I have done some of the fabric as well. If you plan ahead you can get it down under the hives and it helps, but I like the carpet idea or mulch or something.
One thing that has helped me was buying an electric weed wacker. Then, when I am out there in my bee suit I can just clean up around the hives easily (gas would work as well - I have no electric outlets near my hives, so I just needed a portable solution and the electric ones were pretty cheap and works well enough.)