Stash Management: What I've Learned Tracking My Fabric Yardage

One of my goals for the last few years has been to reduce my fabric stash. This means bringing in less fabric than I use up, give away, or destash. Tracking my yardage each month has been a huge key to meeting that goal. I am now in my fourth year of tracking my fabric yardage, and I thought it would be a good time to share what I've learned throughout this process.

This is all based on my personal experiences and what has worked for me. There is no wrong way to manage your stash. For many years I didn't worry about managing my stash at all, and that's okay too. No judgement either way!

If you are at all curious about yardage tracking, I encourage you to give it a try. Commit to a single month of tracking and see what happens! It can be as complicated or as simple as you'd like it to be. I have a big post with details on how I track my yardage and also some simplified options too.

Find it here: How to Track Your Fabric and Yarn Yardage

Buying Habit Awareness

The biggest thing this exercise has taught me is what my fabric buying habits are. I realized that my fabric buying falls into five main categories:

1. Fabric I actually need to complete a project.
2. Fabric I really love.
3. Fabric that's on sale.
4. Fabric I'm afraid of missing out on.
5. Fabric I buy on a whim, as retail therapy.

Keeping track of all my fabric purchases helped me become more aware of what I was buying, how much, and how often. I didn't think I was buying that much until I had to input each purchase into my spreadsheet and reality sunk in! This is not to say buying fabric for any of the above reasons is bad, but with this understanding I can evaluate my potential purchases better.


Being able to ask myself why I'm buying fabric not only stops me from bringing in too much, it also stops me from buying fabric I don't like that well or won't actually use. And it means I don't feel guilty treating myself to fabrics I've lusted after for months!

For me, it's all about the numbers. It's hard to get your fabric buying under control if you have no idea how much yardage you're buying or how much you're spending. Keeping track of it takes all the guesswork out and can help you make some goals for how you'd like to change your stash habits.

Forces Creativity

Challenging myself to reduce my stash every year has given me a new perspective on the phrase "Make Do and Mend". Making do doesn't have to mean choosing an option that's second best. Making do with what you have can push you to make choices that you wouldn't make if your options were unlimited. It has forced me to be more creative with the fabric that I have. Now when I'm planning a project, I consider all the ways I can make it without purchasing anything extra first. Sometimes I still end up needing to buy something, but that's now the second option, instead of the go-to.

Added Motivation to Finish Projects

An unexpected bonus to keeping track of my yardage was how much it motivated me to finish projects. There are definitely months where I buy too much fabric and finish up a few things at the end of the month to help balance my totals. It's also very satisfying to be able to visually see a list of the things I finish each month. Any extra motivation to finish up old languishing projects is very welcome in my craft room!

Allows You to Splurge

This was a big one for me! By cutting back on my sale fabric buying and buying in general, I can buy fabrics that are a little more expensive. Instead of buying two yards of quilting cotton, I can spend about same and buy a yard of Japanese double gauze, or half a yard of Liberty lawn. Being able to think about my fabric purchases in this way has taken away some of the guilt for splurging on something a little fancier.

Sharing is Caring

Sharing fabric with friends became twice as fun! Not only does it feel nice to share, I get to subtract fabric I give away in my tracking. Plus it's really fun to see those fabrics pop up in someone's project, often times in a way I wouldn't have imagined using them. At our yearly cabin retreat we always have a fabric table where we share fabrics and notions from our stashes. You could do something similar in your sewing group or guild. We all end up with fabrics in our stash that aren't our favorite or we don't know how to use, this is a simple solution for some of those!

It's an Opportunity for Community

Turn stash management into a game and do it with a friend! It's great to have someone you can check in with. You can keep each other accountable and cheer each other on! Plus, everything is more fun with a friend anyways.

Accountability is Key

For me, this is the secret reason it all works. Knowing that I will be sharing my progress each month in my Monthly Report posts is a huge motivating factor for me. I don't want to be embarrassed about how much fabric I buy in a given month! Finding some way to hold yourself accountable can help you stay focused on the task. Share your progress regularly with a friend, on your blog, or on social media.

Change Takes Time

When I first started tracking my fabric yardage I had really good intentions. I didn't think it would be that hard to bring in less fabric than I used each month. Those first six months were a wake-up call. I didn't think it would be hard because I had no idea how out of control my buying had become. I was finishing a lot of projects, but it wasn't enough to offset everything I was bringing in. All of this to say that it took time to change my habits. I had to retrain myself to pull from my stash first and to just buy less. It meant being patient and sticking with it, even when I felt like I wasn't making any progress.

How do you manage your stash? Do you keep track of your yardage, buying, or finishes? What has worked for you, and what hasn't?

Again, if you're interested in tracking your yardage, don't miss my post all about it: How to Track Your Fabric and Yarn Yardage

Happy Sewing!