I have been trying to get my craft studio cleaned and organized and I decided to start with my fabric cabinet. When I was unpacking my endless boxes last summer, I pretty much just chucked all the fabric into and in the general vicinity of the cabinet I planned to use. Most of the fabric made it inside. Now that I’m finally going through all of it and sorting and folding, it feels like some sort of archaeological dig, each layer representing different projects and times in my life. So, of course, I needed to make a journal from my Fabric Stash Excavation.
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Fabric Stash Excavation Hour 1:
Starting at the top, I grab a brightly-colored blob and feel the silky soft fabric. I bought this particular cut to serve as a table topper for when I dressed up as a fortune teller for a school event (in 2014.) What in the world will I do with it now? I have no idea, but it’s too pretty to just throw away.
Next, is an entire bolt of white cotton fabric. This is leftover from making angel costumes for my Girl Scout troop for a Christmas parade (from 2004.) Again, I have no idea what I’ll do with all of it, but it’s too much fabric to just toss out.
Interfacing, interfacing, interfacing. Tons of quilt batting, the good kind-definitely keeping that. More interfacing. Holy burlap Batman! Okay, I have to take a break from this just to fold all of this burlap. This was from a Girl Scout Thinking Day Egypt booth (from 2011.) We made it look like a Cairo marketplace. It was very cool, but it took gobs of burlap. In my defense, I’ve used this burlap again for several other events for Scouts and schools.
Fabric Stash Excavation Hour 2:
Now my black shirt is covered in burlap hair. Is it hair? Fur? Fragments? Whatever you call those little pieces of burlap that get all over everything.
Next up is a nearly finished Christmas lap quilt. I just need to finish quilting it and bind it.
Oh! I almost forgot all about the gorgeous fabric I bought when I lived in Okinawa. It’s all still folded in the original bag. I wanted to make a Japanese quilt (in 2002) with all of it. I still want to. Definitely keeping that, but I need to set a deadline for doing so.
There it is! My son asked to make one of those polar fleece tie blankets (in 2015) and picked out yellow and batman fabric to make it. I’ll sit that by the door. He’s not as much of a procrastinator as I am, so if just put it out with some scissors and a ruler, he’ll make it.
Yes, of course, I have six yards of pink cheetah print cotton. That was from the Mythology Cub Scout Day Camp (in 2013) for a toga. Why pink cheetah print? The real question is why not? I guess I forgot about that bolt of white fabric…
Ah, yes, eight yards or more of royal blue chenille (from 2011) when I was going to make a wizard’s costume for Halloween. Let’s be honest. Will I ever make that wizards costume? Probably not, so I better sell it or give it away. See? I can purge.
Why do I have two yards of Tiffany blue satin? Think. Got it! That was from the movie-themed Teacher appreciation week (from 2015) where we had Breakfast at Tiffany’s. That was so much fun!
So. Much. Gold. Okay, remember that Cairo marketplace I mentioned? Well, we covered all the tables and the backdrop with this gold gossamer/ tulle-like fabric. It seems like I have an Olympic pool full of it because it won’t fold flat, but it may just be 10 yards.
I need a tea break.
Fabric Stash Excavation Hour 3:
I can see the bottom of the pile! Most of this is scraps which I think I’ll THROW AWAY. Yes, people, I’m not actually a real hoarder. The rest of my house is clutter and hoard free (ignore that one unpacked corner of my bedroom). I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but we’re an Air Force family so we move every few years. We can’t haul a hoard around all over the planet. My craft supplies (and fabric) “hoard” are a direct result of everything being crammed into boxes and tubs, never getting organized or sorted, over the course of twenty years. Now, I finally have a huge craft room with storage and furniture, so I will be sorting AND purging anything I won’t use.
Back to the fabric. Sweet! It’s a pretty decent sized piece of real leather. I have no idea where I got it from, but I can think of some fun ideas for how to use it. Definitely not throwing that out–too pricey.
White pleather. Why do I have this? Why do I have a yard of this? I’ll keep it just in case. Maybe I should make an inventory so I remember everything I have. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
Oh great! Half a bolt of muslin fabric. All this fabric must be from the 1900s because I have no idea where it came from. I feel like I should keep this though because I have purchased muslin several times not knowing I had this.
(Huge smile) I don’t remember where I got this huge cut of purple chenille from, but I know I’m keeping it. Purple is my favorite color and the color scheme in my bedroom. I know exactly how I’ll use it. Yay! I saved myself from buying more fabric!
Wow! It’s another keeper, a huge bag full of purple and black tulle from my daughter’s sweet sixteen party (in 2012.) I can make a fun Halloween wreath with that. Shh, I will.
That’s it! Now to fold everything neatly and stack it in the cabinet. I really should make an inventory. I know for sure I didn’t realize I had so much interfacing. This whole Fabric Stash Excavation makes me want to sew something. I should finish the Christmas quilt and then make the Japanese quilt, but if you don’t see either of those projects by the end of 2016, call me out on it, people. I need fabric accountability.
Do any of you have fabric hoards stashes you’ve had for over a decade? What do you plan to do with it?
If you laughed even a little bit at this article, you definitely need to read Confessions of a Wine Cork Hoarder.
If you have a huge fabric stash and need some ideas on what to do with it, our friend Kim over at Day to Day Adventures has information (and a book) on how to make a rug out of fabric scraps. Yes, an entire rug. I could potentially make a very colorful one, lol.
