How to Organize Craft Vinyl Rolls

When you get a die cut machine, you also get a lot of other stuff too. Craft vinyl and iron-on rolls are items for your machine that can bring with them a storage challenge. I’m here today to solve it for you!

Disclaimer: This site participates in the Amazon.com affiliate program. Some links in this article are links to Amazon or other sites that pay this site a commission at no cost to you when a purchase is made after a click.

So let’s take a look at some different ways to store your craft vinyl and iron-on rolls!

Stash it in a Drawer Cart

Whitmor Drawer Cart.jpg

A drawer cart isn’t just a great way to store your craft vinyl - it’s also a great place to put your machine to create an entire Cricut workstation! Carts like this 12 drawer Whitmor cart will hold your vinyl, machine accessories and tools, and your machine in one convenient package. As with other drawer storage solutions for vinyl, though, you may have to spend some time digging to find the roll you need.

IMG_1848.jpg

For a sturdier, more furniture style cart, the Ikea Alex drawer cart makes a great Cricut workstation, complete with vinyl storage. We’ve had two of these units in our home for years.. One is used as a printer workstation, and the other functions as a stamping storage unit in my studio. The deeper bottom three drawers of the Ikea Alex drawer cart will hold two layers of Cricut vinyl or iron-on rolls.

Hang It On The Wall

Going vertical is always a great way to find storage space, and there are several options for storing your vinyl rolls right on the wall (without using a shelving unit).

ArtBin Storage Rack.jpg

This ArtBin rack holds a dozen standard vinyl rolls on wall - or on your worktable. (This is a similar concept to how crafters have been hacking the Ikea Variera to create vinyl storage.) ArtBin also sells a three pack of these units that can be connected together into a circular tower unit for tabletop storage that holds 36 vinyl rolls.

IMG_1860.jpg

If you’ve got pegboard (or space to install some), this might be the storage solution of your dreams! Just slide your rolls of vinyl onto pegboard hooks - the longer, the better, like these 8” hooks - and you’ll be able to see your entire selection. Make your rolls as dense or as spaced out as you’d like!

Do you have carpentry skills that you’d like to put to use to help house your vinyl rolls? Check out these free plans for building a vinyl wall organizer from the Build Something website.

Put it in a Cube

Thirteen inch cube shelves like the Ikea Kallax units are the go-to storage in many craft rooms, and they can handle your vinyl rolls, too! There’s plenty of different options with these cubes for how to store your vinyl and iron-on rolls.

IMG_1846.jpg

The simplest way is to just stack the rolls on their sides on the shelves. I currently have my vinyl stored this way in a non-cube shelving unit. It’s efficient but can be difficult to get things in and out and to see what I have (especially when it is jam packed).

For a little more separation of your rolls while stacked, you can insert dividers in your cubes. Ikea makes one that creates nine slots (intended for wine bottles) for their Kallax units or hit up Etsy to find custom ones like this 25 slot cube divider especially for vinyl rolls! If you’d prefer shelves, Stamp -n- Storage makes an insert that has 6 shelves for holding up to 36 rolls of vinyl.

Cube Storage Bins.jpg

If you’d like to be able to pull that jumble of rolls out onto your work surface to rummage in, a basket or bin might be the perfect solution. Ikea, Target, and Amazon (among others) sell stylish options for cube bins that range from baskets made with natural materials to cheerful fabric designs like these turquoise print bins. To be able to best see your vinyl selection, stand the rolls in the bin instead of laying them down.

Hang it on the Back of a Door

Hanging your vinyl on the back of a door is a simple and affordable way to organize your rolls of vinyl - and one that doesn’t take much space, either. It’s also one of the only methods that keeps it all very visible, so you can really lay eyes on your entire selection. This is great if you are a very visual person.

The least expensive way to do it is an over the door shoe organizer with clear pockets, similar to the one that I used a few years ago to organize my vinyl. The pockets on the one I had were a bit floppy, so you can see in the photo that I used clothes pins to put a pleat in them and clip them tighter around my vinyl rolls.

IMG_1783.jpg

For a few more dollars (on sale), you can get an over the door hanger at Michaels that is especially designed to hold craft vinyl rolls. Their design from house brand Simply Tidy stores vinyl rolls horizontally, and holds an amazing 128 rolls (four each in 32 pockets). The only downside is that since it holds the rolls horizontally, it will be difficult to use one side of the organizer if your door is right in a corner.

Both of these behind the door options, of course, could also be hung on an open wall space using your own wall anchors instead of the included over door hooks.

Keep it on your Table

Would you like to keep your vinyl (or at least some of it) right within arm’s reach on your desk by your machine? There’s several options available to do just that!

Simply Tidy Vinyl Roll Organizer.png

For a tabletop option that is also portable, this vinyl organizer by Simply Tidy at Michaels holds 20 standard rolls of vinyl. The shelves are adjustable so, if you like to buy bulk vinyl rolls, you can change your organizer to accommodate them.

Simply Tidy Vinyl Roll Carousel.png

If you don’t care about portability of your vinyl container, why not take this rotating unit for a spin? In only a 15” by 15” area, the Simply Tidy Vinyl Roll Rotating Carousel stores 36 standard vinyl rolls, all of them with with their color or design visible!

Store it on a Shelf

Cricut vinyl basket.jpg

Just like with cube shelves, baskets are a great way to store craft vinyl rolls on any kind of shelf or ledge. And unlike some more functional storage options, they can have the benefit of being decorative and matching your room’s decor. They are also easily repurposed if you decide to move your vinyl to another storage system. This basket was purchased years ago at Michaels and has held many different things over its life in my studio before it began holding my metallic Cricut iron-on vinyl rolls!

If you’d like to subdivide your vinyl a bit more on your shelves, check out the Vinyl Roll Storage Trays by Totally Tiffany. These are similar to the vertical paper files many scrapbookers use, but they are sized to perfectly hold six standard rolls of vinyl in a single row.

Do you have a favorite way of storing your vinyl or iron-on rolls that isn’t listed here? Or did you find something that inspired you to reorganize yours? Tell me about it in the comments!

Nancy Nally

I’m the owner of Nally Studios LLC, which owns the websites Nally Studios and Craft Critique. I’ve spent the last 20 years working in the crafts industry as a writer and marketing consultant. My newest venture is the Nally Studios etsy store, where I sell digital files for scrapbookers. I live in Florida with my husband, teenage daughter, and a cat who thinks its a dog.

https://www.nallystudios.etsy.com
Previous
Previous

Go Retro for a Disney Layout!

Next
Next

Late for Christmas? Send New Year’s Cards!