I don't know if it was
purchasing 49 yards of fabric recently or the frequent client visits I've had
to my sewing studio as of late but on last week I came to realize that my sewing studio needed a big overhaul. Actually I've been in an organizing/cleaning
frame of mind for the last several weeks. Hey the Spring weather always does it to me. I've already
cleaned out/organized my garage and most of the closets in my house. I'm
guessing my sewing room was bound to end up on that list anyway. So this
weekend I put my personal sewing to the side in exchange for downsizing my
sewing books, organizing and filing my patterns, consolidating thread and
bobbins, and streamlining my fabric stash a bit.
(This is what 49 yards of heavily discounted fabric looks like. There's some major spillage going on and as you can see I really did get some pretty colors. That's a gorgeous yellow sweater knit I plan to use for a cardigan. The lavendar is wool for a coat and the blue rayon kit I plan to use for a dress. I'll show more of what I got later.)
For some reason the
older I get the MORE I crave ORDER. I think I really am becoming my Mother. I'm sure many of you guys can understand! LOL!!!!
Ok, so I'm about 70%
done with gutting out my sewing room. I've got lots of great books and fabric
that I'd more than likely want to sale. So be on the lookout for my upcoming post on my fabric/sewing book sale. Hey it wouldn't be fair if I didn't give you guys dibs first.
Anyhow, here's some of the improvements I made....
(I've got all of "my girls" lined up and ready to go. My blind hemmer is in the background far left. I finally put all of my threads on the wall rack and I love my maxi lock thread tree. I have a box full of pegs that I still need to add to my pegboard. Again, I've had these items for years but am finally putting them to better use.)
(I have a file cabinet that's attached to my sewing machine desk. I did use the top drawer for some patterns and client work. I decided to make it soley for patterns and they fit perfectly and neatly. Why didn't I think of this sooner? I also have another smaller 3 drawer plastic cabinet to hold the rest of my patterns.)
(The drawer beneath the patterns contain all of my thread. These 2 plastic boxes contain small spools of thread and are sitting on top of the maxi lock threads that cover the bottom of the drawer.)
(I went through and downsized my book collection. I'm getting rid of some really good one's but I have my favorites and backups which are more than enough for me. Again I'll do a post on the item I plan to sale really soon.)
Next I plan to get into my fabric closet and just tear it apart. I just want to lighten my load a bit. I've got lots of fabric I'm planning to sale. I'm looking forward to that task.
Although I'm still cleaning, organizing, and decorating my sewing studio there's just one part of it in particular that's a bit of an eyesore. That would be the area underneath tri-fold cutting table which kinda serves as a storage area. No I won't show you that area in my sewng room----it's quite embarassing LOL! This area truly needs to be better defined & contained.
I really that I just need a new sewing table- one that has sewing space that's built in and relieves the floor clutter. I've taken a look at sewing room furninture and as you guys know it's EXPENSIVE. Some of it ridiculously so. So I did an internet source and found a fellow blogger who made her own table with plenty of storage area. As they say "necessity is the mother of invention" and Brooke (who has a fabulous sewing room) came up with a FANTASTIC idea. She bought 12 Ikea mini tables and stacked them double to create the "cubbie" effect. Just PURE BRILLIANCE!!! You can see the details HERE. But here's a pic from her site.....
(This is the type of cutting table that I have. I have a rotary cutting mat on top of it. I love it but would like something that had drawers and better organization space underneath.)
(That DIY cutting table has me drooling.....)
I think I will follow suit and think of a way to achieve the same if not similar affect. I'm sure my idea is gonna involve a trip to IKEA (I own several of there shelves and LOVE them). It's so cool to think outside of the box! Well I'm gonna make that my Summer project. Maybe I should just make that Hubby's project! I've got a few "big" sewing projects coming up and would love to have my new table in place as soon as possible. I'm super excited. And of course when I'm all done with my sewing studio I'll post pics of the final product!!!!!!!!!!!! Heck, I spend SOOO much time in my sewing studio. Might as well make it pretty and uber organized!!!!
So have you been making any changes to your sewing nook/room/studio???? Do you have a sewing room "eye sore"? Got any plans to improve it???? Do share!
Happy organizing! It looks like you have a wonderful stash of pretty fabrics - love the colors!
ReplyDeleteI need to do some cleaning in my space too. (Wish it always looked as clean as the photo you show above!)Let me know if you build your own version of the IKEA cutting table! I'd love to see how you make it work for you! =)
~ Brooke
Hi Brooke!!!!!!!! Thanks for being such an inspiration. I'll keep you posted;)
DeleteMore cleaning power to you, lol!
ReplyDeleteI have just sat down from "straightening up" my sewing room! I have been quite busy, but I can't progress when it is junky....
Thanks Lady:)
DeleteIt is funny you are posting this, because I too have been working on my sewing studio. We just finished our basement, so the kids have moved downstairs. Now my son's old bedroom is my new sewing room.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love it.
BTW, I was supposed to have been sending pics of my work to you. Sorry I am such a slacker. I finished up working on some bridesmaid dresses recently and will shoot you a pic.
Yay, congrats on your new space Angie! I'd love to see the bridesmaids dresses! I bet they're gorgeous!
