I keep a lot of my sewing supplies in old-fashioned glass jars. Not only can I see where everything is, but my supplies look delicious this way. They call to me, “Heather, Heather, come play with us!” Several of these fun jars line the high shelves of my studio – with pink walls and distressed white furniture, my studio is a virtual candy store, hence the nickname above!
There are many systems for organizing embroidery floss, involving cases, binders, hinged rings, zippered baggies, plastic cards or any combination of these. I prefer the hinged rings. I can clearly see my colors, without a lot of extra ‘packaging.’
I record the color #s on the end of the plastic cards with a permanent marker. In the off-chance I need to replenish a specific color mid-project, I'll know what to get. When I’m traveling with a project, I detach all of the necessary cards and group them onto a new ring. The best part? The rings easily stack in their jar, where I can drool over the colors at will.
For me, creatively, it’s important to see my supplies. A random arrangement of spools in a jar might inspire a new approach to color or a unique patchwork design. The same goes with buttons or stacks of fabric. When your supplies are in a snarl and tucked away in a shoebox (as were my threads a few years back), you’re limiting your creative resources. Attack one category at a time: fabric, thread, trims, buttons, etc. Rent a good movie and enjoy the monotony of it all.
Personally, I still need to sort out my trims. I’d like to wrap them around these chipboard cards and line them all up on a shelf, keeping extra cards on hand for future trim binges. But, I haven't discover a resource for these gems. If anyone knows where to get ahold of a stack of these, PLEASE let me know! I have a back-up plan involving corrugated plastic, but I’m holding out for Plan A.
Yes, I have far more supplies than my space allows for and not everything is neat and tidy. But, every effort I've made at organization has proven well worth my while. In fact, I'm sure there are some fantastic forehead-smacking ideas out there in blogland. Tell me your favorite tricks -- I’d love to hear how you keep your supplies in check!