zennia

I sort mine by theme, civil war, country, christmas etc. I ruler fold them and put on shelf. My projects or in totes in another cupboard. My long arm quilter told me if the fabric is not out where you can see it you forget about it. She showed me how to ruler fold and boy was she right. I found a lot of fabric I forgot I had.

Pennyhal

I only organize topic fabrics like dogs or breast cancer. The rest I don't organize at all. For me, it is the "mess" that inspires me. I get so excited seeing all those different fabrics and end up choosing fabrics that I'd never would have thought go together.

MargeD

Other than Christmas, I TRY, notice I said "Try" to keep colors alike, pink, purple, blues, etc. However, no matter how many times I try to do that, I pull fabrics out and then I'm bad about putting them back where they belong. However, I do keep all fabric sent for family reunion quilts together, religiously, so I won't be tempted to use for my own use. I should explain that every 2 years we have a family reunion, and several years ago, I started making quilts - after the first two quilts with asst. family colors, I would pick a theme, red/white/blue, blues/reds/etc. and next year's quilt will be with purple that family members will send to me. I find a great sense of accomplishment when I complete a quilt, and although I have not been lucky enough to win one yet, hope springs eternal. I began it as a way to remember our family and to hopefully have the quilt treasured as a family keepsake; and the quilt is always a hit. Last year's quilt was black/white and it was a gorgeous log cabin quilt. I find that I love the challenge of making a quilt from fabrics I did not buy, and making scrappy quilts - I think it's made me a better quilter, now if I can only keep organized. LOL.

solstice3

I usually organize by color. I have Christmas, homespun, batik and baby prints separate. The other exception is if I have a selection for a given project, then it goes together.

Lovequilting22

Right now, I organize by project, but once I figure out this comic board system, it will be color themed all the way!

Anne P

I'm working on this very topic in my head right now. I've got three quilts going so can't reorganize fabric yet, but soon. Since I've gotten into making scrappy quilts from Bonnie Hunter's books and website, I am rethinking my fabric storage. I do have large pieces (FQ's and half-yard pieces) that I have sorted by color, others by theme (patriotic, Christmas, etc.), too. Recently, though, I've been cutting a lot of scrap pieces and strips and sorting them by size (1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", 3.5", 4", and 5"). I have a tall 10-drawer plastic "cart" I used in the classroom into which I am now putting scraps and strips as I cut them. I've two "Leaders and Enders" quilts in mind and am collecting pieces for them.

Since the drawer cart is pretty flimsy and doesn't work very well and since the casters on my cutting table have broken, I have asked my DH to make me a new table. He's really, really good at woodworking and furniture building! I've decided to have him built two columns of shallow drawers on each side into which I can put my scraps and strips by size and leave an open area between them for batting and a couple of large plastic tubs into which I put scraps for animal beds and current projects. It's taken me a few years and the making of a variety of types of quilts to finally arrive at a solution for me. It may or not work for anyone else. I suspect everyone has his or her own solution, with some commonalities.

My time

Reproduction fabrics together, Christmas colours together, flannels together, chicken and farm fabrics together , batiks together , Asian fabrics together, and then I sort by colour. It would be so much easier if I could stick to one style of fabric but I can't! I love them all. All my fabrics larger than a fat 1/4 are folded all the same way. Using the ruler method and kept in a tote I line them up in the totes so they look like books on a shelf.The fat 1/4's are all folded the same way and keep in another tote. All these totes are stored under our beds. My quilt room is our guestroom and really small. Hope this helps.

Pilgrim

I have mine all ruler folded except fat quarters. Everything is by color except holidays and theme fabric. Boys, girls, farm, hunting, baby, patriotic etc. It is all folded and put on shelves in hutch and cubes that are along one wall in one of my rooms for quilting. I like to see everything clearly.

dixiefny

How do you protect fabrics from dust when stored on shelves? I'm ready to use comic book boards but worry about dust.

Purpleprint

Totes. They only work if they are clear so you can see what is in them. I have no suggestions but are reading the ones on this thread !