So tell me. Do you have a fabric stash? How big is your fabric stash? Do you regret it? Or do you love it?
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(All recently bought from Sew Stitching Happy.)
Last week on Instagram, I asked my followers whether or not to continue building my fabric stash. I had (and still have) so many mixed feelings! I have slowly started to accumulate a fabric stash, and while I’m enjoying the blessings of having so many beautiful fabrics in my hands at any time, I am still a bit hesitant seeing the growing stacks on my shelves.
When I polled my followers about their fabric stashes, the common answer I received many times over was that many quilters love having a stash. Like most things in life, I have to find a balance that works for me, and I shared a few thoughts below.
(View this post for details on the above fabrics.)
What are the pros of growing a fabric stash?
1. Creativity. This is hands down the biggest blessing I’ve experienced from building a little stash. When I’m ready to start a new quilt, I can pull fabrics off the shelf and look at them in real life. I don’t have to mix and match fabrics on a computer screen. As Mary from Sunny Day Supply commented, ‘If you are a quilter, fabric is your canvas.’ It’s true. My favorite part of the process of creating a quilt is mixing and pairing and combining fabrics. Having them in front of me is an immense privilege.
2. Starting projects immediately. Just recently, my oldest son, Case (four years old) has taken an interest in drawing. We have markers. We have water colors. We have paint sticks. We have colored pencils. During rest time, he takes his little supplies to his room and sometimes draws for an hour. All of these art supplies reside in little plastic baggies. I recently found this tutorial for a pencil holder. Because I have a fabric stash, I can get to work on a little art supply holder for him…instead of ordering and waiting three days for the fabric to come.
(View this post for details on the above fabrics.)
3. Reminder to create. You guys. I can waste time. No matter how much I have on my ‘to-do’ list, I can still figure out how to waste time. I can scroll Facebook to my heart’s content every night…despite the fact that I should just go to bed. For me, finishing a project or learning a new handicraft brings me much greater joy than watching TV or scrolling Facebook. Always having a project or two has been good for me. Having good high quality supplies on hand is a blessing.
4. Some fabrics really are treasures. I try to always practice my 24 hour rule. Since I do almost all my fabric shopping online, I always leave the fabric sitting in my online shopping cart for at least 24 hours. It’s amazing how much my tastes change over night sometimes! I have also been in the scenario where I watch a fabric for a long time deciding if I like it enough to buy it. Sometimes it sells out before I buy it, and then you know what? I can’t find it anywhere. I am still on the hunt for some little black and white star print from Cotton & Steel that is out of stock and out of print. Some fabrics really are great treasures and versatile and beautiful. And once they’re out of stock, they are often not printed ever again.
5. Beauty and inspiration. Fabric designers may come in abundance these days, but these designers are extremely talented people. If you are like me, seeing someone else’s handiwork is inspiring. So many designs are so intricate and beautiful. What a privilege to have some to look through and enjoy on a daily basis!
(View this post for details on the above fabrics.)
What are the cons of growing a fabric stash?
1. Fabric costs money. If I don’t have the money to buy fabric, I shouldn’t. We all have to consider financial balance in life and where we should and shouldn’t be spending money.
2. Trends change fast. Just like clothes, fabrics are constantly changing. Every six months, new fabrics hit the markets. If you haven’t used up all the fabrics you bought the last six months, you may be tempted to buy a whole bunch more fabric. Be cautious when buying…knowing that there will always be new lines and new fabrics always coming out.
(View this post for details on the above fabrics.)
3. My tastes change. Just like most things in life, we learn and grow and change as each day passes by. I remember visiting my cousin’s house probably ten years ago. Him and his wife had just painted their kitchen red, and I remember telling him that if I had a kitchen to paint, it would be red too. Blah. Red is one color that you see absolutely none of in my house. I still have yardage of some of the first fabric I ever bought…filled with hues of red. I just can’t bring myself to use it.
4. Clutter. Are you a bit like me? I always have a bag ready to go to Salvation army. My husband and I are often rearranging looking for more efficient ways to store toys and rearrange furniture to make the most out of our space. I’m always looking to reduce the amount of things in our home. Fabric is just like anything else. It can become a burden and begin to weigh heavy on your mind if you just buy buy buy. It takes up space and can take up a LOT of space if you’re not careful.
5. Temporary joy. Like anything in life, it’s fun to buy new things. Every time I see another envelope come from my favorite fabric shop, I get excited. I open it immediately and flip through my few new treasures. I fold them neatly and stack them on my fabric shelf. Then I forget about them for a while. The excitement wains. I’ll have to buy even more fabric to experience that excitement again. Just like buying clothes or shoes or purses, fabric can easily become quite addictive. Let me encourage you, like I have to remind myself, to exercise self-control in your crafting and quilting hobbies.
(View this post for details on the above fabrics.)
I’ve polled my Instagram followers. Now tell me what you think? Do you have a fabric stash? Do you regret it? Do you love it?
(View this post for details on the above fabrics.)
You posted this nearly a yr ago, but since I have such strong feelings on the subject I will reply anyway & hope that someone somewhere will read it. When I first started quilting my views were pretty much the same as yours, but as time went by & fabric costs went up I knew I had to buy it “on sale”. As my collection grew I began rearranging it alot. I created piles of color, theme combo’s over & over again creating stacks of future quilts. I think I enjoy that about as much as making the quilts–the color, the theme, the perfect balance of textures. I have a walk-in closet in my bedroom totally devoted to flannels, all washed, ironed & neatly folded on hangers; often at bedtime or during the night I will stand in there looking at all the beautiful prints & colors, touching their softness & begin re-arranging the hangers into different co-ordinate groupings, letting my mind & problems float away in a beautiful rainbow of color. I can close the door & be in a world of my own creating to my hearts content. Some prints I like so well I can’t bear to cut them, always thinking, what if I cut it & find a quilt pattern I like better. Most often if I like something–I like it forever, current styles & trends don’t matter to me, it only matters if I like it. To be without a stash would be like being an artist without any paints. A lot of things in my house would have to go before my stash, although it could use some downsizing most of the time. If you have your fabric stuffed in boxes or opaque plastic containers, you aren’t really enjoying your stash, or optimizing creativity. Explore your perfect storage method, til you find what really works for you. And it will probably change as you live in different places, but out of sight is out of mind. Tone on tones, stripes, dots ,checks, plaids are great things to collect–add a focus fabric & you’re ready to go. Go ahead, start a little stash of your own, just practice some constraint, same as you would do with your debit card. Hope you have as much fun as I do.
Hi Linda! Thanks for leaving some insight from someone with lots of experience! I COMPLETELY understand how mixing and matching fabrics and creating new combinations is just about as much fun as making the quilt itself. It sounds like you so much enjoy the colors and prints and textures you have so nicely stacked in your home. I’m so glad your fabrics provide such a creative outlet for you where you can let your mind drift from burdens. I like your advice to figure out how to store our fabrics so we can enjoy their beauty. 🙂