Bringing a bit of order: part 2
I've been telling everyone recently that I don't have a large fabric stash. However, if you ask my boyfriend he would probably tell you differently (I don't know for sure, I haven't asked!). Fabric seems to be everywhere in the flat. I can be a little (lazy) short of time once I have completed a project and the call of the next one is more overwhelming than the need to tidy. However, with the flat "purge" going on, of which I said nothing is safe, it was time to tackle how I store my fabric. Armed with a cup of coffee and The Apprentice on BBC iPlayer I brought everything together:
I then divided it all up into different piles: "stash fabric" which is anything that is big enough to make some from whether an item of clothing or a bag of some sort, scraps, UFOs (unfinished objects) and toile making material.
I was surprised by the "stash fabric". There is more there then I realised although a lot of it is left over fabric from other projects. None of these sprang to mind before when I thought about how much I owned. I came to realise how much was there when I decided to catalogue it. Call me a geek but if you're going to get organised then you might as well do it properly. A simple table will now help me make decisions on what fabric to use with which pattern. I listed the type of fabric, colour, amount (I measured every piece but not the scraps obviously) and any pre-treatment including temperature washed at if applicable. I can only access this from home which is a little annoying. Anyone know of any apps that could help here?
I wasn't so surprised to see the pile of scraps growing and growing. I'm not one to keep every little piece, if I can't see what use it will be in the future I throw it out. I have a few thoughts on what to do with this lot.
My UFO pile is pretty big. I need to decide whether to carry on with them or try to use them for something else. I have changed shape since cutting a lot of these out so I'm not sure they will fit.
I also have a growing pile of items that should be refashioned. Most of them are Adam's old work shirts. I can see more feminine shirts from some of them, probably not skirts as the grey ones are made from a lightweight cotton. I can probably rework the white ones for him as I can remove the company name by taking away the pocket but not the grey ones - they are definitely mine!
Two hours later and everything was put away neatly. I've decided to make a few bags to keep the items in as I'd rather look at pretty bags instead of plastics ones. Luckily, I have a lot of the purple fabric with embroidered squares which would work perfectly! I just need to find the time to make them... I don't have a sewing room but this process definitely makes me want one even more. I have to store all of my fabric under my bed, like a young child stores their toys. At least I have managed to find a dedicated storage space, even if it is awkward to get to - I had to stand in the wardrobe to get this shot!
What storage systems or solutions do you have?