread, a drawer for serger thread and a drawer for embroidery thread. 

All of my patterns are organized by brand then number in pattern boxes, those that have been used are in gallon ziplocks.  I also have an Excel spreadsheet that has all of my patterns listed the same way, with the added, gender, size(s) and whether it's costume, clothing or craft. 

My machines are sitting on old desks, I keep scissors, tape measures, needles, etc. close at hand in those. 

I have two 8' tables side by side for cutting, and I keep my "in progress" close at hand on an extra table. 

I have people come over on a regular basis (today included) to work on garb and such.  They love being in my space, and we get to "stitch while we belch"! 

[CountessofPhoenix]

Just got this new sideboard at Walmart for $59 on clearance. Holds almost all of my stash. Notions are in the silver tub, patterns in the clear one, 2 bolts of fleece on the left side bottom, misc. fabric on the right bottom. Scraps in a separate tub for now, and 3 pieces that wouldn't fit in with the scraps.

[Cilean]

We just purchased our 'dream' house about a year ago, and I have a single garage that is my craft room.  So my stash also contains: Buttons, Laces, Trims, Ribbons, pearls, jewlery supplies, fabric patterns, and cut patterns.
So every time Target has a sale on drawers they are single large and small.

http://www.target.com/29-qt-Clearview-Storage-Drawer-Set/dp/B000AVQFMQ/qid=1212649330/ref=br_1_6/601-4430749-2571342?ie=UTF8&node=14034461&frombrowse=1&pricerange=&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=14034461&rank=pmrank&rh=&page=1

So I have places to have all of the pieces of my stash within, I am still using bins to wrangle the fabric into but I am searching for alternative ways to hold all of my fabrics.

I am also looking at a designer closet place because I have really high ceilings so I am hoping to go vertical as well as using the space I can on the ground floor.

Cilean