On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!
Tea today is jasmine, just sipping away, happy as a camper! Actually I don’t think that I would be happy camping as it was usually cold, and there was always a rock under my back. I think that now, I am more of a “glamper”, besides, where would I keep all of my stash?
Speaking of stash, I am often asked how do I store all of my fabrics, ribbon and trims, laces, threads, beads, buttons and more. Well let me tell you, I have a lot of boxes, and bags. I organize the “like” components together by color.
Tip: Storage
- Fabric is organized by the type of material in cardboard or plastic storage boxes. I pre-wash all of my fabrics, but do not iron them until I start on a project.
- Ribbons, trims, and cords are organized by material, in see-through plastic storage boxes. I take the trims off of any flat cardboard packaging, as the folds will eventually become permanent.
- Lace yardage and trims are kept in plastic or cardboard storage boxes. I wrap the vintage laces first in acid free tissue paper.
- Embroidery threads and ribbons are organized by material, in plastic zip-lock bags, then in see-through plastic storage boxes.
- Beads are kept in plastic or cardboard boxes.
- Glass, metal, shell, and fabric buttons are organized by material in plastic or cardboard containers.
- Vintage plastic buttons are kept in cardboard boxes, so that the chemicals in the materials don’t deteriorate, breakdown, and of course smell.
Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen
PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.
Christen's Creations 
Hi Christen,
Thanks for the tips. I have a few vintage plastic and bakelite buttons. Years ago, I had several ornamental hair combs and clips that I stored in a cardboard box. They deteriorated in the box. Am I understanding that your vintage buttons do not deteriorate stored in cardboard boxes? Thank you.
Hi Billie Ann,
First, thank you for reading the post, and second I am so sorry that your ornamental hair combs and clips deteriorated. And correct, my celluloid, Bakelite, and Lucite plastics have not deteriorated due to the cardboard.
Hmm, I am wondering if the hair combs could possibly have been tortoise shell? Items made from natural fibers such as the tortoise shell and horn can be susceptible to bugs. I just found this information from the Illinois Department of Health.
“Clothes moths and carpet beetles are among the very few insects, fungi and microorganisms that are capable of digesting keratin, a protein component of feathers, hair, fur, horns, antlers, hooves, nails and beaks.”
I hope that this helps!
~Christen
As interesting as how they are stored is what material the containers are made of. Thanks.
You bet my friend! I am glad that you read the article! ~Christen
Thanks for the tips! I was happy to discover plastic photograph storage containers by Iris. I bought the very large box that holds a bunch of photo sized boxes and sorted my beads by color (and each bead type is kept in small archival bags). I did the same with smaller photo storage boxes for my buttons by color (not sorted into bags). And to add to that, I got the Iris scrapbooking cart with “drawers” that are actually removable containers where I keep all my threads (sorted by color!) and other bits. All neatly labeled with a label maker. Crafting (and cleaning up after!) has never been such a breeze since the change. It is such a delight that I only wish I had made the purchases much earlier in life:)
Hi CaLynn, Thank you so much for reading the post, and leaving such a wonderful explanation on the containers that you use to store your treasures! Happy Stitching, ~Christen
Christen, I hope you remember me – Leslie from Bazaar Del Mundo
Would love to chat!
Hi Leslie!
Of course I do! We were down there in September, for lunch at Casa Guadalajara, and saw Rosa. I looked in your area and didn’t see you.
You can always email me at thestoreonthcorner@gmail.com
Fondly, ~Christen