How do you organize your ribbon?

My next organizing challenge is my ribbon. Right now it is all in a tub mixed together. Some are on spools some are loose. I need organiztion!!!!! I don't have a scraproom but shelves in my son's playroom that everything has to be stored on, so nothing that holds ribbon on the wall or open. Has to go into some type of container. Suggestions????

I've seen people wind their ribbon around those old fashioned clothes pins and drop them into a bi jar. It looks really neat and could be secured from your son up on a shelf.

I took a photo organization box (I actually got several of those to organize my supplies in) and cut the tab off the top of the cards included to separate the photos and wrapped the ribbon around those cards, securing with straight pins. It's shocking how many ribbons you can get in that box!

I use the ribbon ring system and sort by color. For whole rolls on the paper tube holders I take a piece of ribbon and string the holders on that and hang it up. That actually works well because the tubes roll on the ribbon and I can cut off what I need.

My Ribbon By Sunnydi

I cut pieces of chipboard 4x3 inches,

I wrap my ribbon around the pieces (2 1.5 inch ribbon fit on each chipboard piece placed long wise) and then wrap an elastic hairband around the piece to secure the ribbon (I don't like pin holes in my ribbon )

then I put them in a plastic shoe box with a lid in ROYGBV order,,,,

I can see what I have in a flash, it cost next to nothing (I hit the dollar store for the box and the hair bands), it's neat and manageable,,,,,,,and it holds a TON of ribbon in a small space. It's a piece of cake when I buy new ribbon to grab another chipboard piece and wrap it around, securing with a hairband and then file it in the correct space in the shoebox.

That is such a great idea. My ribbons are in chaos as well, but this sounds like a good way to solve the problem.

Love those ideas Betsye Rose and Holly. I sure need to do something differnet than what I've got. TFS

PS - I don't like pins or tape either, the elastics are a perfect idea. Very clever of you.

I use the box and cards designed for DMC floss. I just wrap the ribbon around the cards and "file" them by color. I can match colors and see exactly what I have.

My craft room is actually shared with the nursery/kids playroom too.I took over their dresser with the book shelf thing on top and I bought a retractable small round curtain rod and connected it to the shelf on the dresser with all my ribbons on it.Before that I had them in a drawer but I made a huge 0 mess everytime I looked threw it!

Loose pieces are sorted by color in little zip baggies. Card ribbons are secured with a plain stick pin. Ribbon rolls are sorted by color and they stand upright. I also secure the loose end on a roll with a stick pin.

I use the ribbon bag. It works pretty. The key is rolling the ribbon and taking the end from the inside of the roll to pull through the holes int he bag. Stops it from getting tangled.

Organize ribbon?? What is this of which you speak???

• CommaHolly Said:

I do mine EXACTLY the way Holly does! I don't know if that means we are related??? or if we just both had a good idea!

• catzscrapper Said:

we were separated at birth

I use jars sorted by color(pic below), they are stored on the shelf above my scrapping table to remind me to use the ribbon not just collect it

Mine are like CommaHolly's too except the chipboard is a different size and they fit perfectly into Iris lidded containers (my chipboard is 6 x 9).

I keep an empty Iris container for when I go to crops --I just pull whatever colors I'm going to need from my permanent storage and put them into the travelling container and I'm good to go.

Small scraps used to go in open glass jars on a shelf but I've recently re-done my scrap area so they are in limbo right now. Currently they are in a ziploc baggies by color stowed away in storage bins. I'm still planning to mount some wall shelves in my re-done work area so they may come back out of hiding.

I wish I had a proper scrap room because having things out in the open and VISIBLE is the best for me --I use what I can see. (Would love to do ribbon rings like Sunnydi). But since my scrap area is part of my living room I prefer to keep most supplies out of sight so the room looks (mostly) tidy.

Here is my old method
Ribbon storage By CorrieW
I liked this but I needed the drawer for paper and I found the ribbon was really creased (I had to use lots of adhesive to put it down flat). But it was very portable and when going to crops I could just grab the colors I needed.


Here is my new method
Ribbon Storage New By CorrieW

Because I use mostly grosgrain ribbons it doesn't matter if the pin leaves a hold it closes right up after I remove it. Its not as portable for crops because I grab more than one color but I still like it.

I have cats and kids to ribbon rings are out of the question

I have mine wrapped around large craft sticks and then pinned. I organized them in cute little boxes I found in the $1 spot at Target. I have 5 little tubs on top of a shelf so I can see them and get to them easily. I have a bad habit of buying things I already have so I needed to see it all the time. Largers spools of ribbon I have stored in an open basket where they are visible. I have some little scraps that don't fit on a craft stick so I stuck them in a clear jar.

I have mine in small jewelry bags, sorted by color, and stored in photo boxes. I have six boxes right now cause I have a ribbon "thing" and like Rosita said, the photo boxes hold a lot of ribbon. My photo boxes are stored on a shelf.

Here is how I store mine... [image]http://[/image]

I love that I can see all my ribbon at once; it saves so much time when trying to find the perfect one.

Sherry...what did you use to wind the ribbon around and what kinda case is that??? Looks great!!!!

The containers are Art Bin. For small ribbon, I use the little things that you wrap embroidery floss around. (Sorry, I don't know what they're called.) lol They also make large ones for big ribbon.

Thanks!!! I am thinking this might be my best bet, as I can close it and store it on my shelf. I don't worry about the boys getting in my stuff, they know better, just have to put everything on shleves.

You're welcome!

I have mine in a little of everything It's a mess! I have one of the ribbon organizers and I hate it still havent' found a good way

The ribbon on spools are stored by color in a 14 X 14 ArtBin container. Loose ribbon is kept in an EZ Pull bag.

I use the pull-ez ribbon purse for ribbon that is long, but not on a spool, for ribbon on spool I have a ribbon shelf, shorter ribbons and fibers are in a divided drawer and big chunky ribbon is in jars.

• Sherry C Said:

this is SOOOOOO pretty and so functional ... thanks or sharing

Thank you!

I just have mine on their original rolls in a large Ziploc bag.

I also cut 12" pieces and put those into a Mason jar, which I take to crops. Don't usually need more than a 12" piece for a layout. Being in the Mason jar help protect them from getting crushed and I can see what I have instantly.

This is a topic I needed badly - all of my ribbons is just thrown in big pile in a cardboard box and I had no clue on how to get them organized. So many great ideas here! Thank you for the inspiration! Now I'm finally going to organize all those ribbons! Yay!

Here's another thought. I keep mine on rings attached to a birdcage (painted black since this photo). It's on a cage stand, but you could hang it on a chain from a ceiling hook - away from little hands.
Ribbon Storage By Dwelch

Dwelch, that birdcage is too cute! Such a great idea!

I want to know who is going to come organize mine

I'm a little late to the party but I use the ribbon spooler system. Here are some pictures of my ribbon organization and storage. HTH

http://kathleendriggers.com/2011/06/16/my-new-ribbon-organization/