The beginning of a new year always brings out resolutions to use up your fabric stash and buy nothing
Stash reduction is a noble goal, but let’s be realistic… how many of us can actually pull it off?
May I suggest, instead, a way to do it that allows you to still buy a little fabric? After all, if we don’t support our stores they won’t be there for us when we need them!
Grab a small notebook or journal to keep close to your fabric (or you can use this cute stash reduction download!)
Every time you use up fabric, write it down, and keep a running total of how much you used (use the fabric requirements from your patterns as estimates)
Every time you buy fabric, write this down too, and keep a running total. See below for my friend Kory’s fabric page in her bullet journal!
Try to keep the “bought fabric” total smaller than the “used fabric” total: just buy a little less than you use.
At the end of the year you will have reduced your stash AND supported your locals stores.
WIN-WIN!
P.S. You can also cull your stash to donate to your local charity sewing program like Project Linus – it all goes in the “used” column. Another WIN-WIN!
Thanks for the Stash Tracker idea. I love it! Sure to make me feel better about using my stash fabric and still being able to buy a little to feed my addiction and support our new local quilt shop.
I did this a few years ago and was amazed at how much fabric I used.
Another way to reduce is to let friends know that you are open to letting some of your stash go. Last week 3/4 yd of fabric went to a friend looking for some fabric for an American Girl doll dress.
One could also weigh their stash – about 3 yards of 44-45″ cotton weighs one pound.