As we kick off a fresh year, Aurifil asked the Artisan team to share something about our organization tips, tricks, or processes. Today I’m sharing a quick peek at how I store my thread!
I’ve experimented with several different thread storage options over the years, and have seen plenty of different options being used by friends and fellow quilters. But none of the methods I’d used and seen — wooden spool racks, peg boards, drawers, custom shelves — were quite what I was looking for.
Ideally, I wanted something that checked both of these boxes:
- Allows me to store spool and bobbin together
- Compact and put-away-able, i.e. not need to sit on the top of my sewing table or be hung on the wall
- Not gather dust
- Easy and/or cheap
Enter the “Double Sided Thread & Parts Box!” I found these at Joann’s and later at Michael’s…and now have 3 of them in my sewing room. The box pictured in this post is full of Aurifil 50 wt thread, and I’ve still got several open compartments on the other side for more colors as I need them.
The other two boxes are filled with 40 wt, 28 wt, and 12 wt thread, plus polyester thread that I used in the past and still occasionally use if/when I don’t have the right color readily available in cotton thread.
This box measures ~14″ x 10″ x 3.5″ and has 24 compartments on each side that are just large enough to store a spool of Aurifil plus a bobbin. (Or two bobbins, if you have a second sewing machine that uses different bobbins — like I do.)
I can fit 3 boxes standing upright on their sides in one cubby of my Ikea bookcase, with the handle pointing out for easy grabbing. I’ve got room for one more box if needed, or for now there’s extra room for two smaller Aurifil thread collection containers that I use to store lesser used threads like wool and Aurifloss.
If you’ve been struggling to figure out an easy and efficient way to store your threads, maybe this will work for you too! Enjoy!
Karen K says
That is the same system I use. I bought the same cases many years ago but they were sold in the toy department to hold small cars for $5. I have 3 but would like another or two. Each case side is sorted by thread type and weight with labels on the ends to identify them. Then arranged by color within. I can squeeze 3 thin spools in one slot. I’ll have to start looking in sewing and crafts rather than the toy department!
Sarah says
I’ve had multiple tell me they used to find them sold as matchbox car storage! Too funny. I guess now we know to look both in crafts and in toys — it could be either place!