Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this whole “stock yardages” thing, and let me tell you, it’s been a bit of a journey. I wanted to keep better track of the fabric I have, so I didn’t accidentally buy more of something I already had a ton of (we’ve all been there, right?).
First, I gathered all my fabric. Seriously, ALL of it. From the neatly folded stuff in my bins to the random scraps shoved in drawers, it all came out. This was step one, and honestly, a bit overwhelming.
Next, I started sorting. I put all the quilting cottons together, the knits in another pile, the home decor fabrics somewhere else… you get the idea. It was like a fabric explosion in my sewing room.
My (Messy) System
- Quilting Cottons: Mostly sorted by color, because that’s how my brain works.
- Knits: I tried to group these by weight, like jersey knits together, sweater knits together, etc.
- Home Decor: These were mostly sorted by type – canvas, upholstery fabric, that kind of thing.
- Specialty:All special fabrics are sorted together.
Then came the measuring. Oh, the measuring. I unfolded everything, laid it out on my cutting table (and sometimes the floor), and used my trusty measuring tape. I jotted down the yardage for each piece, trying to be as accurate as possible.
For the smaller pieces, the scraps, I mostly just eyeballed it. Anything less than a quarter yard, I just tossed into a “scrap bin” category. Ain’t nobody got time to measure every tiny bit!
After all that measuring, I created a simple spreadsheet. Nothing fancy, just columns for fabric type, color, yardage, and any notes (like “pre-washed” or “bought for that one project I never started”).
Now that I put some time,and It’s been super helpful,now I can be more organized!
