I have been working on a little {okay, HUGE} project at my house: organizing my craft room.
You may have seen my preview post here. Today I'm getting down to some storage specifics. What I used and how I make it work.
Here is how my craft room/office has been looking for a while.
You can see why it wasn't working for me anymore. Since starting to sell fabric in my Etsy shop I had to find new ways to store larger quantities of fabric.
I had been using two small bookshelves (from Target) but even they were starting to get too full and fabric shipments would sit in the shipping boxes until I could get them on my shelf.
Not to mention all of the other sewing and crafting supplies that had begun to take over my little craft room.
So, what's a girl to do!? Beg and plead her hubby for a trip to IKEA to get some organizing necessities! Thankfully, I have the best husband in the world and we got our date night to IKEA a couple of weeks ago!
{He laughed at me taking pictures of our trip to IKEA... but really, I was so excited I couldn't help myself!}
We didn't have a chance to put them together that weekend, so.... I (with the help of my little ones) put together three tall Billy Bookcases while the Mr. was at work. I should have just waited... but it's like getting a new present that you can't touch or play with. So, I took matters into my own hands.
I will say, it would definitely have been easier with another adult to help, but we ladies know that we can get a lot of difficult things (sometimes nearly impossible things) accomplished if we are determined enough.
I got them up, in place, and shimmed ...
Yes... my floors really are that uneven. My craft room and the kids playroom, is an addition to the back of our home.
But, all of that hard work totally paid off!!!!
I am in LOVE with the way it turned out. I'm not completely done with the rest of my craft room, but I was so excited (*squeal) to get this part done that I just had to share it with you guys!!!
I used three Billy Bookcases from IKEA for my fabric wall storage. They are the perfect depth (11") and all but the middle shelf are adjustable so it's perfect for fabric storage!!
Here is an overview of what I have in my fabric storage wall....
... and here is the breakdown.
The top of all three of my bookshelves hold my full bolts of regular sized cotton fabric.
All of these fabrics came directly from the manufacturer on bolts which makes it really easy for me to just take it out of the shipping boxes and stick them on the shelf. Easy peasy!
If you don't buy direct from the manufacturer but buy long yardages of fabric at a time here's what I suggest. Go to your local JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby (or any fabric store for that matter) and ask them if they have any cardboard bolts from old fabric that they don't need anymore. They can't really reuse them so if they have any on hand they will generally give them to you.
Now, I'm not suggesting you go in and ask for 20 of them.... instead, just ask for a couple. Then go back in a few days or the next week and ask for a couple more. Be inconspicuous. :)
On both of the outer shelves I have a middle section where I store all of my washed fabric. These are prints that I have purchased for crafting and sewing projects as well as larger left over pieces from previous projects.
I use these comic book boards to store all of these pieces of fabric. The bookcase on the right (shown in the above photo) stores all of my pre-washed fabric pieces that are under 1 yard.
The bookcase on the left (shown above) is where I store all of my pre-washed fabric that is more than 1 yard, but less than 3 yards. Why less than 3... because if I wind more than three yards on my board it becomes too bulky... and not as neat and pretty looking. (ya, I know... it's an aesthetic thing).
In the middle bookcase I store some of my prettier packaging materials. I keep all of my bakers twine and packaging twine as well as my business cards.
You may remember my tutorial on how I store my smaller amounts of baker's twine here. I have found that it is so much easier (and cuter) to store them on spools than all wrapped up and tied. Right!?! Not to mention they stay nice and neat {not all tangley <--- yep, made that word up!}
Next to my spools of twine is a small square white dish that holds some of my business cards so that I can easily grab them and slip one in to the packages I ship. I actually painted the inside of it on a cruise -- my hubby probably laughed that I wanted to go paint something -- but it is one of my favorite pieces. Not because I painted it, but because it the perfect size for corralling all the little things that don't really have another home.
My larger rolls of twine I store in this gray bucket. I found it in the one spot at Target. Seriously.... they have some cute storage stuff in there sometimes. I think this bucket was a whopping $2.50 and I LOVE it!
Just in case you are wondering {because I know someone out there is...} I buy all of my twine from The Twinery. They have the absolute cutest colors and every so often they run a special on GroopDealz so you can get a really awesome price!!
The bottom shelf of my bookcases (yes, all three of them) are filled with the larger bolts of fabric that I have.
The minky and chenille fabrics, and the 58" chevron in my shop I purchased by the bolt so they came on the cardboard bolt already... again, super easy to store that way! The other utility type fabric (the blue rib knit and white flannel) I purchased several yards of and picked up some empty bolts at my local JoAnn's to be able to store them on.
So for now... that's what I have done. I still have the other 3 walls in my craft room to go! Ha! I'll post more updates as I get them done. I LOVE being organized and, hopefully, I have shared a couple tips for storing fabric that might help you out!
Just for fun.... because who doesn't love a good before and after...
I just did something similar in my office. Great job. I love an organized space. I am hosting a link party and would love it if you would share this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ifitsnotbaroquedesignblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/tuesday-link-party-11.html
IKEA is a wonderful place to get storage and organizational items. I love the Billy bookcases - they look perfect for your fabric! I, myself, make greeting cards and have a small area in my office for crafting. I use IKEA's Expedit shelving and Prant boxes - and love it (not to mention the table I got at IKEA, as well. I can't wait to see more "after" photos as you tackle the rest of the room.
ReplyDeleteHere's a photo of MY craft area: http://www.ultraorganized.com/beforeandafter/home-office.shtml
I am so jealous of all the gorgeous fabric you have- and of how pretty it looks all organized now! Great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks. It's been a long time in the making and I have been saving like mad to get these shelves. Now that I've had them a while I am SO glad I did it and wonder why I waited so long! lol :)
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