Sewing Room Organization

Meanwhile, when I was organizing my sewing room: What happened to the last few months? I can’t believe it’s already the middle of April. For me, the last year has been super busy. I wrote another book (more on that soon!), moved in the middle of writing a book in July, actually finished some Christmas stockings for us, broke my cutting table, and got a couple of kittens (they’re brothers and about 7 months now).

Here they are soon after bringing them home, just 4 months old. Such sweet babies!! I had a hard time choosing names for them and they were in serious danger of being called “Kitten 1” and “Kitten 2.” I finally decided: Stanley and Oliver, though Fezzik and Inigo are not completely off the table. Both pair of names definitely fit their personalities.

For the past 3-4 months, in between taking care of the kittens and Lucy (our 2 year old Malamute), I got busy designing and organizing my sewing room. I did take time away. When I would get overwhelmed or frustrated, I would shut the door and ignore it. Now, it’s almost finished!

I’ve never actually had a sewing room. Like many of us, I’ve sewn in parts of the house: kitchen, bedroom, etc. I’ve always kept everything in clear tubs that made my sewing room portable, since I always seem to have to move to a different room when kids needed their room back.

Our new house has more space and my children are all adults now (3 live on their own), so I am using a bedroom for sewing. It’s not a huge space, but so nice to have my own space, permanently. So when I broke a leg off my cutting table, I started looking into ways to make space and storage more efficient. [that’s a rabbit hole of pinterest photos]

I pulled out my sewing room organization book, Organizing Solutions for Every Quilter, and read it again. I had taken a class at my LQS on sewing room organization years ago and this book was the required text, as we went through it and discussed our rooms together. This book is awesome!! It really helped me get a plan of action and know how to have the proper cutting table height and had some great ideas for storage solutions that worked for me.

The author, Carolyn Woods, isn’t actually a seamstress or quilter. She’s an organizer. A big take away from the book was to make sure it’s a system that can be sustained, which has always been my downfall. I highly recommend it!

I brainstormed, drawing inspiration online and within our facebook group, made a plan, keeping the basic functionality in mind, sketched up a floor plan of the basic layout plan and some possibilities for a prettier space.

I removed everything from the room except large furniture. I boxed up all the fabric, tools and supplies, which was no small task since I sew garments, make quilts, do needlework, cross stitch, and embroidery, etc., I did my best to sort generally as I packed it all. Then I got right to it.

First up: DIY Storage Cutting Table. I can’t really sew without one. Never liked my old one, so I wanted to do more than just buy an inexpensive one again.

I love the Ikea hacks, especially those cubby storage cutting tables on pinterest, so I decided to go for it. I purchased 2 Threshold brand cubby bookcases from Target and built them. Lucy was eager to help or hinder. She never quite decided which.

Once built, brackets were used to hold the 2 together. At first, the plan was to place a piece of plywood between the two at the center, but I didn’t want to have to cover it with molding or trim at the sides. So they’re open tunnels, which the kittens love.

The blue tape was from planning the layout. I wanted to place the cutting table in the middle of the room. I read on a blog somewhere that this creates more usable space than having a large open space in the middle of the room. I also wanted to be sure the cutting table would fit well.

I (aka my husband) used brackets to secure the bookcases unit to a thick piece of plywood for the bottom/base.

Mounted heavy duty castors onto the plywood base. They lock to keep it from sliding or moving, which was an issue for my old cutting table. It was a bit flimsy and would wobble and move on me. Not good when using a rotary cutter, yeah?

Since the bookcases are that “weird manufactured fake wood stuff,” it’s not that great for screwing things into it. It kind of falls apart, so small thick pieces of plywood were added to the base where the castors were screwed in. Not ideal, but much better to be sturdy than pretty.

The top is one from Ikea that measured slightly larger than the 2 bookcases put together and we used brackets to secure them together.

Turned it over and added some Ikea pegboards and hooks to the sides for rulers and other tools.

The cups and trays are really handy for when I need to use the whole top for cutting out PJs or a dress.

I love the cutting table!! It’s a great size and has lots of storage space that is functional and easy to access 🙂

Fabric

The fabric collecting has gotten out of hand. I didn’t even know I had that much (and there are several big boxes in the downstairs bedroom full and I’m not opening them for a while.

My previous organization methods never really worked well for me, because I couldn’t maintain it. I used large, clear plastic tubs or clear shoe boxes. The large ones were too full to easily see what I had in them and the small ones never fit well stacked in the bookcase. At first everything was folded neatly, but as soon as I would go through and look for something, the fabric would just be thrown back in (or crammed in). Plus I would have to move several large ones to get to the one I needed. I wanted a solution, instead of quick fix.

Here’s what I decided to do: Sort each bucket into:

• Scrap, fat quarter, or 1/2 yard+ lengths
• Quilting cotton vs garment fabric
• Scraps and fat quarters by color

Once the initial sorting was done, I started with the quilting cottons, the 1/2 yard or longer pieces. I wanted to store them in my bookcases vertically. Yet, I didn’t want to spend the money for the boards specifically designed for fabric, since I was buying a lot of stuff as it was.-It would have been quite expensive for 200+ boards. I also decided not to use the magazine/comic book boards that I’ve seen others use. I felt they would be too thin/bend easily.

Instead, I bought large foam boards (acid-free), 20″ x 30″, and cut them. I bought some pre-cut 8″ x 10″, but they weren’t more accurate than I could do and cost significantly more than the larger ones. I’ll tell you this though, I got pretty fast at cutting those boards! I used my craft cutting mat and rotary cutter that’s designated for only crafts/paper (not fabric).

