Sewing space?
 

I live in a tiny house with my husband and two kitties. I have all of my "stuff in bins" stored in every corner I can find. I love to sew and create but sometimes it just seems like to much trouble to drag it all out. Anyone have any ideas on tiny sewing spaces or any pictures to give me some creative ideas?

I used to sew in the "breakfast nook" of our townhouse. It was a room about 6' x 8'. I shared it with the dog dishes. I put shelves on the walls to get as much off the floor as I could. I had a drop down ironing board mounted on the wall and a set of cheap stackable drawers I bought on sale at Target in one corner stacked 5' tall. It wasn't ideal, but it worked for years.

Thanks, that sounds like my setup. Especially the 5' tall stack. :o

If I were in close encounters, I would set up my sewing centre into a closet.
That way the machine could be left set up all the time.
Lighting could be easily addressed.
Shelving for long term storage, including for setting things on between work sessions.
Then close the door .... and out of sight, til the next session.

Yes, some need to bring things out, but it would be cut to the minimum, as it would not be packed away in the sense of hidden into plastic totes and such.

Of course, it all depends on what space you have available to you in the limited space.


I've also seen some pretty interesting sewing areas built under stair steps.
That'd be another place I would focus on for my sewing area, if I was faced with the challenge.

Sounds like me! My sewing room is currently shared with bf and three kitties, and doubles/triples as a computer room and bf's hobby room... and it's in a smallish bedroom in a smallish house! Luckily we live right near an IKEA. I use double-wide IVAR shelves and SAMLA totes (they're see-through, which helps a ton!)to organize my fabrics, then I have a smaller dining table pushed up against them to use as my main surface (but I can pull it out into the center of the room if I need to). There's also a little coffee table next to my sewing surface that I can use for ironing if I need both at the same time, but I'd like to get a real ironing board someday....

The biggest thing for me right now has been keeping on top of projects so I don't end up with a huge stash of stuff I may never get to. But that's easier said than done!

Honestly, once the kids moved out, I thought I would be in one of their bedrooms, both of which are fairly small. But DH wanted one for all of his video games and the other has stayed a guest room. That's fine. I took over the family room. DH goes in the living room in the evening and watches sports, sci-fi or scary movies - none of which I want to see. I stay in what is now my sewing room. It has a tv, computer and all of my rather messy stuff.

I wish there were someplace I could close it off, so the mess wasn't so visible, but guess I've gotten old enough that I don't care much any more. It's not dirty, just cluttered! But it's cluttered with the things I love, so I am happy.

One idea, keep your basic sewing/cutting items in one area or tub and whenever possible put each project in a zip-lock bag, that way you won't be dragging it all out, just the thing you are working on.

I just googled " how to organize a small sewing space" and there are some great ideas, especially this closet one, Wow!

http://livefreecreative.co/2012/08/a-closet-seamstress/

How small is small? I sew in a room that is 8 x 8 with a good sized closet. It works great and I have every
thing I need.

I’m sharing my sewing space with a guest bed. Not ideal, but to store my stash we bought a bed frame (doesn’t need a box spring) that has 17” clearance. We bought totes that slide underneath the bed. I put felt runners on each tote so when I slide them under my bed it doesn’t scratch the bamboo flooring. I have 8 totes stored under there! I wouldn’t have agreed to buy this house if I would’ve had to give up my stash. Now I’m just waiting for my husband to build me a Murphy bed. Use to have one in my sewing room in a different house. Perfect solution!

I use a trundle bed for the bed in my sewing room (for g-boy) and use the trundle underneath for storage of quilting stuff. Use the wall for pegboard to hang rulers, etc. you can even hang bags of stuff if you get big "zip-locs". I use a folding, adjustable drafting table for my cutting table--not huge but big enough and it sits in middle of the room so I can use both sides--if need be I can clear it off (admittedly this doesn't happen often!), fold down and reclaim the floor space, too.

My room is about 8X8 with my computer and sewing macine also bookshelves with fabric it is cramped but doable. No closet for me the computer is in the space that was a closet about 4 feet of space by 3 feet my desk fits perfectly in there.. You don't say if it is one or two bedroom if only one then I guess a nice closed shelving unit or amuare (sp)

I'm looking at going from 1900 sq ft house to a one bedroom apartment. It's an overwhelming thought so I will follow this thread with a good deal of interest. Now I sew in the family room and store fabric in two large bedrooms - yikes!

We took the folding doors off a closet, and put a work station in there. Two "file cabinet" sized sets of drawers are fastened with brackets to the bottom of the 5' top, with knee space between them to sit and sew. (Yeah, IKEA!)

This just might be my solution, I am downsizing to a 1 bedroom apartment from a 3 bedroom house. The apartment has 2 closets so I'm thinking of trying this. Won't know for another month or so, will follow this thread to help me make this move to my advantage.

