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Fabric Organizer – Wood Frame with Slots for Dowels!

I posted 2 years ago about a fabric organizer that hung on my sewing room door.  People liked it, ‘pinned’ it and asked questions on how I made it… but after a while the organizer became a problem.  With the weight of my fabric it was pulling the door off the hinges!

Here’s my new invention – and it is SO much better!




I bought 3 2×3’s that were 8 feet tall.  I cut one board for the 2 short ends (decide how wide you want your organizer).  I marked where I wanted me dowel slots and cut the slots out with my router (my husband helped).  I attached all the pieces for the frame with long screws and put some wood buttons over the screw heads to hide.  Sand and stain!  Last, I cut my dowel rods the length I needed.

I love this organizer because it is floor-to-ceiling and I can move it easily if I need.  I can slide the whole organizer down to reach the top and I can also remove the dowels or space them out as needed. 

Want to organize your thread?  Look here.

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8 Comments

  • Reply Karen @ Pieces of Contentment

    Very clever – this looks like a brilliant solution for keeping ironed fabrics neatly at hand.

    November 24, 2014 at 10:42 am
  • Reply Denise Reed making notes...

    This is great just what I've been searching for. I must get my husband to make this right away—I hate nhaving my fabric in bins and out of sight. Thanks for the post.

    December 5, 2014 at 7:31 pm
  • Reply harrymyhero

    I need to build 4 of these immediately! Could you please specify how far apart you made the slots? and how long are the slots? and what angle are the slots? Please help, I am desperate to fit my sewing into a 12 foot space that is only 7 foot wide – I love how these hardly take up any room at all!

    February 23, 2015 at 2:14 pm
  • Reply Anonymous

    i will do this with an old crib side – thx for the idea!

    February 23, 2015 at 2:14 pm
  • Reply Dani

    That's a great idea!!

    February 23, 2015 at 2:19 pm
  • Reply Dani

    The slots are about 2-inches apart, and about 1/2-inch deep. The angle of the slot doesn't have to be that drastic, just a slight dip so the dowels won't pull out accidentally. If I remember right I just did simple marks on the wood and free-handed the slots with a router. Definitely not the most ideal/exact way to do it but that was our only option at the time!

    February 23, 2015 at 2:20 pm
  • Reply Julie

    Thank you for this post!!!! This is exactly the kind of idea and information I had been searching for, fabric storage for a small space that displays the fabric and the amount. I love it! I made one myself after seeing your post. I didn’t route as deeply (mostly because I was learning how to use the router on this project and, um, it’s obvious), but also because I thought the grooves didn’t need to be as deep. That was a mistake. I think next time, I will just drill holes and poke the dowels through. I thought I would want removability with the pieces of fabric, but so far, that just means disrupting the other dowels. I used 2x3s like you, and made it about 20in wide and 7ft tall. Each groove is spaced 2in apart. I painted mine bright yellow (not the dowels), and it’s great.

    April 20, 2020 at 1:08 pm
  • Reply Sewing Made Easy: 5 Storage Solutions for All Your Supplies – Craft Buds

    […] While storage bins can be great for almost everything in your sewing space, you may be looking to find a more specific solution for your fabrics given that they are such an essential part of your projects. A great DIY project you can create for your fabrics is a wooden dowel rack. It is perfect for sorting them neatly and keeping them all on display so you can see your entire collection. If you’d like to skip the “make-it-yourself” aspect of this fabric organizer, you could just use a wooden ladder or an old crib rail. Once placed vertically against a wall, you’ll be able to drape your fabric over each dowel and sort them however you’d like. However, if you have a larger fabric collection, you may want to try making your own rack to make sure each dowel can hold the weight of your fabric collection. Blogger Dani, from The Project Lady, experienced issues with her DIY rack for this same reason, her fabric had too much weight. Thankfully, she found a solution that worked well in her sewing space and one that you may want to try in yours! Check out her updated DIY fabric organizer project here. […]

    July 8, 2020 at 6:02 am
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