We used a simple, low-cost system to deal with a large quantity of blankets, which used to be folded and packed tightly on shelving. We covered long cardboard tubes with polyester film (Mylar/Melinex), rolled the textiles onto them, interleaving them with acid-free tissue. We protected the rolls with unbleached cotton covers (tied with twill tape) and attached images of each blanket with accession numbers for easy retrieval. Each tube was hung using steel electrical conduit, perforated at both ends and hung using hooks to industrial bracket shelving (without the shelves). These materials were purchased at the local fabric and hardware store. Step-by-step instructions on STASH: http://stashc.com/the-publication/storage-furniture/racking-systems/a-textile-hanging-system-composed-of-readily-available-hardware-materials/

Numerous textiles were stored in wooden cases with acidic storage materials. The large textiles with no heavy decoration were rolled on cylinders pre-covered with Melinex® (polyester film/sheet) and acid-free tissue paper, and re-rolled on an acid-free tissue papers and Tyvek®(non-woven polyethylene). Then all the objects were stored in a metallic drawing cabinet protecting in this way the objects from dust deposits and decreasing the risk of creases and folds.

We asked our local blacksmith to make custom metal brackets to transform our compact shelving units into rolled textile units. This gives us much better visibility on our collection than before, and it’s much easier to retrieve the textiles.