Damask Template

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Organizing & Folding Fabric

What an interesting post title!  Um, not really...

Although I would love to show some great projects that I worked on this weekend, I didn't have any free time to dedicate to my projects except for the fabric I bought.  So, I decided that I should at least show how I organize and store my fabrics.



What you will need:

- A flat surface (I used my homemade ironing board)

- A flat board to wrap your fabric around (I use an acrylic ruler, but you could use a piece of foam core board cut to your desired width)

- Your big, messy pile of fabric

- Many episodes of your favorite TV show or an audiobook, because this may take a while...





1. Fold your fabric with selvages together, with the right sides touching.  Place the selvages at the bottom of your flat surface.  Smooth out any wrinkles.

(The reason these two steps are important are so when you are ready to cut your fabric, it is much easier to unfurl the fabric and your markings will be on the wrong side without having to refold.


2. Place your folding board at the right side of the fabric (mine is too short), and fold the edge of the fabric over.  If there are any stray threads, snip them away.







3. Hold on to the fabric carefully for the first fold, and then roll it all the way across your flat surface.



4. Pull your rolled fabric bundle all the way to the right and smooth out the fabric again, making sure the selvages are even.




5. When you get to the end of the fabric, you can tuck in the free end to make everything even.



6. Then, fold in half or thirds, whichever works best for your storage.


 7. Admire your piles of newly folded fabric!


Like most people, I separate my fabrics into weight, and then into color.  Notice the light lace fabrics on the left, light fabrics in the second column, thicker fabrics in the third, and the heavy fabrics in the fourth.

I wish I had a fabric bookcase or some other way to display my fabrics, but I have limited space.  Therefore, I use plastic bins for everything.  Here is an old picture via my phone (excuse the poor quality) of how I typically place everything in the bins.  Silkier fabrics, such as those on the left, like to slip and slide a lot, so I place them sideways.


I hope this helps somebody!  If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my current system, let me know in the comments.  Thanks!




1 comment:

  1. Bonjour,merçi pour cette leçon de pliage,moi maintenant,j'utilise les sacs qui se rétractent avec l'aspirateur(je ne me souviens plus du nom)ça prend beaucoup moins de place dans les placards,puis je glisse à l'intérieur une grande étiquette (faite à l'ordinateur avec une grosse écriture)pour reperer mes differents tissus ou vêtements,voilà!
    Amicalement
    Christiane

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear your comments! And putting in your two cents is always free. :)