Quilting room advice
 

So, if you were contemplating a new quilting room and the purchase of a long Arm quilting machine in the future, what size do you think the room would need to be at a minimum. I would want room for the quilting maching, my basic sewing machine, a counter height cutting table and some fabric storage. How much space is needed for quilting frame?

We are closing in a garage, I know I could easily use the entire space, but my husband wants some space for a home office so he can work some from home. I need to carve him out a small corner, LOL.

One of the longarm quilters in my area remodeled her house by enclosing the garage and turning half of it into a dining room and the other half into her longarm room and then they added on a whole new garage. The half of the room that was turned into the longarm room is really just barely big enough. There's a walkway down each side of the machine and a walkway from the new garage thru to the dining area and the rest of the house along one end. Longarms take up a whole lot of room.

it depends on what length you have your frame set up... some are adjustable. i think the big ones are 12' and you need room to get around one of the ends. I have limited space, so I set my Hinterberg stretch up with 9-1/2' poles. that left me is 1.5' to get past the end in the room I had. with this set up, i can quilt queen sized quilts, but not those that go to the floor, just the mattress depth on the sides. however, i did manage, with some finagling, to quilt a king sized quilt.

There are computer programs out there that will let you "build" a room and move stuff around in it. You might look into that - there are some inexpensive programs (about $10 at Half Price Books, I think), and you could play with different size rooms and see what they would look like.

I have a Gammill and the table is 14' long. Also there is a set of wheels on one end and a crank handle sticking out. I always have bruises from that. It sticks out about 6". I have 30 inches between that crank end and the beginning of my sewing table. Not enough. 36" on the front side of the table. I need all of that (i usually work from the front) and 40 inches on the back side. I would need more if I worked from that side. That's because the machine backs up into that walk area when you are quilting close to the pick up roller. Next week, I'm going to work on some tray type storage for my projects. I always have 8 or 10 going. ADD or ADHD i think. Since i'm on very tight budget, I plan to put masonite pieces on shelf spaces in my plastic shelving sections. I use the lids of banker boxes or under bed boxes to put the projects on. They will become the drawers that sit on the masonite pieces. I will set up a file with pictures for anyone who is interestd when i get it done.

I just setup my long arm this weekend. Minimum space for it would be 14' x 8'. And that is long arm only. If you are adding sewing machine, cutting table, etc. I think you want at least 14x16, probably 14 x 20.

Think about this.....could any room really be big enough !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean think of all the room you would need for just the fabric. Let alone a design wall, the biggest long arm you could find....and not to mention the HUGE cutting table, a computer, a TV, a large ironing board, at least 4 sewing machines , maybe a washer and dryer...a wet bar with coffee pot, microwave, popcorn maker, and a wine frig....now that is only the beginning......Let me wish anyway ;)

My new sewing room
 

My new sewing room is 15' x 30'. Seems very big but my goodness it is getting full. Have my long arm at one end, but also have a table that is 5' x 8' that we use for uphlostery and use it for cutting and underneath storage. Love that table but would have made it 3 x 5' if I had it to do over. Love my room to go out and just play with sewing & fabric. Go as big as you can. Good Luck

Measure the long arm, add a min. of 6 foot in length and wideth. this will give you a 3 foot walk space around the machine. My sewing area is the size of a 1 car garage. and is not big enough for my LA and everything else I have! LOL LA is in a seprate room with part of my stash. I have a min. of 2 machines set up at any given time. I figure I need at least 3 foot around any place I need to walk or roll my chair. DH built me counters the full lenth of the room on both sides I use part of it for my cutting table. I built myself a ironing pad that fits of the counter to. They are both mobil so I can move them anywhere or slide them behind a cabnet completly out of the way.Everything above the counter is open shelves filled with baskets, under the counter is sets of kitchen drawers and a couple of lg open spaces for storing anything large. As much storage as I have it is still cramped in there. Wish it were a 2 car garage size! LOL

I once had a kitchen the size of a two car garage....my oh my talk about wonderful !!!!

Two years ago, we added a 18 x 18 room onto our house for my sewing room. I have a 10' extended Hinterberg frame, various tables, large ironing board, bookcase, printer bookcase and a few other etc's. Also a 8' closet with bi-fold doors. Sometimes wish we had made it 20 x 20, but I'd probably still run out of room:rolleyes:

Its kinda like the principle that a fish will not outgrown its bowl.....but darn I do wish the walls were moveable and the floors self cleaning

One room of my sewing space is 30'x 15' and I think I'd have room for a big LA but no much more. I don't like a lot of stuff in a small space. I like open clear spaces in rooms. But that's just what I would need to be comfortable. I've seen LAs in regular size rooms but that is too cramped for me.

