Fabric Moratorium 2025
 

Hi and welcome to another year of focusing on reducing stash in the Fabric Moratorium 2025 thread!

I'm back to moderate this thread to the best of my ability and once again I'm "making do" with "scraps" from last year's message! I would like to add that while I might moderate the thread, it is nothing much without your contributions of ideas, links, reflections and pictures, whether you speak up regularly or just pop in now and then. We're always happy to have you come hang out with us here. :-)

I'm the owner of a not-too-large-but-still-too-large-for-my-storage-space stash. I also have a serious weak spot for thrift stores and the free table at my guild meetings which has increased the pressure to use up some of what is already taking up all the room I have. I have loved the stash-busting ideas, support, and company on this thread since I discovered it a few years ago and am looking forward to continuing this journey with you. Everyone is welcome, no matter where you would place yourself on the fabric-collecting spectrum! Some of us measure our stash-busting in tens of yards - others chip away at stash a fat quarter at a time.

The following is heavily borrowed from Iceblossom's intro from 2022 because it covers pretty much everything. :-)

We have general guidelines, but please just do whatever makes sense for you. Although we call it the "Fabric Moratorium" the main idea is to avoid adding to our stash and hopefully reducing it, so any efforts in that direction are worth celebrating.

Here are some general guidelines:

• Try not to purchase fabric "just for your stash" from January 1 until U.S. Black Friday (November 28, 2025).
• When you start a new project, shop your stash first. If you don't have anything that will work, then feel free to make a purchase. Hopefully at least some of the fabric for every new project will come from your existing stash.

As the year progresses, post your updates here so we can encourage, commiserate with, and support you! Post tips on how you organize and use your stash, ideas, and projects you are planning or have completed using your stash, as well as your deep thoughts about stash, purchases, and fabric in general. :-)

Also let us know about falling off the wagon, as everyone enjoys a great story about excuses to purchase fabric! Exemptions are an acknowledged part of our journey here, whether it's to celebrate a birthday or to commemorate a trip or event, but sometimes fabric purchases or acquisitions happen "just because." They all make good stories!

Pictures are always wonderful!

As stated, these are just guidelines; there are no Moratorium Police here! Please do whatever makes sense for you and your stash. Just start using all that gorgeous fabric in your stash; after all, that's what you bought it for!

Here's to a fantastic stash-busting 2025!

I'm in! Wish me luck! :-)

Thank you, Gemm! This thread has really helped me change my mindset about buying fabric.

My main stash projects from last year were a BOM led by Andover designers, and what turned out to be a rather fancy mystery from Bear Creek. I bought only border fabric for the mystery, and will need just sashing and whatever I use for border for the BOM. Since I finally experienced the thrill of using stash only, I hope to repeat the process! Here are my blocks roughly up on my wall.

I've been doing this for a couple years now and I still have scraps-galore to use up (FQs or less)
Good to know I'm not alone.

I’m in.
This thread helps me remember to shop stash first.

I'm going to join this group for another year. I did purchase fabric last year, but this group and the size of my current stash will help encourage me in 2025 to invoke the Fabric Moratorium! I was able to keep my internal goal of purchasing only fabric on sale or clearance. I have a love/hate relationship with JoAnn Fabrics "Last Chance" section....everything is 60% off and now is 75% off. I did only purchase that fabric with the intention of using my stash to finish a quilt. This year's misjudgement was pulling out my flannel bin....I was determined to use it all up this year making Project Linus quilts. I made 5 quilts (sashed squares, strip, potato chip blocks, pinwheels, hourglass). Sadly, each time, I had to purchase find just that perfect color of xyz for sashing, borders, backing, etc. So, now, I still have a flannel bin, except, now it can barely shut. And, I have scraps to use!!! So, hmmmmm I think I'll put the flannel bin away until September, 2025 and work on my scraps (no bin this time, they are all over the place.......so it might be hard to determine how successful I am). I also will "try to" stay away from estate sales of quilters.........So, I think this year is the year we will all be successful with our Fabric Moratorium. We can do it!!! Thanks for organizing this group!

Wow - how exciting to see so many people eager to take their seats on the Fabric Moratorium wagon! So glad to have you on this journey! :-D

I'm in! I have a large stash and have been using it up as much as possible however, when I'm given yardage from others stash, I have a difficult time saying NO!

2025 is going to be my YEAR OF NO!

Let's do this!

I'm in again! I can't say last year was a real success but I did manage to use more fabric from my stash than what I brought in.

I'm in. I haven't participated for several years, but have followed the guidelines and spirit of this thread. I plan on posting regularly, both triumphs and oops! times. Thank you, Gemm for starting the thread.