Ribbon Storage Organization

Updated on February 19, 2024

Ribbon Storage Organization. How to store ribbon neatly, organized, and dust-free. Perfect for all types and sizes of ribbon.

Several years ago I posted about my ribbon storage. I shared how I organized my thinner ribbons, but not about how I shared my wider ribbon. So today, I am going to share some ribbon storage organization tricks and what has worked for me. I am still using the same system I started all those years ago.

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I have been a crafter for a long time, long before I started this blog. Many crafters I know become craft supply hoarders to an extent. You purchase supplies for projects because they are pretty or because they are on sale. But eventually, you have to find a place to put everything.

For me, I want to be able to access my supplies easily, but I can also see what I have at a glance so I am actually using my supplies. This helps me to prevent overbuying and ending up with a lot of duplicates.

Boxed Ribbon storage

Supplies:

• Paper document box
• Cardboard
• X-Acto Knife
• Straight Pins
• Small zip-top plastic bags

I have two storage bins that hold 99% of my ribbon. I found some long, not too tall plastic storage bins that were originally made for storing paper. This system would also work really well with the 12″ x 12″ plastic storage containers, or even a document box if you want to keep them out of sight when storing.

How to Wrap Ribbon for Storage

For the smaller ribbons that were less than 2 inches wide, I started by cutting scrap cardboard to 2-inch by 2-inch squares with my X-Acto knife, a ruler, and a self-healing cutting mat. Choose cardboard that is thin but sturdy for this to work the best.

Then, I simply took all my ribbons off their original spools and wrapped them up on the cardboard squares.

I secured the end of the ribbon with a straight pin.

Helpful tip: If your ribbon is overly creased when you take it off the cardboard, you can carefully run it over a warm lightbulb to get out the wrinkles. And of course, you can iron them to get the creases out as well. Just be careful to test a small spot with either method so you do not melt the ribbon.

Bag Ribbon Storage

I needed to come up with a solution for my larger ribbon that was wider than 2 inches. Originally, I had all my spools of ribbon on dowel rods that were hung on the wall using curtain rod hardware. This was great to see everything I had, but it would get dusty. And if I wanted a ribbon from the middle, I would have to take off all the other spools to get to it. Lastly, the spools would sometimes come undone, and the ribbon would fall off the spool and onto the ground.

I couldn’t use the cardboard method as I did for my smaller ribbon either. I did try this method by cutting a wider piece of cardboard, but since these ribbons are often bulkier and they are so much wider, the cardboard rectangles become very bulky very fast.

So, I found an easy solution to keep them all together and dust-free. I simply removed the ribbon from the spool while wrapping the length of it around my hand. 

I slipped it off my hand and into a small zip-top bag and squished out the air while sealing it up.

All my larger ribbons stay neat. I don’t have to deal with a lot of storage space from bulky spools, and I can easily see every ribbon I have. 

I am storing them in the same type of plastic storage bins as I do for the thinner wrapped ribbons, so the two containers stack very nicely for storage and don’t take up much room at all.

Ribbon Scrap Organization

For all my ribbon scraps that are less than a foot and a half long, I simply toss them all in a large mason jar I found at Hobby Lobby. When I need a small piece of ribbon, I just dump it out, find the one I need and shove everything back in there.

It definitely is not as neat as my other two solutions but it works well for me to keep the scraps contained without overthinking the organizing.

Deflecto Ribbon Dispenser

Lastly, I had some ribbon left that didn’t work with any of the above methods – the extremely thin and long ribbon rolls. These ribbons are usually 1/4″ to 3/8″ wide and about 5 to 6 yards long. Keeping them on the roll is the only way to keep them from getting tangled up. For these ribbons I am using the Deflecto ribbon dispenser.

I can see all the colors at a glance. The ribbon stays protected and clean. I don’t usually take these ribbons off the spool unless I purchase a new color. I love that I can see which colors I have quickly and easily.

See more Deflecto organizing solutions

I hope you found these ribbon organization ideas helpful. I am all about maximizing space and having easy access to my supplies. And if I can organize everything in rainbow order, that is a bonus! What method do you like best for storing ribbon?

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