Organize Your Sewing Stash Round-up

I don't know about you, but I can always use a little more organization in my crafting.  Things tend to get pretty messy pretty quickly when I'm working on a project.  My favorite organization hacks are here

Scraps:

Check out this fun and easy way to organize scraps.  

http://www.cloverandviolet.com/2012/09/scrap-organization.html

I actually use something very similar in my studio.  I bought 12 $ store plastic shoe boxes and I have all my scraps organized by color.  Actually, it works so well that I have been using up most of my scraps, especially when I applique or make doll clothes.  There is no excuse when you have it organized.  

Bobbins

http://www.thatssewamy.com/organization/bobbin-storage-ice-cube-trays/

Okay this one I haven't done, but I will be.  I just love this.  Right now I have all my bobbins dumped in a kitchen drawer organizer and there is thread everywhere.  I am so doing this.  I'm always digging around trying to find a bobbin in the color I want.  I probably have 10 bobbins wound in black because I don't always want to look.

Feet

 http://sew-whats-new.com/profiles/blogs/sewing-machine-feet-storage

I also love this.  Right now I have my feet in the same place as my bobbins.  PS I saw these at Dollar Tree.  I know where I'm going tonight!

Buttons

https://www.creatingreallyawesomefunthings.com/making-monday-marvelous-42/

I love the idea of organizing your buttons in a spice rack.  I'm going to be on the look out for one of these.  

Thread

http://www.running-w-scissors.com/2014/06/thread-board.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/mcTyy+(Running+With+Scissors)#.U5m6CbGH-So

I also love this idea.  If I only had somewhere to put it.  I'm currently using baskets for my thread.  

Floss

Floss Keepers 

This is a nifty tutorial I put together about floss keepers made from $ store clothes pins.  I actually made a few sets of these and gave some as gifts.  They really keep your floss perfectly organized and untangled. 

Fabric

http://indulgy.com/post/4fTcsvdI71/organizing-your-fabric-stash-on-mini-bolts-ak

Last but not least, how can you organize your fabric?  I used to keep it in bins.  What a pain.  I still keep fleece in bins because it is obnoxiously bulky.  For everything else, I fold it onto tiny white boards called comic book backer boards.  These things are sturdy little boards that are archival quality...so they won't fade fabric.  It's about $5.00 for a hundred.  I have them in 2 sizes.  I have the size they come in and then I cut about 50 in half to make tiny boards for pieces of fabric that are too big for the scrap bin and too small for the regular mini bolts.  I took me about 4 days to get my massive stash rolled onto these things but it was worth it.  I can see all my fabric.  It makes completing projects so easy.  Most people seem to organize by color.  That works well if you sew mostly with cotton.  Since I work with all types of fabric, I've got my stash organized by fabric type, not color.  So, if I need a knit I know were to look.  Same with denim, special occasion, etc.  

Hacks For Weeding T-shirt Vinyl for your Cricut

I've been working on a little St. Patrick's Day project for my niece.  I thought I'd share one of my favorite tricks to using the Cricut.  How to weed the iron on t-shirt vinyl.  To be honest, I'm way too cheap to buy the weeder.  I know it's only $7.00 but it will just be one more tool that gets folded up in fabric or falls behind my cutting table and gets lost.  Luckily, I have 2 tools already that do exactly the same thing.  First, a plain old pin. That's right.  I use a pin for most of my weeding.  It's sharp and I have hundreds of them.  

The pin is also great to get into really tiny areas like inside of letters. 

 If I'm working on something a bit larger and I want something with a handle, I use my seam ripper.  

So there you have my little hack for weeding my Cricut designs.  

If you love this Pinch Proof Design, it's available here for $.99.  There is also a 8 design lot of St. Patrick's designs as well.  

Free Sewing Project Printable Planner Worksheet

In an effort to be more organized this year, I've been working on some planner pages for different projects.  I'm so tired of going to the store 2-3 times because I forget half the stuff on my list.  Also, making lists on my phone never seems to work out because the battery dies at the store and then I'm stuck trying to remember.  

Get the Free Sewing Project Printable Worksheet:  Download Here

What I love about this design is that it reminds me to look through my supplies and account for what I already have.  Right now I have about 15 packages of elastic because I just keep buying it every time I go to the store just in case.  

I'd love to see your completed planner pages and projects.  #indipatternsprojects

Get the most from your fabric

Have you ever purchased a pattern and followed the cutting guide only to end up with a bunch of odd sized, wasted fabric scraps?  I used to do this all the time.  Then, if you are like me, you cannot bring yourself to throw all those scraps out so you have comforter bags full of scraps you may never use.  In the last several years I've made 3 big strides when it comes to scrap fabric.  1) I do throw out some of the scraps...if they are too small for me to ever use.  I'm going to make one caveat here.  I save many even tiny scraps of fabric like fleece because I use it as stuffing!  Mind blown right.  Along with traditional batting, I use my fleece scraps to stuff soft dolls.  2) I organized my decent sized scraps into plastic shoe boxes by color.  I got them from the dollar store.  It may sound dumb, but just having them sorted out gets me using the pieces.  Sometimes I just need a little bit of red for a pocket.  Instead of cutting yardage, I check my scraps first.  3) Finally, I changed the way I cut patterns.  I don't even look at the cutting guide any more.  I lay out the fabric and the pieces and reposition them until I get the least wasteful layout I can find.  Once you do it a few times, you will see that it saves so much fabric and it doesn't add much time onto your cutting.

One of the biggest things you need to accept to save fabric is that the factory folded edge isn't the only folded edge a piece of fabric can have.  You can refold it however you want!



  This is just an example.  With my raglan top pattern, if I used traditional fabric layout, I'd need over a yard of fabric to make a toddler top.  That's just crazy.  Plus, I'd end up with a weird piece, cut off from the folded edge.  What would I do with it?  Instead, I folded over the raw edge and the folded edge to make 2 double folded edges.

 Now I can cut out 2 sleeves (on the fold) and the front and back (on the fold) from 1/2 yard of fabric.  Even If I only needed to cut out a sleeve, I'd still use this technique and fold over the raw edge.  Then, I could cut out my 2 sleeve at once on the fold and have a nice, large piece of my fabric left with the factory folded edge to use on another project.

Serger Thread on Sewing Machine

 Sewing Hack

I love to use serger thread for many of my projects.  Let's face it, serger thread is cheap.  The giant spool is $2.00.  You can put it on you standard sewing machine with one simple trick.  Slide the serger thread over a small spool.  You can see below that I have a used standard thread spool on the machine.  I put the serger spool on it.   Works like a top.

I am aware that serger thread isn't that strong.  I only use this hack when I'm making doll clothes or kids clothing for the most part.  Things that are not going to see that much wear and tear.  When I make heirloom quality items I use normal spools of thread.

However, when you are whipping up a skirt for a class party or making a couple of little outfits for your kid's doll there is no need to waste your best thread on those projects.



I also have a 2nd sewing machine where the thread holder is horizontal.  I use the above Thread Nanny Single Cone feeder on that machine.  Totally worth $12 if you ask me.  It was a gift from my lovely sister.  I didn't even know they existed until I unwrapped it on my birthday - Along with a orgnaizer and some thread keepers.  I guess someone didn't like my previous organizational method of throwing all my thread into a basket and then complaining every time because all the thread ends were tangled up.  ;)