Folding Method

When folding fabric to take advantage of vertical space, be sure to use the WOF (width of fabric) as the starting point. I have several cuts of the same fabrics and the folding techniques used by the sellers vary greatly. The most common cuts are FQs and 1/4 yards from initial purchases, 1/2 to 1 yard cuts in recent shipments, though I will take several small cuts if stock is low.      

                                               

While the comic book boards were a good organization idea, I decided to use the acrylic ruler which should allow room for other cuts or items in front of the folded fabrics in the cabinet, maximizing space. It may also work for the FQ shoe box when I get around to re-folding those. If I had 1 yard minimum cuts, I feel they'd be more appropriate. Maybe I'll try them with the basics once I finish this set and the Heather Ross yardage.

I prefer to use WOF as the basis of most of my folding options and find the consistency is helpful longterm in my projects. I originally planned to iron as I go along but that would take far too much time and seems like an unnecessary step. Once you have your WOF (except FQs), fold in half lengthwise towards the selvedge edges. Place your ruler about 2 inches below the raw edge for FQ, a bit more for yardage up to 3.5 inches. Wrap the remaining fabric while holding the center or at least the ruler at the end of the fabric edges. If utilizing for FQs, you're starting with half the WOF, meaning you can skip the fold in half.

Carefully pinch as you go to avoid uneven wrapping. Continue to wrap the fabric around your ruler until finished.  If you prefer to tuck in the remaining 1-2 inches or the remaining fabric will not hold on it's own, tuck on the same side you finished on or use a wonder clip to hold in place. 

Pinch your fabric again, as shown above left and slide your fabric off of the ruler. 

The first few will seem awkward at first                                                      but the process gets better with practice.

                                                                 Happy Folding, Heather 😀

Lesson Learned

 

10” charms

I still have some sorting to do with pile as I was chatting & distracted when I worked on it. The oranges from yesterday were folded first & I didn’t want to waste pins keeping them in place. Since I share space with the laundry room, they’re at high risk of rusting & that’s the last thing I want to happen to this fabric collection. 

Moving forward, my sorting needs to occur before I begin folding to avoid issues. When adjusting piles by color, I start with dark on the bottom. I don’t worry about the shades of colors, just know there will be some variations that I used to lump together, darkest first, then I save the cream backgrounds, white backgrounds & multicolored for last since they may play a role in the final Jane layout.

Please note the darkness of the purple on the light backgrounds are not important to me. If they are to you, place them by purple quality then tuck them in at the top of that purple subsection before moving on to the next section darks. 

Happy Sorting, Heather

Folding Begins

                                                                                                         

The air conditioner has been on the fritz lately and the serviceman has had to make several visits to our home. He was able to work around an issue while we wait for a part to arrive, but the sewing room is temporarily unavailable again.

Not to worry, while I wait, there’s plenty of folding to be done. With hub’s help, I can work on that task upstairs. I’ve decided to use the ruler method. It’s still a little wonky working with smaller cuts and it is slow going, but I know I’ll love the cabinet when it’s complete. There are far more quarter yard cuts than I realized & quite a few 10” squares from trades with online quilters a good decade or so ago.  I’m so glad to be sorting these, as they will definitely come in handy soon.

Here’s hoping that your Wednesday is going well. 

Happy organizing,

Heather

A Coffee Cake Kind of Morning

 

I’ve been meaning to bake my husband a coffee cake, he's been working so hard. I decided after yet another sleepless night that this was the perfect day. It came together quickly and smells delicious! Once cooled, powdered (confectioner’s) sugar is sprinkled on the top before cutting.  Cooling just took a half hour without a cooling rack. 

          As for the recipe, the original had mixed reviews for several reasons. I planned to share the recipe immediately but had to alter quite a bit of it. 

Please let me know if you're interested and I can update it after some rest. 

Have a wonderful day, 

Heather

                                                            

Colorizing

The colorizing has begun - this is how I tackle fabric sorting. First, identify the best storage options available to you and expect this to change over time. I like the upgrades and enjoy revisiting fabric prints when this occurs; it often sparks new ideas for projects and gifts.

Next, I have several different types of collector fabric lines from some of my absolute favorite designers. I keep mine separated because I like to use them together in projects, rarely adding from other lines except what I consider to be basics, but my collection is fairly extensive. If you have a general stash, limited space, and/or are not interested in the first division, it's unnecessary. These aren't rules, just organizing options from someone that has spent quite a bit of time growing the sewing room over many years. 

Next, I put each piece into general color categories. For the 30s, I use blue, green, red, pink, orange {I swore I'd never know what to do with 😆}, yellow, black, brown, and cream backgrounds of varying colored conversational prints. Don't worry about values of your fabrics yet, there is plenty of time to create subcategories after folding occurs. 

When you hold/fold/touch it, what is your first instinct? What is your overall read (majority color)? If you don't know, take a break and look at it from far away when you return or add multicolor to your sorting list. You can always change your mind and this is for your benefit. Don't stress about it or take too much time on this element because there are additional sorting stages...and fabric can be moved. Take a deep breath, you've got this. 

For now, I'm leaving the fat quarter "shoe box" for Dear Jane fabrics alone though they're getting wonky again with some pinks and purples squished in there. I purposely left the blue FQ in the middle of the pinks to demonstrate what feels like one color initially. It will stand out from the other prints if it needs to be moved. I used to keep all multiple color fabrics in their own pile when I began sorting 30s; it gets easier over time. 

The new and oh so tall cabinet has vertical space available, which I am definitely not accustomed to. This is a great opportunity to learn a new folding technique. I'd like something easy and consistent, regardless of fabric size. Then the Heather Ross fabric has to move again. Great news - a long, also new cabinet was cleared in today's 30s sorting session. The length should be perfect for yardage. I'll get to the Aneela Hoey, Liberty of London, Kaffe Fassett, and Tula Pinks after the two largest (so far!) collections are complete.  I'm leaning toward moving basics to the first Heather Ross cabinet; just a glance is usually all it takes to grab my coordinating basics, so keeping them to the back of the room should not cause any access issues. The "small" cabinet is the one with the solid doors at the back of the photo to the right.

Happy Sorting,
Heather