Fabric Organisation

A question I’ve often seen asked in Facebook sewing groups (I'm in a lot) is what smartphone apps are there to organise their fabric or pattern stash. Today I was messaging someone with screen shots of what I've done etc, so I decided to make a blog post out of it and share with everyone.  I'm not saying this is the only way to do it, but this is how I do it.

To keep track of my fabric stash, I use an Android App called Memento Database. Memento is a totally customisable database (library) App, so you can set it up however you would like. I have one library for patterns (which actually came first) and one for fabric.

The basic version is free and has a number of limitations, and while I have never used it, also comes in desktop versions for Windows, Linux, and Mac. In order to sync libraries across to the desktop version you need to use Memento Cloud, with the free option limited in space and libraries. I might upgrade later (upgrade is via subscription), but for now I'm happy with just mobile.

This blog post is about how my fabric database is set up, not specifically about how to use Memento. I've mostly worked it out as I went along or Googled, so if you would like specific instructions for anything, please comment below and I can try to answer your question.

The following screen shots show the fields I have set up:

Title - (mandatory) this is just something I use to identify the fabric for myself.  Most often it will be a repeat of the colour and/or type because I'm unimaginative. Sometimes it will be a previous project made with that fabric, or what the fabric is destined to become.  This entry does not need to be unique, just so long as you know what it is.

Type - (mandatory) this is how I choose to categorise the fabric. I have entries such as 'knit', 'polar fleece', 'cotton', 'woven stretch'. This field is set up to auto-complete, so when you start typing the first few letters it gives you options to choose from (if you have previously entered data). You don't have to choose a Type from the list of options as it will create a new entry but doing so means that you run the risk of have two slightly different versions of the same thing if you’re not careful.

Auto Complete box popping up once 2 letters have been entered. 

You can select which entry you want, or just keep typing to create a new one.

Colour - (mandatory) this is fairly obvious. Since it's mandatory, I've often entered 'multi' if I can't think what to call it. Again, this field has auto-complete, so you can make sure things end up together.

Pattern - I'll sometimes put 'stripes', 'spots' etc here.  It's rather obvious from the photo (further down) what the pattern is but entering it in this field means you can Group by pattern if you are after a specific one.

Width - in centimetres, so you would enter 112 or 150 for example.  I have some entries that are 80 (for example) because I've used a long strip down the length.

Length - in metres, so you would enter the value as 1.5 or .60 for example.

Used? - I use this tick box to indicate when I've used the fabric but forgot to mark it down. It just reminds me that the full length as listed will not be there.

Off Cuts - I use this to indicate that there are off cut pieces that I haven't included in the measurements (obviously larger, usable pieces). This box can be ticked in addition to width/length above, like when you cut something from a length and you have all the funny shaped pieces at the end.  Or it can be ticked on its own with no width/length to indicate that there are just "bits" left over that might be usable.

Disused Clothing - I use this instead of entering width/length when it is clothing I wish to up-cycle.  Some items I have stored I want to refashion, but others I just intend to cut up for kid’s clothes etc, so in my head they are just classed as fabric.

Pre-washed - to indicate whether the fabric is pre-washed or not.  If I intend to pre-wash, I try to do it straight away before adding it to my database, but just in case, you can remind yourself if you have or not.

Photo - Obviously a photo of the fabric.  The free version allows you to have two photos in this field.  I just take something to show the colour and/or pattern.  Sometimes the colour doesn't come up very well but it's usually enough to remind me of what it is.

Storage Location – This is handy to remind me where it is amongst the rest of the stash.  For me this would be things like "computer box" (I got a new computer the other week), "Blue crate", "1 - top shelf" (meaning first pile on the top shelf).  This is also an auto-complete field so I've tried to make the first few letters unique (hence my top shelf starts with the number), because then I can quickly choose my option without having to scroll or type lots of letters.

Project - This is just a free text field to list projects I have done or intend to do with this fabric.  Sometimes listing an old project reminds me of exactly what fabric it is when the colour/type/photo are a bit generic.

Notes - Just a free text field.  I've taken to putting in here how much I paid for it (usually if it was a good price!), or what percentage stretch it has etc.

Sewing Patterns - This field is to link it to my Sewing Patterns database, so if this fabric has an intended purpose I can actually link it directly to the pattern I want to use it on. (I'm planning another blog post about my Pattern database so I'll talk more about that then).

Memento also has a pretty handy sorting and filtering ability that makes looking up an item easy. If you swipe left when on the database list, it will reveal the menu on the right side of the screen.  Here you can Sort, Group and Filter.

My default sorting is by length.  I think the only time I change this is when I sort by Creation Date to quickly find an entry I just recently put in.

Most often I have my fabrics grouped by Type because if I'm looking for something for a specific project, that's the main factor.  Recently I was reorganising, so I grouped the list by storage location which allowed me to check what should be in what box and where.  I have also sometimes sorted by Colour or Pattern if that is more important to my project than Type

I don't often use a filter for my fabrics, but filters allow you to create tabs at the top of the list. This quickly allows me to filter out clothes, and only see lengths of fabric for example.

Here you can see Grouped by fabric type with the knit group expanded.

You can also see the tabs across the top, so I can quickly change between different filters.

You can also see at the bottom of the screen there is a count of the number of entries.  As you select different tabs at the top, the numbers change so it gives you a count of how many items in that category (on the left) and total number of metres (on the right).  This is what I'm using to keep track of my Stash Tally for the year.

It has taken me some time to develop this database to its current state, but it's what I have found most useful for me.  It also took me quite a long time to enter everything.  I would do it in batches, and I still sometimes come across things that have been missed.  But this set-up allows me to sort/filter and group to quickly find fabrics for a project, without having to empty all my fabric stash out and measure individual lengths, so the time has been well worth it.

If you would like to see how I’ve set it up, I have shared my template, so you can search for it within the App rather than setting it up yourself!!  If you go to 'Add Library', choose 'Online Catalog', then search for 'Fabric Stash', I'm there! (pinstripes).  I have not downloaded a template before, but I'm assuming once you do, you can edit the set-up to suit yourself.