These containers are almost identical to the ones I use, for anyone interested in getting some for yourself! www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Cleverstore-Stackable-Containers-Organization/dp/B08HR4K9Y5
Love these! I’ve used these for years for my quilting fabrics. They stack just right and save every bit of room by not having any foolishness about them. Covers snap just enough without being hard to take off. Enjoy!
I don't know what it is but I just love your videos. I could watch them all day! Listening to you is like having a lovely chat with a friend. Thank you so much for this!
Your container of shirts looks really well organised. I am si inspired by the shirts. My husband is retired and rarely wears a shirt now. Also, his neck size has increased, so I have my eye on several really lovely ones in his wardrobe! I hadn't realised how much fabric there is in a shirt, and also lovely quality fabric. Thanks from the UK for your inspiration.
I don't do quilting, but I just enjoy listening to your videos while I work on other things! Right now I'm putting together a crocheted mosaic granny square sweater. I've always loved patchwork. ❤️
Hi from South Africa 🇿🇦 thanks for your delightful videos/tutorials. I've been using clothing for a while now but had no order ... kind of winging it... but last week I cut a shirt using your technique and wow it was amazing. It was orderly, stress free and enjoyable. After I did a few I thought wow how should I fold them. And low and behold you've thought of it 😂😊 thanks again. GOD BLESS
I. AM. SO. EXCITED!!! I guess it’s the organizing nerd in me, but I’ve been wondering how you store your shirts (whole and broken down) and if you cut them immediately or waited for a specific project. I was thinking of suggesting this topic. I’m so glad to know you can read my mind!!
Well my goodness! I had no idea you would be so excited for this video, but thank you! 🥰❤️ I would love to take credit for mind-reading, but several others have asked how I fold and store fabric so you weren’t alone! And for the record, I generally break shirts down when I need them; if I’m in between quilting projects sometimes I will go ahead and start taking them apart in the evenings while I’m hanging out with my husband. 😊👍🏻
I have to tell you, you have done something to my brain. 1st of all I have yet to buy a men's dress shirt and cut it up for a quilt. I almost bought several for an applique quilt but went to the local store because I really only needed 13 inches of several colors. However, I'm watching tv and go oooh that's a nice shirt would be pretty in a quilt. Walking through a crowd at the fair and chiming in my head oh would you look at that shirt that would be nice. Lol so keep on making videos, and keep inspiring.
Well thank you! It is kinda crazy how you start seeing prints or colors of mens shirts on people and think “that would be gorgeous in a quilt!” Thank you for watching and commenting--I’m glad you here with me! ❤️
Haha!! I know, right? It’s like when you buy a car, then you start seeing that car all over the place! Only so,e times the men in the shirts think we might be looking at them! 🫣🤭
I love using mens dress shirts for quilts. And colored paperclips are great for color coding yokes, sleeves, front panels, and backs from each other. Love your videos!
The wall of fabric is totally impractical! It exposes your fabric to light and dust, thereby leading to fabric fading on the edge. Your storage method is brilliant. Thank you for the unfiltered example. We all just need to focus on our art, not making our art instagramable!
You know I never thought of that! {immediately feels better about storage system} You are so welcome--I’m committed to “real” even if it makes me feel vulnerable. Which is usually rewarded with very kind and supportive comments like yours. 🥰 so thank you, too!! ❤️
I don't have as many cut-up shirts (yet) so they all share a tote (for now lol) but I keep cuffs, pockets, and yoke in a separate box - mostly because I have mainly used those parts for other projects so far. You fold your fabric very nicely :)
Thank you, Freddie! ❤️ I have started a separate tote for cuffs, pockets, collars and such...at the suggestion of a viewer! (might have been you?!) I have no idea what I'll do with all those cuffs--worst case scenario, I get everyone's addresses and share them with viewers who will use them! 😘
When I first started my journey of teaching myself to quilt, I bought all of my fabric from garage sales and my favorite thrift store. I fell in love with buying mens shirts when they were on sale, most of which were plaid. To date, I have only made four (?) quilts from these shirts, two of which I used fleece for the backing and no batting. They are so soft and cuddly and make perfect “porch” quilts. I would love to see any ideas you have on making quilts out of predominately plaid shirts. I am such a fan of yours. You are mesmerizing!
Oh my goodness, Kathleen, thank you! I have been thinking about that very thing...working with plaids can be super challenging (to the point that I haven't done a lot of them.) The one that I made with success was "Checkerboard" by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison in their book "Sunday Morning Quilts." if you are near a metro area, your public library may have a copy (but it's worth the purchase, IMHO.) I think I have photos of it on my instagram account if you happen to follow me there. ❤️ I think I might start looking for--or adapting--patterns that will work for this purpose! Thanks for the support and for the suggestion/recommendation!
