I love looking at my fabric!
But it didn’t used to be that way…
Does any one else’s fabric collection look like this?
When I would look for one piece of fabric, I usually had to dig through a few boxes and make a mess in the process. And these boxes had been “neat” before, but let’s just say getting the fabric to the box instead of the craft table is an accomplishment. 🙂
For my sanity, I needed better organization and found this wonderful idea using foam posterboards. Not only is the organization neat, but it doubles as beautiful decoration. Designer fabric needs to be displayed instead of hiding in a box!
Now I can view all of my fabric easily and take out
the one that I need without disturbing the organization.
I LOVE it!
– Supplies –
Fabric
Foam Posterboard
Xacto Knife
Pencil
Ruler/Cutting Mat (for measurement)
Pins
Iron
The first step is to cut out the foam posterboard. The measurements will depend on your preference and size of your posterboard. My cut outs were about 4″ x 9″.
Using your pencil or pen, trace where you will be cutting on the posterboard.
If you look really closely, you can see my trace lines in the picture below.
Using your Xacto knife, carve the first layer (the paper) along your traced lines.
You don’t need to carve all the way through.
Then bend the posterboard along your carved line.
Basically breaking the foam. Bend the posterboard all the way back.
After the last step, you will have some nice creases in the back of the posterboard.
Using these lines, carve with your Xacto knife through the paper.
Then easily pull the carved piece from the posterboard.
Continue carving until you have the desired amount of foam posterboard pieces.
Before you put on your fabric, it is nice to have the wrinkles ironed out.
Fold your fabric to the size you want it going around the posterboard.
In this example, I folded my fat quarter in half.
Later on, I ended up folding a little bit of the frayed edge.
This allowed more of the white posterboard to show through and hide the frayed edges.
Now wrap your fabric tightly around the posterboard.
Using pins, pin the end of the fabric to the posterboard.
Make sure to do this on an angle so the pin is almost flush with the fabric.
And you’re done!
You can organize these however you like.
I organized mine on a bookshelf with ribbon-filled vases in between.
I just love staring at this shelf now.
And I have another shelf below that – I think I need more fabric! 🙂
Remember a wonderful place to buy designer fabric is The Ribbon Retreat!
We carry a wonderful selection and have new collections coming in almost weekly!
Plus, make sure to sign up for our newsletter to find out when our fabric sales are.
Have fun organizing!
16 Comments
oh I love you for this!! LOL My fabric is a mess in a BIG box and I always make a mess looking for what I need, I’ve never been able to figure out a good way to store this! I will deff. be trying this out 🙂
Wow! This looks so good!
This is my winter project too! If you have a basement sewing room (like I do) I might recommend using plastic corrugated cardboard which is lightweight, weatherproof, and moisture resistant. You can find it at your big box home improvement stores. Just a thought.
Thank you Andrea! 🙂
I absolutely love this!! It looks gorgeous! Great job!
Now tell me how to organize the 5 -20 gallon tubs. I don’t even like to sew, I have no idea what my problem is
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I so love this idea! All my fabric is in a tub and just looks a mess. I am DEFIANTLY going to do this……lol now i just have to figure out where i can display them at. Thinking about adding more shelves to the hall closet. thanks for the idea!!!
wow that amazing if i do say!!!!
I keep my fabrics folded and organized according to colors and sizes in a clear bin. The only downside of it is, I have to take the fabrics out one by one to get the fabric I plan to use {unless it’s on the top}. This a great idea, I just need a bigger shelf for my fabrics to fit in. Thanks for sharing.
I am in the process of doing this, too! It is so great to be able to see what you have. But, I got this idea from one of my Groups I subscribe to but don’t remember which one…Buy Comic Backing Boards to put the fabric around. It is thinner, more like coated cardboard, but works just as well. I tape the edge of the fabric when I start to fold it, then pin when it’s wrapped…works great! These actually save you a little room because they’re not as thick as the foamboard. I buy them through Amazon in the 6 3/4″ x 10″ size and get 100 for around $10…much more economical. If you search for them many resources come up. I have an old dresser with deeper drawers that I line them up in and/or put in the plastic deep drawers that are stackable.
Brenda – that is a fantastic idea! A lot less work too! Thank you for sharing!
I just finished organizing a lot of my fabric with purchased boards yesterday. never though of making my own. I’m off to the store to buy the foamboard and fin ish the orgsaninzing. I put mine in boxes from Ikea to keep the dust off. Thanks for the idea.
I love this idea! But like Brenda I ordered the Comic Strip Boards. I purchased 100 in a package from Amazon for $10.00. Awesome price! As Brenda said…much more economical and a lot thinner.
Thanks for sharing your idea also for organizing fabric. Heaven knows we never have enough fabric! 🙂
I really like the way you’ve organized your fabric. I really need to work on my stash. I had a great idea, and it works ok, but it could still be way better. Maybe I’ll start over. Thanks for the inspiration!
What a great way to store fabric in such a way that it is protected AND easily accessible! Nicely done! 🙂
~Heidi of Operation Organization
Yes, I, too, purchased the comic book boards that Brenda mentioned. I also learned about this idea in an online sewing group (maybe the same one) But in addition to the fact that they are already cut and save time, another great reason to use them is that they are acid free. (well, at least the ones I bought were) Foam board may or may not be, and over time could cause discolorations in the fabric. 🙂