Fabric storage

After buying some fabric last week I spent the weekend updating my fabric log so thought I would take some photos and share with you how I log and store my fabric.

I start by making a note of the fabric size (selvedge width and metres I have)
I lay the fabric out on the floor folded in half (selvedge to selvedge, right sides together)

laying the fabric flat for measuring

I then fold the fabric around a piece of plastic. These are pieces I have pre-cut to the size of both my fabric shelf and fabric boxes. I know other sewers use comic boards which you can buy from various places. I use the plastic as I can get it free from where I work and can cut it to several different sizes depending on what I need.
I put the plastic in the centre and fold each long side in.

plastic section in the centre of the fabric

fabric folded in on each side

Once both sides are folded in I then fold the fabric along the length of the plastic (short end) until I end up with a rectangle of fabric.

folding along the length

Once folded I put the fabric into a bag (if it is going on the shelf or is delicate) otherwise I just secure the end using either a pin or magic tape.
I then add a number to the fabric (or bag) using a piece of magic tape.
The number on the fabric corresponds to the fabric log binder that I have which holds all the information relevant to that fabric.

bagged and numbered

The fabric then either gets put onto my fabric shelf or into one of my fabric boxes (which I seem to be outgrowing)

these are the boxes

This is an old photo of the shelf - there is a lot more on here now

 The log I have is just in an A4 2 ring binder. I use a sheet by Sew Weekly blog
I have a sheet per fabric type and then just add a sample and all the information I need to use said fabric. I add the numbers so that if I pull a fabric and have several of a similar weight and colour I know which one to refer to in the log.

fabric log sheet

close up showing the information I log

I have a small Filofax that I use index cards in that has a simplified version of the information that I take with me when I go fabric shopping so that I can refer to what I already have or match up a fabric to one I already own.
I also use evernote to log all my fabric so that if I am out and have an impromptu visit to a fabric shop I can still see what I have

I am going to be doing a spreadsheet so that I have an electronic tracking system, this will include photos of the fabrics and also photos of anything I have made from each fabric so that I can keep track of past fabric/project combinations but have not done this yet.

I also use this method to log all of my lace and trims just using smaller pieces of plastic

I hope this has been of some use for those of you trying to organise your fabric.
I will do further post on how I use evernote and when I get around to doing the spreadsheet.

Thread Storage

When I started to sew more regularly and do more embroidery I purchased a bulk set of threads. The set consisted of around 70 colours plus 5 black and 5 white spools of thread. To begin with I left them in their original boxes. This was fine to start but eventually  I got fed up of trying to find the correct box for the colour I wanted so I came up with my own storage solution for them.
I needed the storage to be solid enough to hold the threads but also be portable in case I needed to move it.
Below is the instructions on how to make your own storage.

First step is to find an old cardboard box that is suitable for you storage needs ( I required 2 boxes and they are both now full)

I then covered the boxes with sticky backed vinyl. I'm lucky that I got both the boxes and the vinyl from where I work.

Measure your threads to see how wide they are. You also need to know the height of your threads and length of your box. Example my thread is 5.5cms high and 4cms wide. Box is 26cms long.
Double the width measurement so that you will have cardboard under the threads, add these measurements together by the length of the box.
I also added an extra 2cms to join to the adjacent divider and made the height just under the thread height. So my final measurement was 4cms x 3 + 2cms = 14cm's x 26cms long.
Mark this out onto a piece of thin card, marking all the sections.

Cut out the amount of dividers you can get across the box width (mine holds 6 cardboard dividers giving 7 sections)
Fold the cardboard on each of your marked line
Attach double sided tape to one of the middle sections, stick the 2 middle sections together (sections B and C)

Attach the cardboard dividers to the cardboard box using double sided tape, ensuring that the 2cms section is attached to the adjoining divider (section A of one divider will be stuck to section D of the neighbouring divider)
Arrange your threads. I arranged mine by colour.

On the second box I changed the dividers slightly.
I  added more cardboard to attach to the adjacent divider  the final measurement was 16cms x 26cms. I put double sided tape to one of the end sections, attached this to the side of the previous divider. Add more double sided tape to the middle section, stuck this to the section I had just taped.

As a final finishing touch I added a colour chart to the inside lid of the box so I know where each colour sits in the box, this helps when replacing colours but also to find the colour you require.

Decorate the outside of the box if you wish.

I have also started to do the same thing with my bobbins using an old ferrero rocher plastic box. I just need to purchase some more empty bobbins to finish.

Hope these instructions are clear, if you have any questions or suggestions please leave a comment below.

Pattern Binder Storage

Like a lot of other sewers I have built up a collection of sewing patterns - car boot sales have been quite good for building the amount I have.
I was starting to struggle to keep track of what I had and have ended up with some duplicates. I tried taking photo's to keep some type of spreadsheet but then got annoyed when I had to turn the computer on every time I wanted to see what I had.

