Unless I have a more specific use in mind for it, nothing in my apartment stays there for more than a year, fabric absolutely included. Pass it on to a friend.

I'd keep it forever, it keeps me inspired and open for another project.

If anyone want to unload their fabrics off, I'd love to receive.

For some reason I don't think this applies to fabric. I don't really have a good explanation to back that up with but I'd never get rid of yarn or fabric :)

I don't get rid of it. But I'm also not allowing myself to buy anymore until I use what I've got.

ha! laure- you and i were probably battling over the same fabric at those sales. in high school, my friends and i used to LIVE for the jet rag dollar sales...i think i still have some fabric from there, too and it's pushing 10 years!

You hold on to it forever, and pass it on to your grandchildren! Better find a good, dedicated storage system that can accomodate future purchases, and keep it bug free.

Fabric is one of those things that is nearly impossible for me to let go of. I have a dresser drawer crammed full of the stuff. I even have bags full of scraps that are as small as 1" square! I know that someday I'll used them for one reason or another.

My grandmother has an ENTIRE mobile home behind her house FILLED with fabric. And when I say filled, I truly mean filled... to the brim!

Too long.

So funny.

I was recently the recipient of truly unique vintage fabric from the sixties (when she was a student in a sewing school) that my mom had stored away. Thank god for the fact that mom never got rid of stuff. Of course she lives in an actual house with adequate storage spaces.

I wouldn't part with anything vintage or valuable, as long as you see yourself doing something with them at some point in the future.

I don't get rid of fabric, but then I'm a surface and pattern textile designer, so it's not just fabric - it's my "library."

Having said that, if I ran across your stash at a flea market or second hand store, I'd be thrilled out of my fabric lovin' gourd.

An aside: I've been trying to sign up for AT for eons, and I finally just managed it...with the ridiculously long user name you see below. Can you tell I was frustrated much?

I don't keep it unless I love (or at least really really like it).
My dad has the "I might NEED it someday" attitude, and I know what that has done to his house. I really don't want that to happen to my apartment, so when I make a motion to clear out the clutter, I go in knowing that OF COURSE I could eventually need everything I have someday, but if I don't absolutely love it RIGHT NOW than why bother waiting? Get rid of it (aka donate it) and make room for the things I DO love!

And this gets applied to everything. But luckily my fabric selection hasn't grown to "clutter size" yet. :)

According to my mom, she who dies with the most fabric wins. I love going through her sewing room. The patterns are like old friends.

Oh! Look at that! Turns out it's only my log-name that's ridiculously long. Who's the idiot now? :-P

i collected, i organized, i dreamed of finished projects.....and never had time to bring the fantasies to fruition. so, after shifting folded fabric from baskets (where the sun faded the color along the folds, even when i thought the pieces were safely SPF'd) to cool, dark closets (where some evil weevil bored through my bargain wools), i packed up the fabrics that tugged at my conscience (and tallied up the price of my habit: $100/year) and sent them to my alma mater: a university. i knew that some frazzled, minimum wage student would cut them into 2 inch squares to be glued into textile science work books, or worse, handed out in textile chemistry labs to be tested for fabric content. it was a wonderful feeling, and i've nearly forgotten the specifics of those unfulfilled dreams. of course, i "fall off the wagon" at least once a year, but only people should have the power to haunt and taunt you, not fabric.

Why not just consider it as a collection? Once in a while, you take the samples out of the closet, you spread them out on the bed, you look at the patterns and colors, and you're all happy because they're just beautiful to look at. I have a bunch of fabric samples, and of fancy printed paper too, that I might use, or maybe not, but I don't care, I just find them nice.

I keep fabric forever. Mostly because it has come in handy in the past (in fact just used some fabric I have had about 9 years this week to make pillows for the new couch in my new house) and if I got rid of any of the fabric I have, I would suddenly find that perfect pattern or need. I have however passed some fabric on to other family members who might appreciate certain colors/patterns more than I.

I have very little fabric (and what I do have is very old) and I'm not allowed to buy more except for a specific project - and I can't buy it until our sewing machine is set up.

Yarn, though...I have one underbed storage box for yarn and I'm not allowed to keep more than that. Right now I have to finish at least two projects before I'm allowed to buy more.

I just found some ancient cross-stitch projects though - one was going to be a birthday present for a high school friend...and my ten-year reunion is coming up this fall.

A long time...

When I moved a couple of years ago, I got rid of a small amount and organized everything into plastic bins (separating prints, cotton solids, notions, etc). Then when I moved again last month, I got rid of a little more and was able to empty one container.

I, like others above, just know I might need it some day and will be sorry if I throw it out. I actually already regret throwing out one of the pieces I ditched last month as I found a use for it in the new place!!

So I just keep it organized in a closet and try to only keep the fabrics that I really dig.

Yes, what is it about fabric? I'm a cold-hearted clutter-battler. I don't mess around. My husband jokes that if he sits still too long I'll give him to Salvation Army. But fabric is a different story. It has so much potential! If you want to hang out with a bunch of crazy fabric addicts and get inspired to turn it into fabulously original clothing, check out patternreview.com.

Fabric hoarding can become a real addiction. As a designer, I found that I had a huge mess of swatches and fabric lengths overflowing my studio. I decided to assign a large box for the fabrics I wanted to keep, and swatched the rest of the fabric I decided to get rid of. Along with my other swatches, I organized my swatches by color and fiber in file folders. I limited my fabric lengths so that I only buy fabric I really want or project specific and try to swatch all others if I can for later inspiration.

Forever. And as another poster said, that goes for yarn as well. And any other craft material.
My mom still has fabric she bought 40 years ago that's in great condition. Now I just have to get her to part with it. :)
I also try to by a few yards whenever I travel. It's a great way to have a daily reminder of where you've been.
Our kitchen curtains are made from some fabric we got at a samedi marche in France and we have a polynesian print table cloth from fabric we bought in the Cook Islands when we got married.

A lot of you have parents like mine -- we might need it, why get rid of it? My parents are Depression babies, which has a lot to do with their mindset. My mother definitely believes that she who dies with the most fabric wins. My dad stockpiles Diet Coke and peanut butter crackers.

I recently got rid of a lot of fabric I'd had for about ten years. I have a friend who's an avid crafter and handed it over to her. Also gave her all my old cross-stitch books and materials that aren't up my alley anymore.

Consider editing - get rid of the 10% that you're blah about, and do that every year. Editing strengthens any collection. gives the collector the illusion of control and keeps the collection down to a manageable size.

First of all--yes, you can apply that a year rule to fabric. But, I'm lucky to be around great fabrics at work since I work in a costume shop.

Second--I don't agree with the "Depression babies" argument for why our parents hang on to too much stuff. It is a lame excuse. My parents were teens during the Depression and were definitely not hoarders. They lived simply and saved.

She who dies with the most fabric wins.

I keep fabric as long as I really like it and honestly think I might use it. After that point, I pass it along, either to friends or to the thrift store. It seems like a waste to keep it if I'm not in love with it and other people might use it.

It also helps that I'm a cheapskate so for fabrics I don't have a plan for, I rarely buy more than 1/8 of a yard.

I have two pieces of Bernat Klein fabric that my grandmother bought back in the 1950s (I think!) - its now got to the stage that they are too precious to use - if fabric is nice enough to buy I'd keep it until I use it - however many years that might be

*(S)he who dies with the most fabric wins.