fabric storage

I'm moving to a smaller place and I'm trying to get a bit more organised
ahead of the move. I know the apartment I'm going to pretty well and I
need to rethink my fabric storage.

I'd like to get plastic tubs for the fabric, clear with lids. However, I
seem to remember dire warnings about fabric getting mildew (or whatever
nasty stuff) from being stored in plastic tubs/boxes. The climate I'm
going to is not totally dry, but not with high humidity either. Nothing
else I've had in plastic tubs ever got musty.


So: from your experience, is storing fabric in lidded plastic boxes a no-go?

And if I was to do this, what size box would you recommend (obviously,
there will be several to many boxes). Most of my fabric is .5 to 1.5
yards, or FQs.


Thanks!

Hanne in London
PS. Downsizing by giving away all fabric is not an option :-)

Good morning, Hanne. LOL. I just saw your signature but can't promise you
that anyone else will notice.
My stash is stored in plastic bins and this is the humidity center of
the world. I do frequently rootle them and that might be why they don't get
musty. I keep a wrapper from a bar of soap in the one that's hardly ever
opened - where scraps of silk and velvet are tossed for a one day crazy
quilt.
As to size, think about where you're going to put them and if you'll
need to lift them. My bin for yellow is about knee high and I'm not sure a
wrecker truck could lift it. It lives beneath the cutting table and that
works just fine.
Clear is good unless they're going to be exposed to sunlight. Just now
the 'crazy' bin is stored out on our sunporch. Not a good place but it's
only for a few days.
Something else to think about - consider the latches or seals on the
bins. We had a few here that were mean to open. We had enough of that and
melted the latches to prevent broken nails, fingers and screwdrivers.
Problem solved. Unless you're going to toss the bins out in the river. Good
luck with the move. Proceed with caution. Polly

"Hanne Gottliebsen" wrote I'm moving to a smaller place and I'm trying to
get a bit more organised
ahead of the move. I know the apartment I'm going to pretty well and I
need to rethink my fabric storage.

I'd like to get plastic tubs for the fabric, clear with lids. However, I
seem to remember dire warnings about fabric getting mildew (or whatever
nasty stuff) from being stored in plastic tubs/boxes. The climate I'm
going to is not totally dry, but not with high humidity either. Nothing
else I've had in plastic tubs ever got musty.


So: from your experience, is storing fabric in lidded plastic boxes a
no-go?

And if I was to do this, what size box would you recommend (obviously,
there will be several to many boxes). Most of my fabric is .5 to 1.5
yards, or FQs.


Thanks!

Hanne in London
PS. Downsizing by giving away all fabric is not an option :-)

Polly,

This is good to hear. I know exactly the series of boxes I want: "The
Really Useful Box (www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk), no affiliation.

I'm thinking 35 liters (roughly 19 x 15 x 12 inches) - those I can carry
a short distance even if filled with paper, so should be ok weight-wise.
And the latches are easy.

I'm _so_ fed up with about 8 different kinds of tubs, boxes, crates that
don't play well together.

Thanks!

Hanne in London

Polly Esther wrote:
Good morning, Hanne. LOL. I just saw your signature but can't promise you
that anyone else will notice.
My stash is stored in plastic bins and this is the humidity center of
the world. I do frequently rootle them and that might be why they don't get
musty. I keep a wrapper from a bar of soap in the one that's hardly ever
opened - where scraps of silk and velvet are tossed for a one day crazy
quilt.
As to size, think about where you're going to put them and if you'll
need to lift them. My bin for yellow is about knee high and I'm not sure a
wrecker truck could lift it. It lives beneath the cutting table and that
works just fine.
Clear is good unless they're going to be exposed to sunlight. Just now
the 'crazy' bin is stored out on our sunporch. Not a good place but it's
only for a few days.
Something else to think about - consider the latches or seals on the
bins. We had a few here that were mean to open. We had enough of that and
melted the latches to prevent broken nails, fingers and screwdrivers.
Problem solved. Unless you're going to toss the bins out in the river. Good
luck with the move. Proceed with caution. Polly

"Hanne Gottliebsen" wrote I'm moving to a smaller place and I'm trying to
get a bit more organised
ahead of the move. I know the apartment I'm going to pretty well and I
need to rethink my fabric storage.

