SEWING ROOM ORGANIZATION

Since my daughter moved out in August, I have gradually made progress in my quest to reorganize the house. The house seemed to be over loaded with furniture and STUFF, not only from when Amanda moved home, but all the STUFF I had inherited from my Mother’s home, my ex husband’s home and then having a small new and used furniture shoppe. In the past 5 years there have been a lot of changes in my life and household. (I found that it has taken me this long to let go of some of the emotional attachments I have had to my inherited treasures.)

A few weeks ago I tackled reorganizing my sewing room. If you are a sewer, you know how important it is to be organized and be able to find things for the projects you want to do. Being a “fabriholic”, I have always enjoyed just sitting and gazing into my fabric closet. For some reason it gives me great satisfaction to see the yardages neatly placed on shelves and ready for my next project. Unfortunately the room, which is only about 10 x 14, was packed tight and I was feeling rather claustrophobic, so knew it was time to regroup. So, when you do not have floor space, you need to be creative and build up!

Besides the sewing machine cabinet with 3 drawers, I have a number of storage pieces, which I have reused from old furniture I have found over the years. The sewing room has just evolved over the years. I have 2 small chest of drawers that were bought in the 70’s when I was first married and we did not have a lot of money for furniture. To my amazement they still are in great condition considering they are made of pressed board and the drawers are plastic! A few years ago I did give them a new coat of paint. Yes, you can paint pressed board. Painting mismatched pieces in like colors gives continuity to the room.

One of my favorite pieces is a short chest with 9 drawers, which are perfect storage for all kinds of notions and craft items. This piece was found in a friend’s garage and I recognized its value as a perfect storage unit for my sewing room. The basic frame was homemade from 2 x 4’s and other left overs, the top was gone. The best part was the drawers were made from wooden prune boxes, which I found hilarious. It is a rather crude piece of furniture, but with a little paint, it worked in with the dressers.

Being a little short of floor space, I took the legs off an old book shelf and placed it on top of the prune box chest for storage. One of the next projects is to paint the bookcase to match the chest. (Of course I saved the 6” legs from the bookcase to use for another project, which will probably bee a footstool of some sort…but then, who knows.)

I also have a drop leaf table to spread projects out on, which is great for a work space and saves space when not in use.

Of course, every sewing room needs a comfy chair. Mine is not real pretty, but one of the most comfortable. It is from my 1st living room set and has been recovered a number of times. I keep saying I need to get rid of it, but I think it could take another makeover.The Chihuahuas and I curl up on it to sew, read and watch TV.

A few other ideas for saving space in the sewing room is this caddy from shoe holders. It is a great place for my scissors, glues, tools, crochet hooks, etc. The small shelves were made from scrap wood. These are hanging above my sewing machine cabinet and have really been handy for all kinds of STUFF.

If the house caught on fire, I would grab the Chihuahuas and my sewing machine. It was my first "major" purchase out of college, and one of my prized possessions. I bought it in 1975 and would not trade it for any of the new machines. It was one of the last models Singer made with a cast iron head. I love it to this day!

This peg rack is behind the door, so no one sees the clutter. It is great for hanging my painting aprons, unfinished projects, and the broom and dustpan for clean up.

The sewing room is now cleaned and ready to for all the winter projects I have planned.