I’ve had a pile of fabric sitting in the corner of my room for about 6 months. And I finally came up with an idea for storing it.
I was inspired by this image I saw on Martha Stewart:
(Image: Martha Stewart Living)
Here, they put fabric pieces in clear shoe boxes, but I found it not as crisp as I wanted, if you get me. I can imagine putting fabric in and taking it out leads to smashed down fabric and a mess.
So I decided to use hanging file folders. Of course, once I’d done all that, I found someone else online who did a nice job with a similar system. I’ll show you that at the end. For now, behold my solution!
I bought a clear, freestanding file folder container at The Container Store.
Available for $15 at The Container Store
There were also watertight versions that were quite a bit more expensive, but if you wanted to store your fabric in the garage or the basement, that would be a good option.
I got a bunch of hanging file folders as well. Then, I put each fabric in and around a file folder. First, you fold your fabric so that its width is not wider than your folder.
Then, lay your folder on top of the fabric, and fold one side in so that it just reaches the bottom of the folder.
Now you will fold up the rest of the fabric on the other side of the folder, folding it over as many times as you need to make it fit neatly.
Then, simply close up your folder.
And then hang them all in the clear box.
You can see in this side view how it keeps the fabric from dragging on the bottom and keeps it neat. You do need to have a pretty full box to make sure it stays neat.
I found another great tutorial for this kind of system over at Sew Many Ways. She put hers in a filing cabinet:
And it looks great. She does hers a little differently, so click on over there if you’d like to see her version. What I like slightly better about mine is that you can put a filing box anywhere, and the fabric is kept inside the folders and therefore very neat. But hers is great, too.
Do you have an ingenious system for storing fabric? I’m always open to new and improved!
