Episode Eleven - From Sew Disorganised to So Organised
- sewdisorganisedpod
- Feb 27
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 6
I know what you're thinking, who am I to give you advice on getting organised? Me the self proclaimed face of chaotic sewing. Well, whilst I may not have my life together, I can promise you I have tried everything to get there! So I may not be an authority on organisation, but I can tell you what I have tried, what has worked for me and what hasn't. For me a sucessful organisation tool is something that can keep me in check for at least a month, after that it all crumbles but thats a me problem.
When I first started sewing I had no idea how much space it would take up, come to think of it I don't think my partner did either, otherwise he probably would have steered me in the direction of a less material hobby (pun intended).
Over the years i have tried every trick in the book to keep my overflowing craft supplies in check, mostly to no avial, but some have been more successful than others.
It doesnt help that sometimes I feel the need to dabble in other fibre crafts, which inevitably leads to more mess and less storage options.
Fabric
Lets be honest, the saying "sewing and fabric buying are two completely seperate hobbies" is incredibly accurate. I get as much joy browsing and buying beautiful fabrics as I do sewing them up. However, the problem with this is that I now have a fabric stash that is completely out of hand and can quite literally fill and entire room. As it currently stands according to my stash hub stats (more on this later) I have 1359.54 meters of fabric, dont worry this is a safe space so if your stash looks similar you will find no judgment here. But really, where the heck am I supposed to store over 1000m of fabric? and realisitically can I actually sew all of that in one lifetime? The answer is no, probably not. So what do we do?
My first recomendation in destash!, Destash, destash, destash. I don't know about you but I'll be honest, the more filled my fabric stash got the less joy it started to bring. I honestly find it more overwhelming than enjoyable. Luckily I have already followed my own advice and started ruthlessly destashingh my fabric over on my Instagram destash page @sewdisorganised_destash.
When it comes to destashing you have a few options, you can list them on your social media pages like i have, be that instagram, facebook or whatever else you use. It's a great way to make a little extra money and you'll definitlety feel better after thinning the heard.
However, measuring, taking photos, figuring out prices and then having to post orders can be very time consuming and overwhelming, which when the whole aim of detsashing is to reduce overwhelm then this might be a bit too much for the old psyche. If this doesn't sound like your cup of tea then there are other options, you could look for fabric swaps in your local area, not only is it a great way to get rid of fabric that no longer sparks joy and swap it out for fabrics that will, but it's also a great way to meet other sewists and potentially make friends for life. Not one in your area? you could always look at setting one up yourself.
However, if you're like me and live in the sticks this may not be an option, so instead look to donate to charity shops and schools, this is also a great option for the fabric that doesn't sell. Whatever you choose the aim is to whittle down your stash to an amount that feels good for you, whether that be 100 pieces or 10.
Ok, so we've destashed, were now loving our stash and it is giving us the dopamine boost we needed. But how and where to store it? You can put it in boxes and tuck it away, this is definitely a good option is your sewing space is also a shared communal space. But, if you have the option to display your fabrics then I would reccomend you do that, from previous experiences I find my fabric buying increases when I can't see what I already have, this has also lead to double purchases of the same fabric before. When I can have my fabrics on display I feel inspired and excited to sew, I can walk past and pull a few pieces out have a look and the sewing plans will flow.
Here are the methods I mentioned in the episode that I have had great success with.
Kallax/Cube Units
You can find these at Ikea, Argos and other furniture stores, but if you want to find one a little cheaper then have a look on resale sites or secondhand marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace.
Warehouse Shelving
I miss my warehouse shelving, they could fit so much fabric and sewing supplies on them and they were surprisingly compact. I brought mine from Amazon, but they are pretty easy to find.
Fabric Comic Board Method
I wont say much on here because True bias has an excellent blog on this that can show and explain it far better than I ever could. You can find the tutorial here https://truebias.com/blogs/blog/stash-organization
Patterntrace Swatch Books
After hunting on the Pattertrace site I can no longer see the swatch books, however they do have a new stash binder which I will share a link for, and I did find a shop still carrying a few of the swatch books so I will also post that here
Here are the new pattern trace stash organisers
Kylie and the Machine ID Tape
I love these, they're such a great addition to your fabric organisation arsenal. They also look super cute and leave no residue. Sew Perfect.
Ok so thats fabric orgaisation, lets move onto pattern organisation. I will be honest, I am still in the thick of figuring out what works best for me and I haven't found a perfect solution, but here is what I've tried and what so far has been doing the job. If you have any solutions I would love to hear them, but heres what I have so far...
Pattern Envelopes
You can buy these pre printed in several places, my favourites are The Foldline and Patterntrace. Page Joanna also has printable files for sticking onto the front of envelopes which is a great alternative and they're so pretty.
Cardboard Backed Envelopes
These are my favourite evenelopes for storing my PDF patterns because they are inexpensive, you can buy them in loads of places and the cardboard back helps to keep your patterns neatly organised and in great condition.
I buy mine online but you can also find them in places like the post office and WHSmith if you would rather shop in person.
Storage Boxes
I brought a few of these from The Works and Wilko and I love them, they're really pretty, compact and stack well. You are limited by the amount of patterns you can store in them though so you will likely need more than one. You can buy the cardboard ones which are collapsable so great for storage or the plastic ones (these are my favourite as the paper ones aren't massivly durable).
Pattern Hooks
Personally not my favourite way of organising A0 patterns, but I know some people love it so I thought it best to include, if you've got a clothing rail or a rail you can hang them on then its a good method to keep your patterns neat and easily accesible.
Ok thats fabrics and patterns out the way, so lets move onto some more general organisational tools. Starting of course with Stash Hub.
Stash Hub
In case you didn't already know, I love stash hub. This is by far my favourite sewing orgaisational tool, I have been using it and loving it for years, and when I say it has completely levelled up my sewing I am nowhere near exadurating. If you haven't downloaded it yet then you're seriously missing out and need to fix that now! You can find it in your IOS or android app store.
Oh and I forgot to say in the episode that if you use my referral code 39ZNPXG8 I get a free month so i would be very grateful
Craft Trollies
I brought mine at Hobbycraft, but I think they are available in a number of other places, whilst these are great for pattern storage, they're also really good for general craft storage and organisation, and they come in so many beautiful colours.
Other Organizational Apps and Books
Because these aren't nessecerily FOR craft organising I have just put them all in this catagory, but here are some useful apps and books for organising your wardrobe which can be applied to your craft space, and also lets be honest it's nice to be able to beautifully organise the clothes were making to keep them in excellent condition, we don't do all that hard work to not care for them lovingly.
My favourties are Whering App, Stylebook App and The Curated Closet Book
Thank you so much for listening, I hope you have enjoyed and found it helpful. I would love to hear your favourite methods for organising your craft space as I'm always looking for ways to be more efficient.
Have the best day, sending so much love!
Marie x
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