7 Clever Ways To Organize Ribbon (2024)

If you’re lucky enough to have an entire craft room for yourself or even just a little nook where you keep all your crafty items, then you know that the key to inspiring creativity is that you keep your tools organized! And, of course, this includes your collection of pretty and frilly ribbons! Check out some of these creative ideas to organize your ribbon.

Crafters have tons of ribbon. Along with a hot glue gun and glitter, it’s a crafter’s staple piece. And if you’re a crafter with tons of ribbon, then you know how messy it can get when you don’t have it all neat and tidy. They get tangled and lost …. and many yards of ribbon goes untouched and missing. But with all these fun, nifty and stylish ideas … you’ll have all your ribbon organized and ready to use in a snap!

Nifty Ways To Organize Your Crafting Ribbon

1. Use A Dowel

Take each of your spools of ribbon and place them onto a dowel held in place by brackets. They’ll be easier to find and it’ll be easier to grab a piece of ribbon and snip it off to use for your next project.

2. Fill A Plastic Basket

If you can find a basket similar to this make sure it includes all those tiny holes. That way you can sit two rolls of spools of ribbon and punch each thread through the holes so it’s easy to snag a bit.

3. Store Your Ribbon In A Drawer

If you’ve got a drawer … use it! It’ll keep your ribbon stashed neatly away and out of sight, but never so out of sight that it’s lost in the hustle and bustle of a messy craft room.

4. Hang Your Ribbon Up

Another great way to keep clutter from out of sight but still at ease, hang the spools up! Grab a hanger with multiple bars (depending on the size of your needs) and slide them on!

5. Place Your Ribbon In A Cute Jar

Take your ribbon off the spool and buy some wooden slotted clothes pins. Wrap the ribbon around each pin and store them in a cute canister for safe keeping. {picture from site}.

6. Purchase A Straw Holder To Store Your Ribbon

Find another use for that vintage straw canister! Double it as a place for your ribbons. It’s super easy and super cute.

7. Embrace The Mess With Containers

Another way to use the canister, but still keep a pinch of creative chaos is to pack up the mess. Just throw all those extra yards of ribbon into a pot and voila!

8. Organize Ribbon In An Upcycled Shoebox

Have you ever wished that you had one of those fancy dispensers for your ribbon that they have in the store? You can create your own using a show box like they did on Kimber Creations! All you have to do is find 2 dowels to place the ribbon on in the shoe box, then cut a slit in the front to thread all the ribbon through. You can even use this idea as a crafts organizer for other supplies like thread, yarn, or twine.

9. Organize Ribbon In A Vase

This next ribbon organizer is unique and may not be for everyone, but you can get your ribbon up and off the table by making a ribbon vase. Not only is this a nifty way to store ribbon but you also get a decoration for your craft room in the process. This idea was inspired by Everything Etsy, and all you will need is a vase filled with something to weigh it down, then some wooden sticks or dowels to put your ribbon spools on. The only annoying thing is that your spools are stored at odd angles—which could make it difficult to cut exact measurements without removing the dowels from the vase.

10. Wall Mounted Ribbon Holder

If you are looking for a more permanent solution to storing all your ribbon, you’ll want to check out this wooden wall mounted holder by Close To My Art. It starts with a wooden crate that has holes cut in it to hold wooden dowels filled with ribbon. In the example, mismatched knobs were used to hold the dowels in place for a crafty look, but you could also simply paint your dowels to match the crate for a more natural look.

11. DIY Ribbon Spool

Sometimes it is just easier to create your very own crafts organizer for your ribbon instead of trying to make it fit somewhere it doesn’t! Follow these instructions on The Cottage Mama, where you will be able to make a ribbon holder. The original project includes using a 13” dowel, but for smaller collections of ribbon, you could easily cut it, or you could get a longer dowel if you have a large number of ribbon spools that need a new home!

12. Organize Ribbon In A Photo Frame

When you are looking for something to hold your craft supplies that is also decorative, you should give this ribbon photo frame by Cool Creativity a try. And the best part is, you’ll be reusing an old photo frame at the same time! This project works best when you have lots of ribbon in similar colors or patterns, and may not work as well if all you have is black ribbon. But give it a try either way and see what decorative ribbon storage frames designs you can come up with.

13. Tic Tac Ribbon Collection

The whole idea of crafts is making something new and beautiful out of unexpected materials, and that is exactly what Pretty Prudent did when they designed their Tic Tac ribbon holders! Of course, this project requires quite a few tic tac holders, so if you aren’t a fan of the small flavored mint this holder may not be for you, or maybe you’ll have to make friends with someone who loves Tic Tacs and have them give their empty containers to you! Either way, this is an excellent and unique way to store ribbon and other small craft supplies!

14. Repurposed Storage To Organize Ribbon

Crafters are always looking for ways to repurpose the things around them, and repurposing tea boxes into ribbon holders just like they did in Bright and Blithe is one of the best ideas yet! Not only is a tea box the perfect shape and size to hold a few spools of your favorite ribbon, but it can also be easily moved from one location to another. This is ideal for people who like to store ribbon by their sewing machine or craft table, then tuck it out of sight when they pull out a different project.

15. Bookend Ribbon Storage

For those that love ribbon but also love to read, you absolutely must look into this next ribbon holder by Everything Etsy. It is fashioned out of 3 old books that have had holes drilled into them and dowels glued in to hold spools of ribbon. You can even do as they did in the example, and get dowels a little bit longer than your books to have a nifty space to hang scissors and other supplies on one end. Just make sure you don’t glue both ends of the dowel so you will be able to switch out your ribbon when the spools are empty!

As a crafter, you know how important it can be to keep your craft supplies organized. This way you aren’t digging around in a panic in the middle of your special project! Whether you decide to repurpose an old shoe box, or design a wooden dowel exactly to the specifications of your ribbon, if you use any of these ideas to organize your ribbon, your collection will be looking spiffy in no time at all. And just think, you’ll never have to deal with random piles of ribbon getting tangled ever again!