All of our extra rooms are full since our daughter and our twin grandchildren moved in with us. I sew in the unfinished basement, share the spot with aforementioned children and my gym eqiptment. It works out pretty good. I just got a very large shelf unit from sams and about 20 bins that I have filled with stash and "stuff". I also have 3 drawer sets that sit on one shelf for cutters, scissors and assorted necessary "things". I also have an antique tall cedar cabinet for extra stuff, and a cedar chest and a good sized oak cabinet that I keep more stuff in. Some day I might have a nice dedicated room, but this does work out nice for me. Almost everything I do is located in one space.

In the summer when we go camping in our 24' 5th wheel, I cut and organize everything before we go. I use the kitchen table to sew (sometimes the picnic table outside) and have a little ironing board I sit on the kitchen counter. I can stash a lot in our little closets if it is organized. I get a lot done, especially if it is raining or cold outside.

The closet set up was going to be my suggestion as well. Have not done it with a sewing space but did have that as an office function for many years. Worked very well.

I use a bedroom but the best thing about it is - my husband took the doors off the double closet and made shelves. It holds a ton.
I hope you find a solution because it sounds like you're having trouble getting motivated with all your things in bins. I don't blame you.

When I had less space I kept the project I was working on in one bin so that I could grab that bin and have everything I needed. It was also fairly easy to put it all in the bin when I was done. It would still seem like too much work to pull things out and remember where I was if I only had a short amount of time to work, but it mostly worked.

I do something similar now if I'm going to put a project aside to work on something else. I put everything for that project in a box so that I can find it again when I want to get back to it.

I also have a smallish sewing space and was very close to building my own sewing armoire. There are many ideas for this online. Many of them reuse old TV cabinets or computer desks. Just as I was starting the construction of the armoire, I found an older Horn cabinet for sale for $25, so I bought that and repainted it instead. Here are some of the ideas I came across online:

http://www.remodelicious.com/diy-sew...xtraordinaire/

http://kennethwingard.com/home-famil...craft-armoire/

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/38/77...4c887a23b6.jpg

For years (way too many), I had to use whatever tiny spaces I could find. It seemed we kept taking in more and more kids and they really take up space!!! The only cutting table, quilt assembly spot I had was the bed. I got 2 pieces of cheap paneling and slid them under to bed for storage. When needed, they were easy to take out, put on top of the bed and make a fairly sturdy but definitely safer place for my cutting board. I also had 2 rollaway storage bins that I kept under the bed for supplies. This kept the stuff close but out of the way from curious little fingers. I put plastic storage bins for fabric in my closet with my shorter clothes hanging above them. This way I could see what was in the bins and only pull out the ones I needed. It also kept me from adding too many more clothes (fabric storage was more important!). One wall in my bedroom had pegboard and I had wooden thread caddies on it with clear plastic piece over the top to keep them clean and rulers attached to the pegboard. Much easier to close the bedroom door than to put stuff away when company came by! I have always found that we use what we have and fill up anything we get!!!!

That space is amazing! I am moving this summer and will be going into a much smaller sewing room. I really am working on downsizing now but that has definitely given me ideas. Thanks for the post.

Research folding screens for privacy and you 'll find all kinds of options for height, width and material. Whatever the screen is made of you can decorate it any way you want with paint, fabric, etc. If you have a very wide space to cover consider covering only part of it to break up the line of vision or perhaps arrange your stuff so the main 'mess' is in the area behind the screen.

I would suggest that for organizing your fabrics it might help to either staple bits onto 3X5 cards and write down how much and where you're putting it (bin number or some such) or take pictures and keep them digitally organized in a folder on your computer. For a time my sewing table was in a 6' wide closet. A peg board right over my machine was a big help for a lot of smaller tools, rulers and such and on my right a magnetic strip (sold for kitchen knives) was a good place for scissors and other things that were metal. Less used stuff stayed in overhead shelves, but not all of that was for sewing. Thread can be kept on something as simple as a board with nails tapped in at an angle so you can hang it on a wall. I had plastic drawers for fabric next to my machine. I have more room now, but the closet arrangement I used to have tended to stay neater from necessity, and the best part about it was I could close the door and it was all out of sight.

If you have room for something like a large upright TV cabinet, a lot of people are abandoning them since flat screens came along, and you can find them cheap at resale shops. You can put bins where the TV used to be, and there are usually cubbies or drawers that can hold other things. A silverware divider will hold a lot of sewing stuff neatly and accessibly, and might it tuck into the space where a VCR used to be.

