How to store fabric charms

[Carolyn M.]

I have accumulated several hundred charm squares and I haven't found a satisfactory way to store them so I can easily see color and pattern. If I lay them flat I have to sort through everything to find what I want. Right now I have folded each square in half, sorted by color, and stored, fold up, in a clear plastic shoe box - but I keep thinking there must be a better way. Most of the time I look through the fabric to get ideas rather than having a specific purpose in mind when searching so I need some form of storage that will help spark my creativity. Anyone have any ideas or solutions that have worked well?

[Margo C.]

I have accumulated several hundred charm squares and I haven't found a satisfactory way to store them so I can easily see color and pattern. If I lay them flat I have to sort through everything to find what I want. Right now I have folded each square in half, sorted by color, and stored, fold up, in a clear plastic shoe box - but I keep thinking there must be a better way. Most of the time I look through the fabric to get ideas rather than having a specific purpose in mind when searching so I need some form of storage that will help spark my creativity. Anyone have any ideas or solutions that have worked well?

Carolyn, how large are your charm squares? Maybe that would make a difference. I store anything smaller than 5" x 5" in a stack. Larger than that gets folded so I can see the fold and it helps to see the color, but then you have to deal with the folded side of the stack getting thicker than the other side, so it's hard to keep the stack straight.

The next option, is to just use 'em up so you don't have to store 'em!

Here is a quilt I spotted recently on Pinterest that is a great way to use up charm squares!

[Carolyn M.]

The charms are generally 5x5 and because they are fairly small pieces of fabric I tend to overlook them ...which is why I have accumulated so many.

[Jill B.]

Hey I would be only too happy to store them at my place for you, and you could come on over anytime to grab a few when ever you wanted to :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

p.s.I live in Taree NSW........

[E.M. T.]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Robin G.]

Carolyn, if you're using them mostly for ideas, what about putting them in a scrapbook? Or maybe an oversized binder? You could dab a bit of fabric glue on the back and maybe get 4 to 6 to a page, depending on size. A binder would allow you to pull the pages out so you could see them all together when you want ideas. Or, how about putting all the squares from one charm pack on a design wall, then taking a photo that you keep in an ideas file on your computer? I have a pretty good collection of charm squares, too, but I think I'm finally going to get them made into quilts. I'm mixing some charm squares with some yardage to make comfort quilts.