Thoughts On Fabric Organization


metro textile fabric

I have to say that I’m much relieved that my move is over and I’ve settled into my new place in the past week.  Get this: in the past four years I’ve moved five times.  Crazy, right? I plan to stay for quite awhile now – it’s been a long time coming, but I finally have my own place.  A first ever!

So with that being said, I have all the closet space I could ever want all to myself.  Oh the possibilities for fabric storage!  Which got me curious – how do you store your fabric?

I found ideas online for how to store fabric like quilting cottons, etc.  I do love this idea of using a filing cabinet to organize such fabrics, but that’s not really what my stash consists of (yet…I want to seriously get into quilting this winter).  I have a lot of knits (surprise), lightweight cottons, some wool suiting, and poly dress weight fabric.  Hanging them up over a hanger is an option but it would get wrinkles.  I could ask for some leftover bolts at the fabric store or buy plastic ones, but I don’t have shelving to store them on.  My boyfriend’s mom suggested wrapping them around wrapping paper tubes (I would probably use PVC piping instead, there’s acid in cardboard) and storing them in a big wrapping paper container, an idea I like best so far from what I’ve found.

Well, I’ve got time on my side, I’m in no rush to get my crafting space organized by any means.  I even created a Pinterest board awhile ago with neat ideas I’ve found from other crafters and stitchers that I’m planning on implementing in my bedroom/craft studio (what a combination!).

What are your favorite organization ideas for sewing and crafting?

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I’m Speaking @ Ignite Craft Boston!

If you’re in the Boston area this Friday and are looking for some crafty fun, come to Ignite Craft!  I’ll be giving a five-minute presentation on my sewing background and philosophies, a more extensive elaboration of this post from 2009.  If you’re not familiar with Ignite Craft, here’s a little blurb from the site:

Ignite Craft Boston 2 is an Ignite event with a crafty crowd. If you had five minutes on stage to talk about your crafty passion in Boston, what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world folks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers.

Come join the Boston area crafting community for Ignite Craft Boston 2 on
Friday, January 13th, from 6:30pm to 9:30pm
32 Vassar Street, room 123 (MIT Campus)
Cambridge, MA 02140
 Doors open at 6:30 and presentations begin at 7:00pm.
The event is free; however, due to limited space at the venue you must RSVP.”

You can read more about the event and RSVP at the Ignite Craft website.  You can also see the lineup of speakers; it looks like a pretty awesome night for the crafting community.  Videos of each presentation will be posted online afterwards so don’t worry, I’ll be linking that up on the blog.

Now to prepare myself for my speech and for sharing embarrassing pictures of myself from high school!

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Instead of a cheesy card, whip up some of these cute and easy felt hearts from The Purl Bee. That’s all for today!

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Runway to Reality: One-Shoulder Trend

From left to right: RM by Roland Mouret, Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, Christian Lacroix

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, it’s been obvious that the one shoulder trend is back in full swing for 2009, officially ushered in this year by Michelle Obama at the inauguration and countless other celebrities wearing the trend lately on the red carpet.

Make It Yourself

I’m assuming that these patterns can be adapted to have the shoulder strap flipped to the other side, if that’s more your styling preference. Try combining the one shoulder element with your favorite top or dress pattern for an updated look.

Butterick 4983: Opt for a skinny or wide strap version. Crop it to make a day dress or keep it long and elegant for evening.


Vogue 2881: One shoulder styling and Grecian undertones go hand in hand. Not surprisingly, both trends were prominent features on many runways for Spring 2009.


Vogue 8387: A nice option for a fitted sundress. Or, use a satin fabric, shorten the length, and you have a sassy cocktail dress for a night out.

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Sandra Backlund: Haute Couture Knitting

You’ve never seen knitting like this.




From her Last Breath Bruises collection. View more here.

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