DeleteI have a definite need to get into my sewing room and clean. I just made 20 costumes for my son's class play and my sewing room is a total disaster because my mom was also here to visit after not seeing her for 8 years! I only had a few more days with her so cleaning up after my sewing was not a huge priority. I wanted to get those things done and get some time in with my mom so we finished the costumes and now I have a big mess to contend with :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you got through a hefty project Lady! Congrats. You're right---the mess isn't going anywhere. Enjoy the fam. Hey my goal is to keep my sewing room organized but with all of my projects and sewing there's no way to keep it neat all of the time:)
DeletePretty fabric colors. That diy sewing table is pure genius. My sewing room was revamped last year, however I finally decided to move all my fabric and patterns to a spare room in the basement. The fabric & pattern stash has gotten out of control and decided I could better organize it in the spare room and still grow, which I couldn't do if I left it in my sewing room.
ReplyDeleteI TOTALLY understand Sheila! It can be a challenge to keep an expanding collection neat!
DeleteLast week, I took ALL of my fabric off of bookshelves (save the one near my sewing machines for current projects) and put it plastic bins. Each bin contains fabric organized by fiber or type (wool, silk, suitings, etc.). I put books on the bookshelves (duh!) and created a look that is more pleasing to my eyes. The 21 plastic bins are stacked neatly against one wall of my basement (sewing area). It's a little unsightly, but at least it's neat. My next plan is to go through each bin and catalog all of the fabric contents/yardages. For now, I need to hit the garage. This was supposed to happen yesterday, but my helper had to reschedule. Hopefully he can come by on Friday. The garage needs work!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you definitely got a good jump start on a big project. I wish you well with all your remaining organizing;)
DeleteI as well have been in the Spring clean mode! I use an Ikea computer desk that we were no longer using as the table for my serger. I have been on the lookout for a great idea for a sewing/cutting table. Thanks for the link, I may have to copy that idea! At the moment we are using a fold up table. It is 6 feet long, but it is rather narrow. I love the Ikea tables, and they are $9.99 each! Usually in Canada things as more expensive, nice to see this time they are not.
ReplyDeleteGood luck in your clean up, and have fun finding things you forgot about!
Thanks Lady!!!! Same to you:)
DeleteVictoria, I recently cleaned and organized my sewing room. I have the same cutting table and just as yours is, underneath mine is also a mess. I would like to come up with a solution but refuse to spend any money to do so. I guess I'll just have to look at the mess and to try to keep it under control as much as possible!
ReplyDeleteWe understand each other's dillema all too well. And because of how the legs are shaped there's no real way to make and keep the mess looking tidy!
DeleteI have a wonderful cutting table that I put together. It's a big piece of good quality birch plywood, about 3/4" thick. For the "legs" I bought the wire drawers from The Container Store. I can customize the size drawer to what I want to put in the drawer. I can see what is in the drawer at any given time. This system works great.
ReplyDeleteOoohhh Rhonda your cutting table idea sounds great! I'd love to see a pic of it. I'm going to have to stalk your blog to get a closer look at it;)
DeleteI've been wanting a new cutting/storage table too - here's what I want as soon as I have extra $$$ - hope you don't mind a link ;)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mimigoodwin.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-perfect-diy-cutting-table.html
She's got some great ideas on organization. I also found a table at Ikea that is large enough for a large cutting mat and the legs are adjustable so the height can be raised as needed. That would probably cost around $130 and then various storage items can be placed underneath. just a thought
Thanks Jenny for the link! I'm loving the whole idea of creatively creating one! And the money spent is FAR LESS than the sewing furniture sites list their cutting tables for.
DeleteYou're so welcome! I can't wait to get mine together too. Good luck! I hope you share with us what you get :)
DeleteI can't wait until your book sale. Love your cutting table idea - boy do I need those cubbies underneath my table.
ReplyDeleteI found that once you give it a good overhaul you must, I repeat must put things back in their place. I find that so helpful to me after we built my sewing space in our basement. I purchased a electric floor vacuum which I also use at the end of each sewing day. I need to switch out my fabric and move the fall/winter stuff to the upstairs bed room. I plan to do so real stash busting in the next 3-4 months!!!! Happy sewing!
ReplyDeleteAll this talking about rearranging is making my head hurt, LOL I have yet to come up with a way to place my sewing furniture for my room yet:) Victoria maybe you can swing by my house after you finish yours, ROFL ... FIESTA :)
ReplyDeleteI've been in clean-out mode lately too. I just wanted to chime in about the cutting table -- I "remodeled" my sewing studio about a year ago and purchased 2 dressers from IKEA, set up back-to-back, for my cutting table. Actually I do everything there except the stitching. :) It's the perfect height, so that you don't have to stoop over. Well, I'm about 5'6", so I guess that depends on height. Then of course, the other awesome thing is *all the drawers* for storing sewing supplies, etc. I haven't done a studio reveal post on my blog but it's the HEMNES 8-drawer dressers. Even for two of them, it ended up much more affordable and functional than any designed-for-sewing furniture I've come across.
ReplyDeleteI did the same thing on Sunday rearrange the whole room and bought storage containers. Lol. I love love the cutting table and ikea tables that's a go-and-get pronto!
ReplyDeleteI have the same cutting table you have but one of the wheels came apart with the little metal piece and it can't be replaced so I started looking for something else too. I was able to get a kitchen cabinet from IKEA on clearance (85.00). It's the same measurement as the other table. Once I get my hubby to put it together, I'm planning on taking the base from my old table and attach it to the top of this one. Here is a link similar to what I got: Mine has two doors beneath with a shelf. I can't wait to see how it works. I'm planning on adding industrial castors to add another 2 inches to the height since I'm 5'8"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30158391/