Lest you think I am more organized than is truly the case, I have a confession to make. I made a mess of my new organized sewing room. I did it by dumping out the contents of the silk and bemberg drawer
You see, while I was working on Pointy Kitty, who is now winging her way to her new owner, I was thinking about future projects and washing and preparing fabric. I knew I needed some lining fabric to match a certain maroon fabric and I was sure I had something that would be perfect.
Now silks and linings have always been a problem for me. Folded on the shelf they slip and slide and fall over and make a mess every time you attempt to remove one from the stack. For some years I had stored them in a plastic tub, which kept them contained but still meant that I had to take the whole slippery mess apart whenever I wanted something. The new studio contained an expansion of this system. The fabrics were stacked neatly in a file drawer, but as soon as I started looking through the stacks, chaos ensued and the fabric started slipping and unfolding and generally just getting in my way. In a fit of pique I just unloaded everything onto the floor.
But what to do? This certainly makes working in my office a little more difficult, piles of silk and rayon everywhere, slipping into places they would be better off avoiding.
Luckily two busy busy days at work gave me ample opportunity to think and little time to take action.
I know many people roll their silks. My problem with this was always keeping it together, and finding shelf space. Shelf space is at a definite premium in this house, a situation that is not likely to change. I would love to have all my fabric on shelves where I can gaze upon it lovingly…but this is not likely to come to pass. Boxes and drawers are the only option.
So, it occurred to me that I could roll the silks, use paper wrappers to label them with yardage and whether I had washed them or not (some of the pieces are quite large) and store them. They would be easy to sort through in the drawer, easier to store, and there would be no slippery mess.
I started today.
The process will take a little time, but nearly as much time as I spend sorting through this drawer, dumpling the contents and refolding and storing everything.
Comments
6 responses to “How do I store silks and linings?”
Mardel ~ what a truly inspired idea! I love the tags on the ends of the rolls. It will be like opening a big remnant drawer and finding all of these wonderful pieces, tagged with all the information you need! Kewl! I will remember this for my own fabric needs!
Mardel ~ what a truly inspired idea! I love the tags on the ends of the rolls. It will be like opening a big remnant drawer and finding all of these wonderful pieces, tagged with all the information you need! Kewl! I will remember this for my own fabric needs!
See, you are accomplishing tasks! I can’t even open my silk and bemberg drawer because I know I will never be able to get it shut again. 😉
Seriously, now that you have lived with the remodeled sewing room a bit, is there anything you would do differently? How do you like having to walk around the cutting table to get from the sewing machine to the ironing board? Do you like the new modular storage unit better than the wall-mounted shelves? I am rearranging my sewing/craft room and struggling with balancing a need for more storage and allowing enough width for comfortable passage. How wide a passage did you allow and was it enough?
I love your invigorating color scheme.
See, you are accomplishing tasks! I can’t even open my silk and bemberg drawer because I know I will never be able to get it shut again. 😉
Seriously, now that you have lived with the remodeled sewing room a bit, is there anything you would do differently? How do you like having to walk around the cutting table to get from the sewing machine to the ironing board? Do you like the new modular storage unit better than the wall-mounted shelves? I am rearranging my sewing/craft room and struggling with balancing a need for more storage and allowing enough width for comfortable passage. How wide a passage did you allow and was it enough?
I love your invigorating color scheme.
Just wanted to tell you I found your site today and enjoyed it so much. Wish there were more sites like this, people sharing what they are doing and there works of art. Thanks again. Cheryl
Just wanted to tell you I found your site today and enjoyed it so much. Wish there were more sites like this, people sharing what they are doing and there works of art. Thanks again. Cheryl