This is the storage I had before

Then I stumbled across The Domestic Diva blog post about pattern storage and decided that it was exactly what I needed.
Here is how I now organise my patterns. I try to do this as soon as I get the pattern.

• Open the pattern envelope and remove all pieces and instructions sheets. 
• These then get put into a plain white A4 envelope.
• I then fold the envelope around the contents and tape shut. 
• The details of the pattern are written on the plain side of the envelope -include the pattern make and number, type of item (top,trousers,etc) and the sizes included.

envelope taped shut.

Details written on envelope

All of the envelopes then get stored in a box. I use an old paper box that I have covered but you can use anything you like. 

covered paper box

I sort my patterns

•  firstly by type (top, trousers, etc)
• then by make (Burda, etc)
• then by number
• add tabs for the different types (categories)

You can store them anyway you like and are comfortable with.

All sorted in the box

Tabs to find what I need

The original pattern envelopes are then put into clear plastic wallets - some people open the envelope flat so they can see both sides but I prefer to keep mine sealed. I put a cardboard insert into the plastic wallet to give it a bit of stability, each wallet then holds 2 envelopes - sometime 3 depending on the size.

The plastic wallets are then stored in a 3 ring binder in the same order as the corresponding envelope in the box.

Binder

Pattern envelopes in binder

To make it easier to search through my binder I added tabs to match the box on the sides of the plastic wallets and a categories sheet to the front. I also colour coded all the sections in both binder and box.

Categories list

Binder tabs

I can now flick through my own pattern book, decide what i am going to make and go straight to where the pattern in stored.

Choosing a pattern

Where my box is kept.

Binder on shelf

I store my box on the corner of my cutting table for now and just move it to the floor when I need more room. Yes that is another box of patterns waiting to be sorted. The binder sits on the shelf with my other sewing binders

A print out of my PDF patterns are stored in the binder with the patterns being stored on hooks (currently awaiting a place to call home)

PDF print outs

Hope this helps others to organise their patterns.

How do you store your patterns? Leave a comment below.

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Sewing room re-organizing Machine cabinet

I managed to buy this handmade sewing machine cabinet on EBay. It had been donated and was being sold by someone for charity. It has a removable solid top that reveals a air lift. Sadly my machines do not fit this so I leave the solid top on all the time.

Sewing machine cabinet.

The top is big enough for me to fit both my machines on except when I'm embroidering then one has to be moved. Behind the machines sits my daylight lamp, a mini dummy pin cushion and my sewing box for when I'm sewing on the go.

Sewing box

Daylight lamp and pin cushion

The pincushion was made using this tutorial from Debbie Shore.

As I don't use the air lift the inside cupboard space was being wasted. There was already a piece of wood across the back so I just added two more pieces across the sides (level with the back piece) and then added a shelf. This now holds my embroidery unit and my bobbins box (used Ferrero rocher box). I will also be adding another shelf just below this to hold my thread boxes. The ruler will end up being hung in the side of my bookcase (just need some hooks)

The table also has four drawers down the left. The top one holds my scissors plus machine items (tweezers, tape measures, etc ) the second drawer holds my machine booklets, etc. The third one has some storage boxes made using empty cereal boxes, these hold embroidery stabiliser, etc.

The fourth drawer is currently being used by my dad for his packing materials (he sells his old football programmes on eBay)

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Sewing room re-organizing - After

So it has taken the best part of 2 weeks to sort out my sewing room but finally it is finished and I can get back to actually doing some sewing.
Here it is

View from the doorway

View from just inside the doorway

The cot under the table will be staying. Once the other corner (not shown) is sorted the cot and cutting table will be going there with another junior bed going where the cot is at the moment (these are for when my nieces and nephews stay)

I have made myself a cutting table ( details of which will be in the next blog post)

Cutting Table

Cutting Table in use

As you can see the table is already getting good use. The mannequin at the back is a small one I made myself for quickly trying out ideas with draping. The silver box is for keeping the items I am working on in one place, the laptop is my old one that I have to empty and dispose of. The cardboard will be swapped for fabric once the wadding arrives. I am going to use these instructions here (from bee in my bonnet) to do my board.

I will just post quick pics of the rest with more details to follow


Designing table closed

Designing table open

Bookcase

 I will post further details of each section of my sewing room in future posts so that this one isn't pages long and boring.

Wardrobe storage

So as a little aside to sorting out my sewing room, I have been re-organizing some parts of my bedroom, just to give me a bit more storage. One of the things I wanted to sort was the bottom of my wardrobe, where I store all my shoes, which looked like this;

Bottom of wardrobe shoe storage.

After cutting the top for my cutting table I had some wood left so decided to make myself a shelf for my shoes. It basically consisted of a piece of MDF with four 2x3 legs.
This is what my wardrobe looks like now;

Wardrobe with shelf added.

 It's still not completely perfect but is an improvement on what it was.

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