Ok, so it's not so exciting to look at but it's really helpful. It all started when my dad wanted my help designing a fabric stash keeping iPhone app (because he's a nerdy programer like that) last Christmas. It's still a work in progress but it got me thinking about stash organization and then I remembered these great stash organizing sheets from Mena over at Sew Weekly.
So I organized my stash!
Each fabric gets a swatch and blanks for selvage width, yardage, type, cost, aquired, era and other notes.
For a lot of my older stash, I don't have all of this info, but that's ok. I just filled in what I had. I bring it with me to the fabric store so I can just write all of this down off of the bolt. Some other info that I sometimes include are washing instructions and whether or not it's been prewashed.
Once a fabric is used up, I check the little "no longer in stash" box.
And because I'm a nerd and I like Excel, I added all of this info into a spread sheet so I can crunch numbers and make pie charts.
One day, I want to do something like this for patterns so I know how much yardage I need for a pattern while I'm out shopping but I can't draw and I haven't figured out how to get an illustration so no luck there yet. Maybe I'll have to get my dad working on an iPhone app for that!
Having a stash app sounds like one of the best things ever! Like seriously! Make sure to ask for a Droid version as well. :D
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic idea! Ii hate buying a great pattern to make from fabric I already have just to get home with it and I don'd have enough, or the fabric was a bit different than what I remembered. :]
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea, so organized and love the pie charts. :)
ReplyDelete-Fellow Excel Nerd
I hope you blog when your dad's iPhone app is ready, I for one, can't wait! It's so cool to find so many nerdy sewing people :) I love statistics! I don't have a big stash (yet), so I think I should get organized like right now.
ReplyDeleteAlso: I so enjoy your blog. We seem to have a lot of same interests :)
Whoa, this is great! Those sheets are very convenient for filling out, and it's pretty simple to keep them in a binder. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea sometimes it is nice to be able to see what you have plus touch and feel the fabric. I currently use the Sewing Kit App for my iPhone to keep track of patterns, fabric and project but it like the idea of having a stash book plus it is cool backup system for me. Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great way to keep track of your fabric stash! It really appeals to the orgraniser in me. We've just purchased a printer so I know what I'll be doing this afternoon...
ReplyDeleteAs someone who adores being organized and rather likes making lists and inventories, this idea appeals to me soooo much. Should I ever delve into starting a fabric stash, I definitely want to keep a system akin to this, too.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
The Excel spread sheet does take it to a whole new level.... I do something similar with my fabric stash. I also have a notebook that is project based matching up the pattern with the fabric. Thinking about moving all of this into the computer instead of paper to reduce studio clutter but I am not sure if I would like it....Any thoughts?
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest issue with the computer based system is swatches and pattern covers. You could always have a small notebook just of swatches and have all of the other info just in the computer.
DeleteI think to try it out, you could try it out with a few entries and see how you like it. I know Excel very well and know how to get it to do fun stuff so I like the Excel version. If you aren't as handy with Excel, it can get very frustrating.