Fun With My Fabric Stash

Did you know that February was “Fat Quarter Month”?

In honor of Fat Quarter Month, Sew Mama, Sew has been asking quilters and fiber artists about their fabric stash.  In fact, they’ve even started a fabric stash group on Flickr!

I decided to get in on the fun as well and answered their stash questionaire:

What do you usually sew?

• I sew everything from clothing, accessories, quilts and artwork.

When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?)

• It depends what kind of fabric it is.  For quilting or fiber art, normally I’ll buy a metre or so (depending on how expensive it is of course!)  For clothing I’ll normally buy several metres – but that can change depending on if I have a specific project that it’s for.

Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need?

• It depends on the day!

Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it?

• Oh yes – many years of working in a fabric store has left me with a decent allergy to fabric sizing.  I get red welts on my arms, sneeze and generally feel like I have the flu.

Do you iron it?

• Normally yes – I may cheat and cut something out straight out of the dryer, but I try and be a good little seamstress

How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.)

• I start out by sorting by fabric type.  I try and keep all of my cotton quilting fabrics together, and then sort through different types of clothing fabric.  Quilting cottons are then sorted according to color.

Do you have any special folding techniques?

• Umm… is sticking it in a box a special technique?

How do you store your fabric?

• Most of it ends up in plastic totes.  I know that plastic isn’t always the best for fabric, but it’s not practical to instal a shelving system in my current studio.

What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash?

• Figure out what kinds of fabrics you love to work with.  I am a real natural fiber hound, so I don’t tend to collect a lot of polyesters – even if the prints are beautiful.

When do you say enough is enough?

• Are you hiding your fabric from family?  Are you ashamed of it?  Are you over-spending your budget?

What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects?

• Go do a search through the archives – I’ve got tons of them!

Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it!

• Hmm… that’s a hard one!  I’ve got tons of fabrics that I adore

What’s your definition of the perfect stash?

• A stash that works for you and that has everything you need!

image: © C Findlay-Harder