Tatting Supply Storage Ideas These are photos of a few ways I store and take along my tatting stuff. First, take a look at my Plano Guide tackle box that I bought to store all of my tatting goodies in when I first got started. Very little actually stays in this box...I have tatting supplies scattered all over our den! But it's a good place to put things when I need to clean the room up. =) This is the Plano Guide Series Tackle Box, front view. This shows the drop-down front. The clear boxes behind the front are all removable/portable and have long sections that can be divided. This is the flip-top section that is perfect for storing shuttles and Aero bobbins! My Caron Wildflowers, perle cotton 5 (which I hate to tat with but the colors always tempt me when I see some in Michael's) and ribbon floss, among other miscellaneous things, fit great in this drawer. The smaller balls of Anchor and DMC Cordonnet, and DMC perle cotton size 12, fit great in the adjustable compartments of the box. A few hundred balls of thread later... This cookie tin came in handy when my thread collection outgrew my tackle box! You can also see the LoRan bead caddies that I keep my beads in, to the right. These are great because they stack on top of each other. I keep most of my size 80 threads in this little box that I found at either Michael's or Wal Mart. The little compartments are the perfect size if you turn the balls on their sides. I also made a little carry-along bag to take tatting stuff with me on short trips. I haven't used it yet, but it will come in handy when we go up to Maryland at Christmas to visit my family. I can't take credit for this idea, because the directions for making this were posted to e-tatters or Tat Chat a while back. It's a great idea! Here's what you do. Buy a fabric placemat from Wal Mart or wherever you can find an inexpensive fabric placemat that you like. Also buy two packages of coordinating wide double fold bias tape, coordinating sewing thread and a box of zipper-top freezer bags. I have also heard people say they use those 3-ring heavy plastic pencil cases, which I think is a better idea, but I didn't see any when I was shopping for my materials. Then take it all home to your sewing machine. Place the placemat down on a flat surface with the wrong side up. Pin 3 freezer bags down along the center of the placemat (pin where the holes won't show later). Stitch the bags to the placemat. Trim the excess to about 1/4" from the stitches. Repeat with 3 more bags, facing the opposite direction. Trim ends of bags again. Then take a piece of bias tape and stitch it down to cover the bag ends. To make handles for my carry-all, I folded four lengths of the bias tape in half and zig-zagged them together lengthwise, then stitched them to the placemat. And VOILA! You have a handy little zippered bag to take your tatting stuff with you when you travel. =) This is my placemat carry-all when closed. The ties are long enough to tie in little bows, which is really cute. Here it is open... And here you can see the back side of it. I love the farm print on this placemat! And the whole thing cost me about $3, and I still had freezer bags leftover to use the way they are intended (leave it to a crafter to use regular household things in a really weird way!). Tatting Home | Why Tat? | My Tatting | Storage | Adding Beads | Links Email Lists | Shuttles | Threads [Back to the Front Porch] [Our Photo Album] [Chew on This] [Daisy's Page] [About Us] [Links] [Our Families] [Katie's Kitchen] [Recipe Box] [Web Resources] [Webrings] [EMail Us!] Our home on the web is hosted by GeoCities. Thanks, y'all!