Organize ribbons not on spools

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I used to have a box full of scraps of ribbon and there were so many shoved in there that it became difficult to pick through them to find the color I want. I knew I needed a new solution, but I wanted something portable, easy, and inexpensive.

Then one day I saw the Pull EZ ribbon purse in the store and I was intrigued. It was a great idea, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend twenty bucks on it. A few minutes later, I had a plan all figured out. I was going to make my own!


I started with a plastic zippered pouch (Fig. 1) that I had saved from a recent curtain purchase (bedsheets come in these, too). The only tool I needed to do this was a regular 1/4″ hand-held hole punch.


I wanted a handle on my tote, so the first thing I did was punch two holes in the top of the bag (Fig 2). I took a piece of wide ribbon that was about a foot long and threaded it through the holes and knotted the ends (Fig 3). Instant handle!


Then I made a few creases lengthwise on the front of the bag and punched holes an inch or two apart (Fig 4). At this point you can add as many or as few holes as you want, and cover the sides and back of the bag if you wish. I covered the front of mine (Fig 5 — look closely!), but I know I can always go back later and add more if I need to. You can obviously customize this part to suit the size of your bag and the number of pieces of ribbon that you have.


The last step was to put all the ribbon inside and pull one end of each ribbon through a hole. Now I can see every ribbon at once, and they are super easy to get to (Fig 6). I can just pull out what I need and cut it off!


You’re probably wondering if the ribbons tangle, but I have not had any trouble with that as long as I keep them under three or four feet long. Anything much longer will probably snag on the other ribbon as you pull it, but this bag is meant for scraps anyway, and scraps are always on the short side!