How to store fabric out of light. Does light fade fabric?
06-07-2012, 04:44 PM
#11
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my personal experience in my former sewing room...w fabric on shelves out of any outside light..fading along edge of fold. incandescent light. and as the only time i had to sew was evenings ...over the table hanging light was in use for many many hors at a time. recent quilt show entry...owner upset by faded appearance of quilt less than 6 mo old gifted her by friend. i asked her where she had it displayed..living room.."a dungeon w/o good light from outside" she said main light used in that room was the ceiling light. i told her i believed that that was the problem, based on my own experience.
06-07-2012, 04:49 PM
#12
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good idea. am working on doing my basement..plan...shelves w sliding panels to cover them, that will also be my design wall. tho i may hang something over my wip as the tend to be up for extended tme as i sew/create pretties for grdaughters. had a star cntr for medalian style sampler quilt fade so bad that i can't use it now.
06-07-2012, 05:00 PM
#13
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Do be careful that even flouresant bulbs will fade fabric. A friend hung a quilt in her office .. no outside source of light .. the only source was the overhead fixtures... and it faded. If you are redoing your room I would get solid doors on the area where you store fabric.
Last summer I helped redo my Mom's sewing room... so much fabric had been damaged from sunlight and artifical lights.. it was a real shame . I put together some tall cabinets with doors so the fabrics can be protected from light and dust. My sewing room I only have the ability (currently) to put a sheet over the fabrics to protect them... its a pain and looks ...terrible. It is on my list of things to do to redo my fabric storage area.
Museum use incandesent lights not flouresant over works of art , as the incandesant lighting does cause fading.
It is hard to get all the lighting we love for sewing, but at the same time it is harmful to the fabrics we love/collect.
Last summer I helped redo my Mom's sewing room... so much fabric had been damaged from sunlight and artifical lights.. it was a real shame . I put together some tall cabinets with doors so the fabrics can be protected from light and dust. My sewing room I only have the ability (currently) to put a sheet over the fabrics to protect them... its a pain and looks ...terrible. It is on my list of things to do to redo my fabric storage area.
Museum use incandesent lights not flouresant over works of art , as the incandesant lighting does cause fading.
It is hard to get all the lighting we love for sewing, but at the same time it is harmful to the fabrics we love/collect.
so..used the samples i stitched up out of colorful poly blends that i use to test my block patterns...i draft my own blocks & mostly use my own patterns for my quilts. didn't take too long for the uglies to hide away lollol. but, alas, to lighten moving load..i got rid of all poly fabs, all but my precious cottons. but a few panels of colorful polyblrpend fabs would look better than yuck sheets??
06-07-2012, 06:58 PM
#15
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Location: Bosque County, Texas
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Hard to argue with personal experience even if it isn't mine. I can only conclude the dyes in fabric are not as color fast as we would wish them to be, and personal experience varies from person to person. I'm sorry that you've had fading with your fabrics. They should be as color fast as the fabric upholstery on your furniture.
06-09-2012, 06:19 AM
#17
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Location: Illinois
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]340833[/ATTACH]I have a bookcase that I store some fabric on, out of direct sunlight (the rest is in the closet), but decided to be extra cautious and hang a room darkening shade inside the top couple inches of the bookcase frame. Had it cut to size at Lowe's and hung it backwards (so it rolled over the top and then down) I keep it down most of the time, but when I need something, it is so easy to just roll it up and select. Hope this helps. (Got the idea from using my retractable Design Wall one day and thought why not?)
06-10-2012, 06:10 AM
#19
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: southern Oklahoma
Posts: 954
I have mine in a tall bookcase and I bought a fabric shower curtain at Goodwill for a couple of dollars, cut it in half lengthwise, shortened it and hung it on a curtain rod that I mounted at the top. Works great. Doors would probably look better, but a lot more trouble to put on!
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