I'd like to get plastic tubs for the fabric, clear with lids. However, I
seem to remember dire warnings about fabric getting mildew (or whatever
nasty stuff) from being stored in plastic tubs/boxes. The climate I'm
going to is not totally dry, but not with high humidity either. Nothing
else I've had in plastic tubs ever got musty.


So: from your experience, is storing fabric in lidded plastic boxes a
no-go?

And if I was to do this, what size box would you recommend (obviously,
there will be several to many boxes). Most of my fabric is .5 to 1.5
yards, or FQs.


Thanks!

Hanne in London
PS. Downsizing by giving away all fabric is not an option :-)

Oh they do indeed play well together. Late at night when everyone is fast
asleep or when we're gone for the day, these bins get together and swap
lids. We thought while we were re-flooring that we'd solve the problem but
still came out with lots more lids than bins. It is sort of like socks -
don't know where some of them came from or where their mates went. Will the
bin size you have in mind slide under your bed and would you want to if you
could? Polly

"Hanne Gottliebsen" wrote
This is good to hear. I know exactly the series of boxes I want: "The
Really Useful Box (www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk), no affiliation.

I'm thinking 35 liters (roughly 19 x 15 x 12 inches) - those I can carry a
short distance even if filled with paper, so should be ok weight-wise. And
the latches are easy.

I'm _so_ fed up with about 8 different kinds of tubs, boxes, crates that
don't play well together.

They won't slide under the bed, but I'm getting a new bed, and I'm
planning for it to be one that flips open (but not with me in it!) to
reveal storage - this would be for things more seldom used.

The boxes I'm looking at do fit in an alcove like spot that I'm
designating for storage.

Hanne

Polly Esther wrote:
Oh they do indeed play well together. Late at night when everyone is fast
asleep or when we're gone for the day, these bins get together and swap
lids. We thought while we were re-flooring that we'd solve the problem but
still came out with lots more lids than bins. It is sort of like socks -
don't know where some of them came from or where their mates went. Will the
bin size you have in mind slide under your bed and would you want to if you
could? Polly

"Hanne Gottliebsen" wrote
This is good to hear. I know exactly the series of boxes I want: "The
Really Useful Box (www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk), no affiliation.

I'm thinking 35 liters (roughly 19 x 15 x 12 inches) - those I can carry a
short distance even if filled with paper, so should be ok weight-wise. And
the latches are easy.

I'm _so_ fed up with about 8 different kinds of tubs, boxes, crates that
don't play well together.

I wouldn't trust it for long-term storage, but if it's visible in your
studio and you rootle through it frequently, it should be fine.
Especially if the lids aren't extremely airtight.
I have boxes stacked on metal utility shelves, and the size of box
more or less corresponds to the shelf measurements. The boxes are deep
enough to hold a FQ folded into 3rds, i.e. about 7" deep. I fold
everything first into quarters lengthwise (fold a FQ in half
lengthwise), and then into a 6-7" fold. Easy to tell by the thickness
how big the piece is, more or less.
Roberta in D

On Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:24:19 +0000, Hanne Gottliebsen
wrote:

I'm moving to a smaller place and I'm trying to get a bit more organised
ahead of the move. I know the apartment I'm going to pretty well and I
need to rethink my fabric storage.

I'd like to get plastic tubs for the fabric, clear with lids. However, I
seem to remember dire warnings about fabric getting mildew (or whatever
nasty stuff) from being stored in plastic tubs/boxes. The climate I'm
going to is not totally dry, but not with high humidity either. Nothing
else I've had in plastic tubs ever got musty.


So: from your experience, is storing fabric in lidded plastic boxes a no-go?

And if I was to do this, what size box would you recommend (obviously,
there will be several to many boxes). Most of my fabric is .5 to 1.5
yards, or FQs.


Thanks!

Hanne in London
PS. Downsizing by giving away all fabric is not an option :-)

I am a fan of those mesh "pop open" laundry and storage baskets with
handles and keep them hidden in a closet. I don't have a sewing room
and really don't want fabrics too easy to see -- I get too many
projects going at one time anyway, and don't want the temptation!