Hi. I recently discovered your channel and have been binge watching while I sew. Before I saw your videos I would not have thought of the men's shirts to make fabric. Very thrifty and a great idea. I have more traditional quilting cotton, and what I find myself doing with pieces that is a blender or have little print, or are smaller than a fat quarter or is a very large piece of fabric that I have no plans for is cut them in pre-cut sizes. 10" square layercakes, 5" square inch charms, 2.5" mini charms and 2.5"xwof strips. I was saving random pieces that don't fit into any above categories, but had no strategy to use them. I decided I needed more uniform scraps so I make precuts of 2.5" squares, 2.5"x5", 1.5"x5", 2"x4", 1.5x2.5" rectangles and 1.5" squares. I figure eventually I'll make coin quilts with the 5" legnth and 2x4" lengths. Postage stamp quilts with the 1.5" squares. I don't save anything that does not fit into one of the above cuts. Last night I threw out a piece about 8" long but was less that 1.5" wide. The 2.5"x wof strips, if all one color or print, I lay out neatly and roll up with the raw edges folded to the inside. I put a rubber band around and tuck a note under the band to remind myself how many strips are there. Everything I sort into baggies with similar sizes and colors. Once a bag is full I start a new one. I find cutting fabric a stress reliever, so I really make the most of each piece of fabric as I go, and I don't stress out over the scraps not at least 1.5" squares, like the 8" piece i threw out last night. Thanks for sharing your videos.
I sure don’t have that wall or that space either….in Florida I use the Florida room and that is where we watch TV, so hubby puts up with me, my ironing board and my sewing cabinet and share his liquor cabinet with me. At the cottage….not any better. We have a bedroom, an office with a small freezer in there…and a very uncomfortable sleeper single couch. The ironing board is in the entry hallway, my cutting mat on the table so it has to be removed to the back of my small desk in the bedroom when we eat….a large plastic bin in my closet, his closet is in the office….and one of those rolling three tier racks (JoAnn’s on sale specials) with other sewing stuff….Also my large bin is getting filled up with men’s shirts very fast….so I need to get my a…in gear real soon, dear CatBird, and make some things and give them away….to make room for more shirts…..your friend, mouse🐭👔👔👔
We have a similar situation! My sewing area is actually tiny (it looks SO much bigger on camera) and if I want to hang out with Paul AND make some progress on my projects, I have to move the iron, ironing board, cutting mat, etc into the LR which takes up a fair amount of space as you might imagine! And, ME TOO with needing to use up some shirts--it's getting bad up in here! 😱
I did that too with my multi color prints in quilt cottons. Some prints I can see they are mostly one color, so they go with that color. Right now I have all my shirt fabric separate from my quilt cotton.
I spent time this summer cutting up shirts I bought a few years ago. I fold mine similar to yours, tie together with a seam from shirt, put them in Dollar Tree baskets I had and store them in my recently acquired Billy bookcases from Ikea. I stored the poly/cotton separate. I am just swooning over your fabric and want to see all of it! So pretty!
Aww! Thank you Janet!! 🥰❤️ Don't be fooled...there are some serious duds in that container!! 😂 I love your idea for storing in baskets in bookcases too. IKEA for the win! 🤩
I have 31 cut up shirts so far. I keep yoke and smaller parts separate zipper baggies. Thank you for sharing. I'm learning so much. Getting ready to make a quilt for my son.
It didn't take me long to accumulate a good size pile of men's dress shirts and I started cutting them up. Yikes! Now what? Yesterday before you posted this super helpful video, I folded them up so they were fat quarterish and tucked each processed shirt in a quart sized zip lock storage bag. Then I put them all in a large tote box, so I could keep them corralled. Your way of folding and storing is really orderly. If my way isn't efficient enough I may have to do what you did. Thanks so much for all your helpful tips.
Thank you, Jo! I have been meaning to do this video for a couple of weeks...sounds like I might have been a titch too late for you! But good to know you found your own system! ❤️ (and we all can adjust as our stash gets bigger! 😍)
Oh I REALLY needed this video because I’ve been collecting shirts for a while now - and my sewing room is MESSY 😳😳 More ‘piles’ than nice folded fabric 😢 You’ve inspired me to tackle the mess and get organised 🎉 Thank goodness 😅 You have some amazing colours 🤩Thanks Kathy 👏👏🇬🇧
I am so loving your videos and channel. I am so glad I found your first video and have been following you from day one and will keep following you. You explain everything so well . It’s the teacher in you
Thank you for this video. You have provided an excellent way to keep fabric organized and contained. Now off to my sewing room to organize my colourful mess! Lol!