I agree with the gal who said get the measurement of the frame and add at least 6 feet to both the length and width. 8 feet would be even better. You need to get to all 4 sides of the frame. Make sure you get the 'footprint' measurement of the frame, not just the quilting area.
I have a 10' frame with an 18" machine in a 8 X 16 foot space and it just fits.

I have a 12' frame and my room is 9'x17.5' It helps that my sewing room is next to this room, so I don't need anything else in there. But I do have shelves high on the wall (9 foot ceilings) and a bank of upper cabinets that I placed on the floor. I plan to put a 14" wide counter top on this. Thread is on peg board hooks on the wall and I bought 2 letter sorters to put my stash in... I did fit a Singer 66-16 in the corner but it will come out as soon as I reorganize my sewing room.

This is my quilting room!...

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The letter sorters are stacked on end, on top of each other. Perfect for fat quarters!

It's not finished yet, trim needs to go up around the doors and windows, etc. But at least I'm stitching!

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Thanks for the picture Christine! And thanks to all for the replies. Looks like my hubby gets a very small office,:p

each long-arm has it's own 'foot-print' and recommended space requirements- then you need to figure sewing table, cutting table, ironing board, shelves, fabric storage, books, possibly computer, you need to sit down with some graph paper (or a computer program) and start plugging in furnishings/needs- after making a list of all those necessities & how much space each takes- and remember you need to walk around- be able to use them- get to them...the long arm will require anywhere from 12' x 5' up to about 17'x6'...just to comfortably use it- of course depending on which one you buy- then your sewing table- you don't want it right up next to the long arm-
.....you have home work to do :)

Oooooh, I like the way you think, LOL

I have a 24X24 carport that I've been seriously toying with the idea of closing in...but even then, I don't think that would be enough room for my longarm (Gammill with a 12-foot table) and all my other machines and fabric. So...here I sit, sewing stuff and machines in three rooms and my LA in my den, still cogitating...:)...what to do? what to do!!

I have my long arm in my master, I have a huge bedroom but it still takes up a lot of room, I also have a spare bedroom as my sewing space it is packed full. And always a mess... Ahh well at least I have some space

I have what I call my Sewing Studio--it is 16 x 32 so my long arm, sewing desk, writing desk, cutting table, ironing board and a row of drawers all fit but it is getting full. No matter how big you make it you will eventually run out of space. I am actually working to reduce my stash as I am getting older and cannot ever use all the fabric I have. If you get to choose your space size be sure you have plenty of space around the LA--it takes more than you think.

I will bring home my new-to-me long arm in about 2 weeks. I am going to try and put into my sewing room. We have measured and planned and I think that I need about 6 feet of space to do the quilting, plus 14 feet for the frame to be set up and still have room to move around it. I have rearranged my machines and tables around these measusrements. (Just praying that it all fits!) It's exciting but scary at the same time. Good luck with your plans!

I have a 16x32 bonus room over my garage that I'm getting finished for my sewing space. I don't think you can have too much space!! My stuff tends to expand to the walls and ceiling that limits it!! LOL

I love your dream!

Go BIG... You won't be unhappy if it's plenty big, but you can get very unhappy and overwhelmed when your work area is too small to work in comfortably!

I think I'd go with this suggestion.

When we built this house, dh gave me a lovely little 10 x 10 room to make my own - he took the 1500 sf on the one side and made a shop with it. We have a family/tv room that is as large as my hubbies shop - teehee - it is now also my sewing room. My long arm goes across width wise. I have a dining table that holds my sewing machines, a large cutting board & iron set up, plus my tv & couches & fabric storage. I am so lucky my dh has hobbies and wants me to be happy doing mine. Of course this took some time - I just kept spreading out!!!! lol

now you're talkin sister!!!

I moved into a 3bedroom house, my son took the wall out between two bedrooms and made a sewing room it's great, I have room for all the toys and needs to haves, including turning one wall into a felt staging space

I have locking wheels on my quilting table, a suggestion from my Gammil dealer, and can push it against a wall when not in use, and can angle it out from the wall if I want to do pantograph quilting. It takes up only 4 feet in width when not in use (I have an 18 inch long arm, and the table is not as wide as those for the larger heads).

At this site you will find several different craft and sewing rooms or studios. There are some that are small and others that are much larger. http://tipnut.com/organize-sewing-ro...-buncha-links/

I feel comfortable in small room.

We built our home 4 1/2 years ago , my quilting room is 17 x 22 I love it. I have my longarm on one wall and a sewing table with machine. On the other side I have a table with my computer and 2 tables with 2 sewing machine over there. In the middle I have my cutting table. so my husband put a plug on the floor for my longarm,and the other side where my sewing machines are he put all the plugs 32" high. so I don't have to get on the floor to plug them in.I would take a picture but I don't know how to put it on the board... sorry