diff --git a/spoolman/api/v1/spool.py b/spoolman/api/v1/spool.py
index db7b91c..fb66c03 100644
--- a/spoolman/api/v1/spool.py
+++ b/spoolman/api/v1/spool.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from spoolman.api.v1.models import Message, Spool
 from spoolman.database import spool
 from spoolman.database.database import get_db_session
+from spoolman.database.utils import SortOrder
 from spoolman.exceptions import ItemCreateError
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -110,7 +111,21 @@ async def find(
         title="Allow Archived",
         description="Whether to include archived spools in the search results.",
     ),
+    sort: Optional[str] = Query(
+        default=None,
+        title="Sort",
+        description=(
+            'Sort the results by the given field. Should be a comma-separate string with "field:direction" items.'
+        ),
+        example="filament.name:asc,location:desc",
+    ),
 ) -> list[Spool]:
+    sort_by: dict[str, SortOrder] = {}
+    if sort is not None:
+        for sort_item in sort.split(","):
+            field, direction = sort_item.split(":")
+            sort_by[field] = SortOrder[direction.upper()]
+
     db_items = await spool.find(
         db=db,
         filament_name=filament_name,
@@ -121,6 +136,7 @@ async def find(
         location=location,
         lot_nr=lot_nr,
         allow_archived=allow_archived,
+        sort_by=sort_by,
     )
     return [Spool.from_db(db_item) for db_item in db_items]
 
diff --git a/spoolman/database/spool.py b/spoolman/database/spool.py
index 660c71c..96aa349 100644
--- a/spoolman/database/spool.py
+++ b/spoolman/database/spool.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from sqlalchemy.orm import contains_eager, joinedload
 
 from spoolman.database import filament, models
+from spoolman.database.utils import SortOrder
 from spoolman.exceptions import ItemCreateError, ItemNotFoundError
 from spoolman.math import weight_from_length
 
@@ -75,7 +76,29 @@ async def get_by_id(db: AsyncSession, spool_id: int) -> models.Spool:
     return spool
 
 
-async def find(
+def parse_nested_field(base_obj: type[models.Base], field: str) -> sqlalchemy.Column:
+    """Parse a nested field string into a sqlalchemy field object."""
+    fields = field.split(".")
+    if not hasattr(base_obj, fields[0]):
+        raise ValueError(f"Invalid field name '{field}'")
+
+    if fields[0] == "filament" and len(fields) == 1:
+        raise ValueError("No field specified for filament")
+    if fields[0] == "filament":
+        return parse_nested_field(models.Filament, ".".join(fields[1:]))
+
+    if fields[0] == "vendor" and len(fields) == 1:
+        raise ValueError("No field specified for vendor")
+    if fields[0] == "vendor":
+        return parse_nested_field(models.Vendor, ".".join(fields[1:]))
+
+    if len(fields) > 1:
+        raise ValueError(f"Field '{fields[0]}' does not have any nested fields")
+
+    return getattr(base_obj, fields[0])
+
+
+async def find(  # noqa: C901
     *,
     db: AsyncSession,
     filament_name: Optional[str] = None,
@@ -86,8 +109,13 @@ async def find(
     location: Optional[str] = None,
     lot_nr: Optional[str] = None,
     allow_archived: bool = False,
+    sort_by: Optional[dict[str, SortOrder]] = None,
 ) -> list[models.Spool]:
-    """Find a list of spool objects by search criteria."""
+    """Find a list of spool objects by search criteria.
+
+    Sort by a field by passing a dict with the field name as key and the sort order as value.
+    The field name can contain nested fields, e.g. filament.name.
+    """
     stmt = (
         sqlalchemy.select(models.Spool)
         .join(models.Spool.filament, isouter=True)
@@ -117,6 +145,14 @@ async def find(
             ),
         )
 
+    if sort_by is not None:
+        for fieldstr, order in sort_by.items():
+            field = parse_nested_field(models.Spool, fieldstr)
+            if order == SortOrder.ASC:
+                stmt = stmt.order_by(field.asc())
+            elif order == SortOrder.DESC:
+                stmt = stmt.order_by(field.desc())
+
     rows = await db.execute(stmt)
     return list(rows.scalars().all())
 
diff --git a/spoolman/database/utils.py b/spoolman/database/utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb3e15b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spoolman/database/utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+"""Utility functions for the database module."""
+
+from enum import Enum
+
+
+class SortOrder(Enum):
+    ASC = 1
+    DESC = 2