Thank you thank you!! So glad you're motivated to organize...it's one of my favorite things! (until I get overwhelmed and then it's my LEAST favorite thing! LOL) ❤️🤓
Another lovely informative video, Cathy.❤️ I could have said "snap" when I saw your container with gorgeous fabrics! Have you done anything with your button hole placards yet? Don't throw them out, total gems.☺️
@@TheCatBirdQuilts Oh dear! I have tonnes😂. I did love that you unpicked your buttons fabric part. I just cut mine off. Truck load of those! Might use those in a future project. I have woven some into my fabric bins that I store my shirts in. I need a new seam reaper. Mine is wobbly. A clover one. But my LQS is no longer stocking them. Will have to go on a fabric shop hunt, have an idea where to go, 55 min drive away!
I was folding everything together with the back as an “envelope” and it is NOT a great system. You can not tell what you have other than color. So THANK YOU for this much better system.
That’s what I would have done since I’m a over-the-top organizer! So, thank you for the warning. Lol. I love the system because you know what you have in each piece. Sort of. Now I’m thinking, but what if it’s an xxl shirt then a small shirt? Oh my. I’m sure I’ll figure a system for size too. 🧐😛😁 I should go biggest piece (back) to smallest piece, but maybe her idea of sleeves first makes more sense? Oh my. Haha
You are amazing! You are the real deal! You are inspiring, encouraging and incredibly entertaining! You have a delightful personality and I look forward to watching more You Tube Videos! Thank you Kathy Martin!
I found my first shirt!!! It’s a HUGE (must be xxxl long and tall) beautiful medium blue 100% cotton shirt! I kept hearing your voice say, “this shirt is SOOO big, it would just swallow me up!”. Haha! I tried to use it has a night shirt but it was annoying because it sure “swallowed me up!” 😄 So I’m going to cut it up and stash it! Yay! My first shirt. I’ll be adding more very soon now that I see how easy it is to find 100% cotton shirts! It says it right on most of the collars where the tag is. Yay! Thanks. ❤️
Hooray!!! Isn’t it just fun and surprising what you find in the mens shirt section at the thrift store? So many colors and prints and so many that are super soft! ❤️
Another great video ❤. I actually press the fabric before storing it. I've made a "Spray starch" from 4 parts water and 1 part vodka and lightly mist the fabric, then press, then lay it on my clothes drying rack to cool and to make sure the fabric is completely dry. Then I fold them in squares and also keep the yoke and pocket with the bigger pieces, just like you do it.
Oh thank you, Heike! If the fabric is SUPER wrinkly and will not make a nice flat folded piece, I press it too! I'm curious tho...other than helping the water evaporate/dry what is the purpose of the vodka?! Also, AW 🥰 I love to find out that people in different places in the world arrive at the same "best way" to do something! It makes me feel like there is a bigger force out there helping us navigate our world and also makes me feel connected to the people who do it the way I do! But then again, I'm such a "sap"! 🥰❤️
@@TheCatBirdQuilts the vodka/water spray is like Best Press. We did a trial of it in our zoom sewing class. I'm in Eastern NC, so not THAT far from you. 😁
"When Good Shirts Go Bad." 😁Do you think we can get Clint Eastwood to star? 😍But seriously, I have a child's toy storage unit that uses bins for my small pieces of stash. Some bins are so stuffed, that they couldn't hold a drop of water. But I found a solution. It's not ideal but it helps. I roll the fabric and fasten it loosely with a rubber band and stand it up like a peppermint stick. Not perfect but I have no more room. Two shelves...one in the closet and one the length of the room (8x10) are filled with bins. My bookcases are filled with yardage and my cross stitch. So rolling it can help in a pinch.
When I saw the title of your video my first thought was: where else would you store men’s dress shirts but on a hanger, in a closet. But, of course, that was the silly in me. Love your videos and your guidance on guilting!
Storage is so fascinating to me, but even more that that is how people define scraps. I've got big scraps - Honestly they are close to fat 1/8ths, long skinny scraps (I like to make string quilts so I like to have these together.) small scraps - @ 5 inch charm size, and crumbs - weird shapes and smaller bits (This is also where I put my vintage fabric.)
A really organized way might be for you to make those fabric hanging cubbies that are typically used for shoes. It's like suspended shelving but the pockets will be big enough for one shirt each at a glance and yet be neatly tucked away behind a closet door. What do you think?
