My Sewing Space

I did a major clean-up of my sewing studio (aka the dining room) last night. It makes me very aware of how much stuff I have, and I always feel better once everything is back in its place and where it should be. I've shown you before how I've organized my fabrics and other bits, but never where I actually sit and work. So I thought I'd share that today.

I used to sew at the end of the kitchen table, but that got to be annoying for everyone. My mother graciously granted me a corner of the dining room to use as a sewing area, and it's perfect for my needs. I'd love to have a big, beautiful sewing room, with fancy cabinetry and a cutting table, and all that jazz, but this is perfectly fine and forces me to not be too messy since it is in a common living area (as my sister constantly reminds me ;)

Here is the main scope of my workspace:

Drawers for all my junk, and a small folding table that can be easily taken down if it's a fancy time (like Thanksgiving or Christmas). I try to keep the top fairly clear of stuff, but there are some essentials one needs at hand.

I might have a pin problem. I have an entire cushion (the pink) crammed of cute pins that I don't use. I just like to see them sitting there. I'm not sure why my spare iPod cord is crammed in there... But the rest is my seam ripper, seam gauge, marking tools, scissors, snips, and rotary cutters, and other little gadgets. That green stenciled organizer came from Joann's and is the best thing I've found to use for my little bits.

The bottom drawer of my generic plastic wheeled drawers (Walmart? Target?) is full of patterns. For PDF patterns I have one of those big bill organizer doohickies that I keep them in that sits on top of these drawers.

The middle drawer holds a bunch of random things that I use quite regularly.

This is the glue I use for purse frame purses. It can be hard to find, and I usually have to buy it from overseas, so I stock up to make the most of the shipping charges.

I found these cuties on a clearance table somewhere. Very useful for magnetic snaps, eyelets, and grommets. They tuck into a cute little pouch and are very out of the way.

I bought this at Christmas but hadn't been able to find it. One of the reasons I love organizing my stuff--I always find something new.

Plastic canvas circles. I'm sure it was a great idea I bought them for, hahaha, but it's long gone now. And the snaps? I've never used anything but magnetic snaps. What in the hell compelled me to buy so many snaps? 

When I buy pre-made bias tape or piping I save the little pieces of cardboard for wrapping paper cord, trims, ribbon, anything that needs winding. 

 I forgot I had bought these little hexie templates. One day....

The top drawer holds thread and presser feet. Very exciting.

Those little bobbin donuts are the handiest things ever. I've dropped the whole thing full, and nothing dropped out. Magical.

 Spare needles, my blade sharpener, and a purse of safety pins.

 Double-sided organizer thingee that my mom gave me.

That organizer thing up there is quite handy. If you only need one side you can collapse the other to save space. Yesterday, I was going through the piles of fabrics for all my upcoming orders and feeling buried. So I organized each project in its own Ziploc bag. The fabrics, zippers, snaps, purse feet, rings, whatever. It's already selected and organized so I just need to pull out the bag and get going. The only thing not in there is interfacing.

Tucked in the corner here we have my bolts of woven interfacing and fleece, and some quilt batting I still need. Bottom left is my grandma's oooooold ironing board. It unfolds for two different sized surfaces, which comes in very handy depending on the size of what I'm sewing. It needs to be recovered, but it's one of those things that will just have to wait for now.

The dining room table itself is my cutting table and where I iron. So far this set-up has worked out really well. I have no complaints, and am hugely grateful that my mother lets me take over this room when I need to (which is often). My dad had no say in the matter, hahaha.

So that's my space. Everything I could have a need for is at hand, and the fabrics and other doodads are upstairs in their own spaces in the spare bedroom. This way I'm just taking what I need for a certain project instead of having tons of stuff everywhere.

I feel so much better once I have everything organized and tidy. Something about the blank slate and the potential mess that's going to fill it is way better than trying to work within the mess I've already made. It's kind of like how having fresh new sheets on your bed makes you excited to tuck in for the night. Is that just me? Probably. I focus on weird things, this I freely admit.