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Fabric designer Lucie Summers' cheerful studio in Suffolk, England.
Lucie organizes her fabric and supplies and in open bins for easy access.
Organize your fabric into coordinated bundles.
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Queen of Fabric
Okay,
it's no secret that I love fabric. But sadly my love of fabric is
beginning to overpower the storage units set aside to contain it. After a
recent trip to New York and many hours spent shopping the fabric stores
in the Garment District, I had to admit that I needed to have an
intervention with myself. As I survey my apartment with Mood Fabrics
bags filled with awesomeness sitting on the floor with nowhere to go, I
know that I have not only outgrown my current storage solutions, but
that I also need to assess and purge my fabric stash. Notice that I do
not feel that I should buy less fabric.
Since
the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, I turned to
a fabulous new book by one of my fellow Interweave editors, Cate
Coulacos Prato, called Inside the Creative Studio: Inspiration and Ideas for Your Art and Craft Space,
for some much-needed advice and inspiration. Jackpot! Besides pages and
pages of amazing studio spaces that make me totally jealous (but give
me lots of great ideas), the book also includes lots of practical advice
for de-cluttering, organizing, and personalizing your creative space.
For
assistance with my fabric predicament, I was immediately drawn to an
article by Lesley Riley titled, "Clutter Out, Creativity In: 10 Steps to
a More Artful Studio". In the article, she offered a great list of tips
for avoiding "fabric creep," which she accurately defines as the "slow
and steady migration of a fabric stash beyond the boundaries of its
designated storage containers." Since I'm sure I'm not the only one that
suffers from this, here are a few key tips that particularly resonated
for me but can help us all.
1. Hoarding is a primitive instinct.
But it is not necessary for your survival as a fabric artist. In fact,
having a limited selection of fabrics forces you to be more creative and
make better design decisions. You learn to alter the fabric that's
available or even to create your own by dyeing or painting or surface
design.
2. Know thyself.
If you're like me, you have been collecting fabric since forever. But
over the years I developed preferences and a style that made use of only
a small portion of my stash. I realized that I had outgrown or moved
beyond most of my fabrics. Think about which fabric, colors, patterns, textures, etc., you turn to again and again. Keep those and get rid of the others.
3. Treat your stash like your clothes.
The rule is, if you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it. Be honest
with yourself as you review each piece of fabric. Have you used any of
it in the last year or two? If not, pass it on.
4. Spread the wealth.
There are many organizations that would love to have your excess
fabric. Larger pieces can go to a senior center or any charity
organization that has quilting or sewing classes. And don't forget your
local schools, camps, and theaters. Anything from snippets to cuttings
to fat quarters can find a home in a student's art project. And
obviously, if you take a bag full of fabric to your local quilt guild,
it will disappear before you can finish saying "giveaway."
Good
advice, right! I just participated in a fabric swap with some friends,
and it actually felt great to see my unused fabric going to happy homes.
So it can be done! Mostly I subscribe to the idea that the best way to
avoid fabric storage issues is to sew it up. So purge your stash,
organize it, then get sewing!
Happy sewing,