Thank you for sharing how you fold and store men’s shirts. I am in the process of cutting the shirt and was just wondering how I was going to store these.🤓
Ok you've now shamed me into realising I need to refold my pile of shirt pieces, organise them by colour, and find a proper box to put them in. I gain something from every one of your videos and that's why I keep watching. Thank you.
Ok well I never want to shame anyone, but I’m glad you are *motivated* to get your fabric folded and organized! You will reap the benefits when you get it done! 🤓👍🏻 So glad you get something from my videos-I’m glad you’ve stayed with me! ❤️
@@TheCatBirdQuilts Well I did it. The pile of shirt pieces I had haphazardly folded, I have now refolded neatly as per your video, found a temporary box to put them in, and sorted them into colour ranges. They look so neat and tidy now, I don't have pieces spilling all over the place. and I can see what colours I need to look out for to improve my stash. A lesson well learned lol.
Oh my gosh! I have the same problem with t shirts for my “Themed” t shirt” quilts. I have 100’s of cut downs t shirts. They are in multiple large totes.
Oh my goodness, Jana! I can only imagine that would be EVEN harder because you have to keep all those shirts separated or at least easily identifiable! It's just one of the aspects of quilting from shirts that most people don't consider!
That’s a great idea too! There are a million Cathy Martins out there…”Catbird” is a childhood nickname that my Dad gave me and is memorable and distinctive. ❤️
@@TheCatBirdQuilts Love that your Dad gave you the nickname. I honestly thought it was because your first name is "Cat" (Cathy) and your last name is "Bird" (Martin)! :D
@@RobinHarris61 Someone beat me to it. I love the nickname. A cat is quick, stealth, and persistent; the bird is gracious and can sail high into the skies. What a thoughtful nickname.
Thank you for not “cleaning up” your set up. Looks great to me. I have to tell you I am the queen of totes. Totes are to my fabric what shoeboxes where to moms pictures. Have a Blessed Day!
What a great analogy, Kathy! I can see the shoeboxes of photos in my own childhood home! ❤️ I love a good tote full of fabric! 😍I can just open then lid and go “ooohh that aqua gingham would be gorgeous in a Christmas quilt!”😂🤩
Our thrift stores near me have many beautiful men's dress shirts, but they cost close to what it would to just go to a quilt shop. They're usually between $8-$10. I could save on the random 50% off days, though. What thrift store chain do you go to?
Sometimes I have that too…and sometimes I get ones that I like anyway. I figure if it’s a fabric I like, and I know I’m gonna get a whole yard for $8, it’s still good buy! I go to 2 local thrift stores (best prices) and then and America’s Thrift store in my hometown, Salvation Army thrift store near my house, and Goodwill near my house. The Salvation Army is totally overpriced but they have 1/2 off clothes on Wed. The America’s thrift store recently raised their prices and sometimes their sales aren’t really a big bargain (but they have those lovely denim and flower shirts there!! The Goodwill isn’t as cheap as the Salvation Army on half-off day, but they are considerably more reasonable. We have a Goodwill outlet in the back of our regular Goodwill, but I’m not sure I can take that level of disorganization.
@@TheCatBirdQuilts lol! For sure 😆 We'll, I should check them out on half price days, because like you said you can't find fabrics like many of them just anywhere. Love your channel, fun times 🌼
I fold my shirts in a similar way, but I fold all the pieces into the last fold of the back, so it all looks like one large piece. And I store them standing up in bins, just like you do! :D
Why am I not surprised, Robin, that we do this alike? 🥰❤️ Also, I tried folding them all together but as soon as I used the back it was all separate anyway, so I just started leaving them separate. 😂😊😉
Yokes are a problem, aren't they? It just annoys me trying to salvage the biggest pieces possible. I gave up and just cut the biggest strip I can from each yoke and save them as 'strips.'
@@TheCatBirdQuilts I was very happy to find someone else in love with using men's shirts in quilts. I live near a Good Will Clearance Center so I get these gems at $1 a pound. I know! Like WHAT? I'm enjoying your videos immensely. Thanks for stepping up and 'doing your thing.'
I have a fun glass jar that holds the buttons and it sits on the end table next to my couch in the living room. When it gets full, I give the buttons to a super creative coworker who makes all kinds of stuff! At some point I may have to get a bigger jar! 😂😘
Thanks Kathy! I was wondering how you stored the fabrics. I fold everything together rather than separate. I do like your ideas and might use that as a guide. Although my stash isn’t as big as yours, 👔👔👔👔🪡🧵
Thank you, A G! I don't think of my fabric stash as big...I guess I'm comparing to friends who have been sewing and quilting for 30+ years and they have TONS of fabric!! 😱
