Organize Your Fabric Using Fabric Organizer Boards

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Do you have a pile of fabric that is out of control? Here’s how to organize your fabric using fabric organizer boards.

Like anyone who does any sort of craft, it’s easy to accumulate supplies. My home is no exception. I have yarn, vinyl, cardstock, wood, and of course – fabric.

Fabric takes up a lot of space. Plus there’s all kinds of fabric that I have – cotton, knits, swim, etc. Trying to keep it all organized can easily take over a space.

Originally I bought bins/baskets from Ikea to keep it all organized, as well as storage bags for under my bed. But it’s really getting out of hand. Plus I find that when I’m looking for something, I rifle through it and it makes a big mess.

I also have nowhere to put all this fabric. Right now, I have a bunch of laundry-type baskets in the landing of my stairway!

At one point the fabric was folded reasonably nicely. At least it is actually sorted by fabric type. Oh, those ladies on The Home Edit would have a field day with me!

When looking for fabric organization ideas online, I loved the look of how everyone has it so nicely folded and on shelves. They were all the same size and you could see everything clearly. Now I don’t have any shelves that are available, only bins, but I did admire how uniform it looked. That’s when I realized that they were using fabric organize boards to help.

What are Fabric Organizer Boards?

Fabric organizer boards are boards that you would fold your fabric around. As the boards are all the same size, you can organize your fabric stash because everything will be uniform in size. The boards tend to be made out of cardboard.

Think of how the fabric is rolled in bolts around a cardboard board in the fabric store. It’s like that, but much smaller for the home sewer.

You simply fold or roll your fabric around these boards. Then the boards can be stood upright in shelves, or in my case, bins.

Professional fabric organizer boards have slots in them so that you can tuck the ends of your fabric in so it stays put. I really like the one with the indentations on the sides. I would imagine that this would make it easy to wind. I also like the idea that you could use the exposed ends to label what it is (like the content or source).

These look really nice but seem to be rather. I know that I would need several sets and that can definitely add up!

Economical Alternatives

There is definitely a cheaper way to do this. You could definitely make your own. Here are a couple of suggestions to make your own:

You’ll need to determine the size you want. Consider the height of your shelf or the dimensions of your bins/baskets. By making your own, you can definitely customize them to any size that works for you.

Cut up your own cardboard. I’m thinking of all those Amazon purchases of mine – that’s a lot of cardboard. You could get a good box cutter and spend an afternoon cutting up the cardboard to any size you want. You could even cut those nifty little slots like the ones you can buy.

Use dollar store foam board to cut your own. This would look a little nicer as they are white. Again, you could add the slots or the indentations to make it the style you want.

While this is feasible, it seems like a lot of work, doesn’t it? I have a lot of fabric, that would be a lot of cutting. If I bought supplies from the dollar store, that could easily add up over time.

Use pre-cut boards. Now, this may seem like it might be an expensive alternative, but it’s not! You just need to know what to look for. Here are some suggestions:

• cardboard mailer inserts – these are used in mail outs that you don’t want bent
• comic book boards – these are for comic book collectors who keep comic books in bags with these boards to not only make them slide in and out easily but also keeps them from getting bent. These usually measure 7 x 10.5
• magazine boards – these are like the comic book boards, but are for magazines and so they are a bit bigger – typically around 85 x 11

Check out those prices of the comic book boards and magazine boards! For that quantity and price, why would I spend all that time cutting my own? Also, check out the Amazon reviews – most of them are by sewers using them for this purpose!

I was worried that the comic book size would be a little too small so I decided to use the magazine size.

How to Fold Your Fabric Around a Fabric Organizer Board

When it comes to garment sewing, I like to purchase 2-yard increments of fabric. They fold up nicely around these organizer boards.

The magazine boards, as well as the comic boards, are relatively thin cardboard. You can easily double or triple them up, depending on your needs.

The number of fabric organizer boards you’d use would depend on 2 things. First, the type of fabric: heavier fabrics will need more boards while lighter fabrics may only need 1 board. For instance:

• 1 board: lightweight fabrics including quilting cottons, modal, rayon spandex and swim fabric
• 2 boards: most of my knit fabrics like French Terry, double brushed poly, cotton lycra, bamboo
• 3 boards: thicker fabrics like sweatshirt fleece

As well, consider the amount of fabric that you have. I have several pieces of 2 yard length fabrics. I like to use at least 2 boards for those.

I simply stack the boards on top of each other – I don’t glue them together or anything like that. This way, if I use the fabric up, I can still use the boards.

Start by folding your fabric selvage to selvage. I find that the easiest place to start.

Place the board on one side, a few inches from the cut edge of the fabric.

Fold the fabric that’s below the organizer board so that it covers the board.

Now fold the top of the fabric over the organizer board.

Fold that cut edge of the fabric towards the board.

Flip the board with the fabric so that the fabric winds around it. It’s kind of like rolling – but it’s not round. You get what I mean.

Finish winding the fabric around the organizer board.

Secure the end with a needle or a large coated paper clip. Sometimes you can find these at the dollar store. I wasn’t so lucky this week and had to order them off of Amazon. The 2-inch size works perfectly for this because I don’t have to use my pins.

I can even tuck in my fabric inventory sheets! You can get these in my Free Resource Library. You’ll need the password to enter. Get the password by subscribing to my blog.

This method also works for partially used fabric or fabric ends. You just have to manipulate the little ends in so that it’s all tucked in.

Look how nice and organized my fabrics are now! I can see exactly what I have. I’m almost afraid to touch them – they look so perfect! What a difference!

Now to be honest – I didn’t actually gain any space. My fabric doesn’t take up LESS space this way. I still have all the bins in my stairway landing. However, they are nicely organized and I can see everything clearly – no more rifling through the basket to look for something! You win some, you lose some I guess.

Want to remember how to organize your fabric using fabric organizer boards? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.