Mini Board Storage

Lots of sewing going on here right now, but today I'm going to focus on organization. At the end of my last post, I showed you the neat gift I got from the Academic Quilter to kickstart my improved fabric storage system. Comic book boards! Well, I'm happy to say I've started using them. It's the perfect way to spend a few hours while watching TV (a great activity in the 90-degree heat we've been having). I even ventured out to a local comic book store for more boards. 

Since my storage needs are unique to me--but perhaps similar enough to yours for this to be useful to you--I thought I'd share what I've done. 

I have six drawers of a dresser where I keep my larger-than-scraps fabric. Most of the pieces are fairly small, but there are a few that are large enough to fit on comic book boards, which are about 10 1/2 by 6 3/4 inches. The typical way of using them for storage is with the long side vertical on a shelf. I won't go into the specifics of folding fabric here. You can read about it on this site or many others online. The shelf I want to store them on is only about 8 or 9 inches high. So I folded the fabric to store them with the shorter side vertically. The folding method is the same--I just adjust the folding to accommodate the board in the other direction:

Here's how a few fit on the shelf:

Because my drawers are fairly shallow, I cut the comic book boards in half for storing smaller pieces of fabric. I also bought a supply of plastic coated paper clips to neatly clip the fabric to the board. Those won't rust if the fabric stays in the drawer for an extended time period--likely!

The cut boards are just the right size to fit in my drawers with the short edge vertically. I try to fold the fabric so that raw edges aren't exposed:

Then I fold it onto the mini board in the usual way

and clip it with a paper clip to keep the edge in place.

If the fabric is narrow (such as an eighth yard), just fold it with the raw edges showing and clip the paper clip at the bottom. 

That's a little messy, but preferable to the mishmash I used to have in my drawers.
If the piece of fabric doesn't fit neatly on the board

I declare it a scrap and throw it in my scrap bin. That's new for me since my scraps are usually much smaller. 

So here's what I have so far:

Doesn't that look a lot better than this?

I have folded about one third of a drawer's worth of fabric. 1/18 of the way through. Good summer project. One thing I've noticed though. I'm really getting to know my stash, and these fabrics are OLD!! I'm hoping to get serious this year with some string piecing, so maybe lots of these will get used up. But I also think that some might be on their way (eventually) to a new home somewhere else. If I haven't used them in 30-some years, what are the odds I'll ever use them? Meanwhile, my drawers will be so pretty, I'll just want to admire them. 

This weekend I'm going to start a sew-along project with Bernie over at Needle and Foot. 

I haven't sewn clothing for myself in many, many years, but this blouse looks like a fun project, and I think it's neat that home garment construction is back in style, so here goes. Maybe as I share my progress, I'll share some pictures of things I made years ago. (I can't believe I wore some of them!!) So stay tuned. (I'll probably post about this mostly on Instagram.)

I also have a squirrel I've been working on, but this post is long enough, so I'll share that another time. 

I'm linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts today. Keep quilting! Or, maybe, try a garment. (And if you live anywhere near me, stay cool. I hear a cool-down is coming.)