Plastic is not my favorite for both mildew, and off-gassing. I store
most of my fabric on open shelves. But I have come to like the stacking
plastic Sterlite boxes for my fat quarters. I tried canvas boxes, but
found that I really missed seeing my "stuff" at a glance. So... plastic
is not ideal, but convenient. But every problem is just an excuse to
find a solution.

I ventilate the boxes by adding lots of little breathing holes around
the sides. I use a hot fork, heated on my stove. When you touch the
hot fork to the plastic, it melts nice neat holes without much effort.

Ventilated plastic boxes. Problem solved!

Works for me.
anthony, heating forks in Clearwater, Florida

Roberta wrote:
I wouldn't trust it for long-term storage, but if it's visible in your
studio and you rootle through it frequently, it should be fine.
Especially if the lids aren't extremely airtight.
I have boxes stacked on metal utility shelves, and the size of box
more or less corresponds to the shelf measurements. The boxes are deep
enough to hold a FQ folded into 3rds, i.e. about 7" deep. I fold
everything first into quarters lengthwise (fold a FQ in half
lengthwise), and then into a 6-7" fold. Easy to tell by the thickness
how big the piece is, more or less.
Roberta in D

On Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:24:19 +0000, Hanne Gottliebsen
wrote:

I'm moving to a smaller place and I'm trying to get a bit more organised
ahead of the move. I know the apartment I'm going to pretty well and I
need to rethink my fabric storage.

I'd like to get plastic tubs for the fabric, clear with lids. However, I
seem to remember dire warnings about fabric getting mildew (or whatever
nasty stuff) from being stored in plastic tubs/boxes. The climate I'm
going to is not totally dry, but not with high humidity either. Nothing
else I've had in plastic tubs ever got musty.


So: from your experience, is storing fabric in lidded plastic boxes a no-go?

And if I was to do this, what size box would you recommend (obviously,
there will be several to many boxes). Most of my fabric is .5 to 1.5
yards, or FQs.


Thanks!

Hanne in London
PS. Downsizing by giving away all fabric is not an option :-)

--

Regards,
anthony
(to reply privately, replace live dot com with bigfoot dot com)

If you were worried, perhaps you could punch holes around the top inch
or so of the sides (rather than the lid, in case you stack them)?
..
In message glmgbj$snh$1@qmul, Hanne Gottliebsen
writes
I'm moving to a smaller place and I'm trying to get a bit more
organised ahead of the move. I know the apartment I'm going to pretty
well and I need to rethink my fabric storage.

I'd like to get plastic tubs for the fabric, clear with lids. However,
I seem to remember dire warnings about fabric getting mildew (or
whatever nasty stuff) from being stored in plastic tubs/boxes. The
climate I'm going to is not totally dry, but not with high humidity
either. Nothing else I've had in plastic tubs ever got musty.


So: from your experience, is storing fabric in lidded plastic boxes a no-go?

And if I was to do this, what size box would you recommend (obviously,
there will be several to many boxes). Most of my fabric is .5 to 1.5
yards, or FQs.


Thanks!

Hanne in London
PS. Downsizing by giving away all fabric is not an option :-)

--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Here in the desert we don't worry too much about mildew. One of the
good things about living in this climate. I have used plastic bins
for some years with no problems found so far. I do tend to rootle
and sort and fuss with it all occasionally so it does get aired.
The breathing holes are a great idea!
Taria


anthony in Clearwater wrote:
Plastic is not my favorite for both mildew, and off-gassing. I store
most of my fabric on open shelves. But I have come to like the stacking
plastic Sterlite boxes for my fat quarters. I tried canvas boxes, but
found that I really missed seeing my "stuff" at a glance. So... plastic
is not ideal, but convenient. But every problem is just an excuse to
find a solution.

I ventilate the boxes by adding lots of little breathing holes around
the sides. I use a hot fork, heated on my stove. When you touch the
hot fork to the plastic, it melts nice neat holes without much effort.

Ventilated plastic boxes. Problem solved!

Works for me.
anthony, heating forks in Clearwater, Florida