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-   -   best lighting (https://www.quiltingboard.com/mission-organization-f23/best-lighting-t217760.html)

Bneighbor 03-31-2013 08:10 AM

I was at both lowes and Home Depot yesterday and both of our stores have discontinued selling ott light bulbs. I purchased my light from big lots. Well I am not that happy with it anyways, so I purchased 2 floor lamps from Walmart. One shoots the light up towards the ceiling. The other has a goose neck, so I can shoot the light to the ceiling or direct it towards my project. They are very nice. Home Depot sales clerk showed me a few different bulbs. The one I got is just not bright enough, but will work in another lamp. I am going back on Monday and listen better when I ask, AGAIN, what is the best and brightest bulb. Apparently I am not the brightest bulb in the room today.

JanieH 03-31-2013 10:36 AM

I also have flourescent lights in my sewing room and love the light. I supplement with a desktop Ott light by my sewing machine and floor lamps in other areas.

NJ Quilter 03-31-2013 11:04 AM

My personal favorite for any kind of task lighting is halogen lights. Give a very true color and very bright light. Biggest problem is they are hot. I have 2 desk style halogens. One by my chair in the living room for hand sewing with a hi/low switch (and I normally only use the low) and one upstairs in the sewing room that I move around as necessary. I'd love to do hanging halogens over my cutting table but really don't want to deal with plaster/lath! And I'm not sure that I could really handle the heat of both the lights and the iron together. But I love the light from them. Have them under my upper kitchen cabinets for task lighting there and it's amazing.

cricket_iscute 03-31-2013 11:35 AM

I have a basement sewing room with almost no natural light. I have halogen lights, fluorescents, and incandescents, as well as OTT. My very best light comes from inexpensive shop light fixtures with either OTT bulbs or daylight bulbs. There is no cover on the fixture. In fact, I could not quilt without it; it makes that much difference. I have one over each sewing station. Halogen (on tracks, so it can be focused) does not help much and I will not have it in the next sewing room, incandescents at each end of the room add some light but not really that much, and desk Ott lights over certain machines are good.

nancia 03-31-2013 01:02 PM

we use the twiely looking light bulbs that save energy in all the fixtures. when we first put them in i thought they were too bright, but not any more! i, too, need as much light as i can get!

petthefabric 03-31-2013 08:47 PM


Originally Posted by shan (Post 5967009)
My sewing room is the bonus room upstairs. It has a ceiling fan with a light kit and that's it. I replaced the incandescent bulbs with the energy saving and MUCH COOLER fluorescent bulbs. I also use a $15 floor lamp with the attached bendable task lamp with regular incandescent bulbs for my machine table work. Both provide great lighting. And I have the choice of light 'tones' when I'm interviewing fabric. For all my handwork projects in front of the TV at night, I love my Ott lamp.

Since I can't see your room, I'll say I think you have too little lighting. However, it's your room, so if it works for you, then it's great.

My room has 2 overhead lights, 3 full spectrum light strips, a large north facing window (do my color picking during the day), ceiling, design wall and one wall are white for good light reflections and an OTT light at each sewing station. As I get older, I've added lights to the room

carslo 04-02-2013 06:42 AM


Originally Posted by lfletcher (Post 5965013)
We installed inexpensive shop lighting from Home Depot or Lowe's (can't remember which but they both have them). Just hung them on hooks from the ceiling over my cutting table, ironing station and sewing machine. The cords run down the walls to the outlets but I just hung quilts over them and they are not noticeable. I think we only paid about $20 per light. They use florescent bulbs and provide me plenty of light.

This is what I did also - best idea I had in about 10 years - I bought the daylight bulbs cheap and totally effective!

probstrs 04-02-2013 04:49 PM

Great ideas from everyone......I know what I'm going to do above my machine! Now, if we could only find one that was just as stylish as they are useful....hmmmm

krjkrj 04-02-2013 05:38 PM

Thanks everybody for the suggestions.

Marjoeal 04-03-2013 11:18 AM

I'm old, half blind and retired, so finding good lighting was imperritive for sewing. Couldn't afford much. Realized I was standing in my own light from the ceiling fan fixture when cutting and ironing. DH said ceiling wouldn't support much weight, so florescent fixtures were out. I bought four of the aluminum clamp-on shop lights from Lowe's. $8 each. Removed the clamp sections and hung them by their cords from the ceiling with toggle hooks. Stretched the cords over to the wall where I plugged into an extension cord that runs down to a plug. Plug end of the cord was stuck to the wall with double sticky tape. Each lamp has it's own on/off switch. Screwed in new twirlly bulbs and was wowed with light. Cheap, easy, lightweight and wonderful!
But then you should see the one of a kind light that I use in the harp of my sewing machine!!!


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