Storage Solutions for the Quilt Room

We quilters love our fabric and notions, and yet, they can cause an organizational headache when it comes time to clean and organize our quilting rooms/sewing areas! It seems no matter how you stack it, fold it, or pack it, the fabric has a mind of it’s own and is soon strewn around the floor and on every flat surface once again.

Here are some storage solutions that allow you to contain your fabric, yet still see what fabric is in the storage containers without having to take off heavy plastic tops and dig!

From Organize.com -Canvas & Navy Underbed Chest. The size of this canvas storage chest is perfect for both multi-yard and fat quarter fabric storage at 6 inches high, 42 inches wide, and 18 inches deep. Made out of high quality canvas (which allows your fabric to “breath” but still be protected), this bag is durable enough to handle years of wear and tear. A double pull nylon zipper ensures that your fabric is well protected. Easy view thick vinyl top for easy identification of contents. Off white and dark navy blue colors, compliment each other beautifully, to give you an attractive looking chest. Priced at just $12.99!

Perhaps your budget won’t allow you to replace all those plastic totes you’ve already purchased. There is a solution to making these totes more accessible – because, after all, isn’t the fabric you need always in the bottom tote?! Check out this Bin Warehouse For Plastic Totes - 12-Tote Rack offered by Online Organizing.com. As you can see in this photo, you can access the bottom tote as easily as you can the top! Priced at $129, it might be worth every penny in the amount of organization you gain, and back pain you lose! With fabrics sorted and each tote labeled, you would be able to find any fabric at a glance. An 8-Tote Rack is also available.

I am in LOVE with this next product! I’d like to have one beside my sewing machine, and a second tucked away in my family room for time I spend hand sewing and working on embroidery projects. Intended for dorm rooms, it is called a Rolling Shelf System - Organizer and couldn’t be more aptly named! It features a shelf system with 6 smaller pockets and 2 larger shelves. One side of the rolling caddy has 8 mesh pockets of various sizes to organize everything from scissors to rotary cutters! On the same side, it has a file pocket for your current project’s instructions or your favorite quilting magazine, with 4 more pockets for more supplies. On the other side, this caddy has a removable laundry hamper with carrying strap – perfect for tucking scraps away! The caddy is soft-sided, so you wouldn’t want to place heavy objects on the top. The rolling organizer has a lightweight yet durable metal and 420 D polyester frame. Black with silver trim. This item ships directly from Stacks and Stacks. Normally priced at $49.99, it’s on sale for $29.99 as I write this post.

Exactly how organized do you want to be? Do you currently cut and organize your fabric scraps? If you’re a quilter who cuts scrap fabric into squares for future projects, check out these little Photo Boxes offered at Amazon.com! They are 1 1/5"tall x 6 7/10"wide x 4 4/5"deep – perfect for storing pre-cut fabric squares up to 4.5 inches! And because they are made of clear plastic, you can see what’s inside. Sort your squares by size and then by color or by project! At just $1.99, these little boxes are a great opportunity to be super-organized!

Just one last storage solution for today, and this is one straight from my own quilt room. I am a “I need to see it to remember I own it” kind of person. For example, I own a lot of various rulers for cutting fabric – different widths, different lengths, specialty rulers for cutting triangles, etc. I had them tucked away neatly in a drawer, but when it came time to cut fabric, I’d make the project more difficult by not utilizing the ruler that would make cutting easier. So here is my solution for ruler storage. I bought a box of  
Binder Clips and attached one to each ruler. I also purchased a box of T-Pins . For each ruler, I put a T-Pin right into the wall (it makes only a very tiny hole!) and then slipped the handles of the binder clip over the T-Pin. Now, I can see every ruler I own and use the appropriate ruler for the project at hand!Total cost for this storage solution is about $5.00. You can find binder clips and T-pins at your local office supply store.