I first cut the 30″ side: (3) pieces 8″ wide and (1) piece 6″ wide.

Then cut those pieces in half for 10″ each. For each 20″ x 30″ board, I cut (6) 8″ x 10″ pieces and (2) 6″ x 10″ pieces. The smaller size came in handy actually, which is a happy accident. I bought the boards in bulk 10 or 20 to a package from an office/school supply site online.

I used bobby pins to hold the fabric onto the board and placed them by color, with one shelf for solids. It’s so pretty to look at, like my personal quilt shop! It’s very easy to see what I have, pull out and put back neatly. I feel confident I can maintain it, too. I still have lots of boxes of fabric to go through, but I want to sew, so I’m done for now.

For my garment fabrics, I did the same idea. I cut the boards into thirds, each piece 10″ x 20″. This size fit great stacked inside the closet on top of another cubby bookcase.

Knits. I prefer to store these rolled. I gently roll them and tie it with a long strip of knit fabric. I placed them in the cubbies, grouped by color and/or type.

Patterns

Most of my patterns are clothing patterns for women and kids. The only ones I’ve unpacked are my Ottobre, Studio Tantrum, and Jalie–these are all larger, same size as a magazine. I’ve always used magazine folders for my clothing patterns, machine manuals, and sewing/quilting magazines, but those cardboard ones were falling apart, so I bought sturdier ones. They go in the closet, too. The white ones are sold at office depot/max and the pink ones are mDesign (Target).

The pink bins, also mDesign (Target), have my lace and trims. Yes, I have a great collection of those, too 🙂 They usually become a tangled mess after I’ve looked through them a few times. …and I’ve been here before trying to organize the creative clutter.

I decided to try something different. I bought cards to wrap them onto, so they would be uniform in size when stored. I bought the cards on Etsy from seller PetiteCocoCrafts. I’m still wrapping those. Someday, I’ll be done. Maybe.

Back to fabric…the never ending story. Fat quarters: I folded them all the same way and stored them in these metal baskets, another mDesign (Target) ; placed the baskets in the cubbies of the cutting table.

In order to use the cubbies efficiently, I purchased containers that were almost the same width as the cubby opening.

I found these sterilite bins that were a good size for the cubbies and have other sizes that are stackable together. My fabric scraps go in these. I like the shape/size of these for scraps. It’s easier to see what’s inside when you open it and they hold a good amount— though I had to make some hard decisions to let go of a lot of fabric: 3 (and working on a 4th) medium size Uhaul boxes were donated and going to other homes.

The solid green bins with lids (lids are so necessary!) are from Ikea and I will use those for current WIP when designing a new pattern. I often have more than one thing going on, so I bought four, which all fit inside one cubby nicely. The containers are large enough to hold notes, pattern drafts, muslin tests, intended fabric, and trims all together in one place.

Scissors, pins and little things.

Another piece of furniture I bought was a drawer unit, also Threshold brand from Target. Since the furry family members aren’t the brightest at times, I need drawers for sharp and potentially dangerous things: scissors, pins, and other tools. I placed it in the closet on the other side.

I’m not totally done here. The poster will go on the wall and some of the other stuff will find a more permanent home later.

I used some drawer organizers and trays to separate the notions and tools.

Buttons. I have so many. [not getting rid on a single one] I bought this mini desk-top drawer unit for those.

Elastic was another big obstacle. I used the smaller, stackable sterilite bins, to sort my elastics. I also used this size for EPP and other technique-based supplies.

Thread Spools

I’ve had these racks for years. Now they are up on the wall!! Not sure why I bought 2 different ones. I wish I had bought 2 of the one on the right. I store my serger cone threads in plastic storage boxes designed for them. [they have not been unpacked yet]

I still need to decorate the walls with my mini quilts, needlework, pictures, etc., but I did manage to put my design board up on the wall. A first for the design board. Usually, it sits on the floor, leaning against something, which often is in the way. Recently, it was discovered that the kittens like to chew and pull off the pins to play with [yikes! why is every single thing a game to them?? cleaning the litter box, folding clothes, dusting, sweeping, everything!]

This board is essential for me. I pin sketches of designs I want to draft, the slopers for each doll, and the patterns as I’m working through them.

I also put up a shelf and these Ikea bucket rail things. Right now the shelf is holding my important things given to me by my children through the years, things they’ve made for me. Other things will eventually be put there once I find permanent homes for my treasures <3

Did you see the little shoe rack? I had used this container for years to hold odds and ends that had no other home. As it sat empty, I wondered whether my little Ruby Red Fashion Friends Doll shoes would fit inside. I turned it on its side and voila! a cute little shoe display.

I usually have a pair of shoes in mind when designing a dress or outfit for my dolls. It completes the style or changes it up for a different look, so they are part of my sewing supplies in a way. Now they can be displayed and inspire me 🙂

I still have the ribbons, piping, and rickrack to wrap on small cards, which is no small task. I also bought some pretty pink linen/cotton blend from Riley Blake Designs to make some drapes, so I can take down the metal blinds.

I’m super happy I finally did this. I’ve worked in the sewing room a couple times now and it’s working quite well. Putting things back is simple and takes no time really. I’ve been able to find things more easily. You know I do kind of miss having a seam ripper in every corner and linear surface, but it’s also nice to know where to get one without looking for several minutes. It’s also nice knowing that I don’t need to buy another one for quite a while, since I discovered I have literally 15 seam rippers.

How is your sewing room organization plan going? Do you have a favorite organization solution for something in your stash?

~Erin