This process took approximately 2 1/2 months to complete. Knowing this was going to be a sorting frenzy, I set myself some initial criteria before diving in.
- If I couldn't envision a garment/project out of the fabric, it was added to the "sale" pile. If the fabric passed this stage, it was photographed, measured and added to the Cora app on my phone.
- If it was less than 1 yard, further scrutiny was required and it was added to a scrap bin.
- If it was a lining, it was measured, rolled and placed in a separate lining bin. The measurement was written on a sticky note and pinned to the fabric. Lining pieces weren't added to the Cora app though. This is because I've never looked at a piece of lining and thought, hmm, I wonder what I can make out of this. Instead, I start by looking at the fashion fabric and then figure out if I have a matching lining.
- If it was a muslin type fabric, it was rolled onto a bolt and not cataloged either.
- Finally the scrap bins were sorted. Out of the 8 scrap bins I started with, I now only have 1 bin - which is filled with scraps I can honestly see using in the future. The rest of the scraps are in the "sale" pile, organized by color.
So how much fabric do I currently have according to Cora? Here's a screen shot of my current stash:
Yes - that's 291.36 yards of fabric in the current stash. I will be selling a total of 145 yards at the sewing garage sale at the end of this month so that's a total of 436.36 yards that was crammed into my little closet! No wonder it was such a mess!
Before:
I had some sort or organization going on here - cottons and linens were grouped together, and all of my linings were in the pile to the far left - but if you pulled anything out, the entire pile would fall apart....
More before pics - knits were intermixed with other fabrics and wools were mixed with polar fleece....
All eight of these scrap bins were full.....
After:
On the top row, I have wools and other thick fabrics. The bottom row consists of Christmas prints/panels on the far right, followed by 3 stacks of cottons and 1 stack of linen.
Now to the untrained eye (like my Mom's), I'm sure they will be saying "I don't see any difference!" Oh, but there is a huge difference! It's organized and labeled! I love me a good label - you should see my spice drawers! Here are my 3 stacks of knits on the bottom, athletic material and rayons on the top shelf.
Ahhh - organizational bliss here! The plastic bins hold all of my ribbons, trims, bias tapes, etc. all sorted by color. The 3 polka dot bins hold the current projects I am working on.
Here's the scrap bin - with a label of course!
And my lining bin....
All linings are rolled with a post-it note safety pinned showing the length and width.
Here's the lining and scrap bins on their shelf in the closet. Above them are plastic containers holding all of my zippers (sorted by color of course!).
Fabric Sorting Conclusion:
It feels great to have all of my stash sorted and organized. I found using the Cora app very easy and useful. Now instead of seeing a fabric in the stash and wondering how much yardage I have, I can just pull up the app and look it up! I have so many projects in mind too since sorting the stash, I think I need to take a few months off just to sew them all up. I wonder if the boss would be ok with that????My goals for the year and progress so far:
Garments to tackle:- Jeans - In process - the pattern is traced and cut out!
- Pants
- Bras
- Something reversible
- Sew more Burda patterns
Using up the stash:
- Sew 100 yards this year - In process! Currently at 26.25 yards sewn.
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Tracking:
- Track how much fabric I use/buy. - In process!
- Track spending. - In process!
- Track my pattern usage. - In process!
For fun:
- Redecorate the sewing room this year. - In process - currently trying to find some fabric for new curtains.
That's it for me today! It's been a very productive few months so far this year.
Happy sewing everyone!
P.S. - here are my spice drawers.....