I keep my projects in those Gallon Zip Bags too,,, or you can use larger ones ( I found some at Dollar Tree) and Everything like patterns Fat Quarter fabric, buttons, and other Supplies in Clear totes... and if they are the colored ones I write on the End of the lid with Marker with what is inside EX: Fall Fabrics, or Solids, or Children's Patterns. etc.. I have seen a idea for a Small Padded piece of 3/4 inch plywood to use for an ironing Board. Or if all the Totes are the Same height. you can add this right on top of 2 stacks to use as a Table...

Good ideas/suggestions for me to consider. Will help me a lot when I can start my move.

Good idea for screens to divide space....also at thrift shops there are usually some awesome 'Enrertainment centers' going for practiceally nothing - saw somewhere where one of these had been repurposed into a sewing center by putting in a drop pull-out table for sm, and the doors close when not in use and are a lovely piece of furniture. I don't need that now, but I have filed the idea in my brain for the future....

I live in a 5th wheel camper & I quilt in the livingroom. My sewing machine stays up in front of my recliner, tools are in a mug to the right of the sewing machine & other tools are hung on S-hook from the curtain rod beside my recliner. My fabric stash is in tubs in my closet, in a shed outside & in rolling bins. All are full at this point in time. Behind my chair is a bookshelf with my sewing box & my quilting library.

Since my home is an open floor plan with 2 bedrooms I use the smaller bedroom as my studio. I removed the double door so I could watch TV, etc, as I sew [actually more listen than look.] Luckily I bought a beautiful Japanese folding screen I found at an estate sale to cover the door area, like only when I have non-quilting guests.

My first house, as tiny cottage really, had a large walk-in closet & a smaller but very tall space. The smaller space housed my sewing machine & the larger, my stash. It was perfect & always tidy behind closed doors

We live in a single wide trailer, myself, DH and children ages 22, 18, & 17 and we all have a lot of stuff. I am like you in that I find myself being so overwhelmed w/the lack of working space that I loose the motivation to do anything. And like you all my stuff is basically boxed up. I have a shelf by my sewing machine where I can put the stuff I need for whatever current project I am working on and that has helped me out a bit.

Really enjoyed the closet tour, might need to use some of her ideas to make things more organized for myself.

Becky, how do you get in the recliner? Is the table your machine is on, on wheels? I have an all-in-one touch screen computer that I want to be able to use while sitting in an easy chair, but I can't find a table that is sturdy enough and movable(kind of like with a swing arm maybe) to hold the computer.

Wow! Fantastic ideas. It is also nice to know that others suffer from small space syndrome. Makes me feel like exploring more ideas to make it easier to sew. Thanks so much for all of the responses! What a great place to hear from everyone.

I have a third of a small walk-in closet for fabric, batting, machine storage and I sew in my living room in front of a lovely large window. I love it, I have a 30x84 electric adjustable height desk and underneath it I've got my bins with my notions. Everything I need is in reach and I'm right in the middle of the action in my crazy home. I sewed for years on a wooden tv tray table with a couple of stacked boxes next to it as my sewing desk. What I have now is the nicest and largest setup I've ever had, I feel so lucky!

We retired about 1 1/2 years ago and decided to become snowbirds and bought a 36' motor home. My sewing machine stays up on the dinette table (27" x 40") when we are stationery. I use both the dinette benches to hold fabric or lay out newly ironed pieces, etc. My 12 by 18 cutting mat is on the end of the table behind the machine so I can stand and cut. The rest of the dinette holds a box with tools and rulers and often fabric. I work on one project at a time and have something tiny to piece for leaders and enders. I store my projects in the heavy plastic zippered bags that you used to get when you bought a set of bed linens, all the fabric for each project in it own bag. As I make a portion of a quilt I will store it in a zip lock and put it away. For example I have 200 finished "H's" but still need 88 more. I have only a few books and use the computer a lot for info and have a three ring binder that i use often for cutting instructions, patterns, notes on completed portions of a quilt, etc. I am resisting buying more fabric. I am making a pad for under the SM with an apron to hold the most often used tools. My bed or my couch back is my design wall. My ironing board is a 9" by 13" old wooden cutting board that has a small towel on it. I have three large baking trays. When making my log cabin I laid out the red strips on one and the cream on another and if need be put them together with the third on top. All tidy. When I was in Arizona I found a lovely group of ladies to quilt with. As my top got bigger I did some of my cutting (borders and binding) and ironing on their bigger tables and boards. I have one cupboard for fabric in the bedroom and two big straw baskets under the bed. I am lucky that my husband realized that it was important for me to be able to quilt and he doesn't mind eating on his lap most of the time. Sometimes I do clear the table so we can eat there. It is doable. I met another lady that has a sewing desk and a tall storage unit in the space in their MH bedroom that initially had two easy chairs. They bought that unit because of that extra 3' for her to sew in.