I agree - I have a Horn.

Yes, I'd be interested! Especially in the drop serger table. Great idea. I'll pm you with my email. Thanks! kim

Hey as I was looking for the manufacturer of the drop mechanism for the sewing machine I came on this website. Its pretty good!
http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_g/g-412.html

I just use my old dining room table and bought another one for my cutting table.

What is your Horn sewing cabinet model? Price and location?M Grubbs

Haircut 2What Horn cabinet do you have and price?
I have the 6 drawer one and would like another one. MGrubbs

If your hubby is a carpenter, just order a cabinet insert for your specific model machine and let your hubby create the rest. The cut-out that goes around your free arm is the key ... plus the size of the hole the machine sits in.

I have the 'old' style Horn 1040 and my designer 1 barely fits, but it does fit.

I have a Horn too and I love it!! I have a nice sewing surface and I can adjust my machine height to three different levels!

Hi all, I see many of you love your Horn cabinets. I have had 2. The first for many years and was very happy with it. Then I began quilting and updated my machine to a Janome Memory Craft 6500. It was too long for the original cut out so--- I updated my cabinet as well. It has many positive features as already listed, BUT I found I could not sit directly in front of the needle when ditch stitching, and would end up with a sore back from being slightly twisted when I was needing accurate stitching. I still use this cabinet for my smaller Brother but bought a Janome sewing table purpose built with a cut out for the larger machine. Granted it needs another table behind and to the left when quilting large quilts, and it doesn't fold as some of the others do, but it is very sturdy, no shakes or rattles and plenty of leg space and your choice of sitting position in front of the machine. For me, at my age, comfort and good posture is VERY important. One negative is that the machine is in place and cannot be hidden as with a Horn so I suppose a separate sewing room, away from children and guests may be needed ( I use a spare bedroom). One of my tall friends also had an issue with her Horn cabinet as she had had knee replacements and couldn't comfortably sit with knees bent at right angles for too long.She tends to sew with her legs in a more stretched out position and therefore went back to the dining table to quilt. My advice is to sit at any table you are thinking of buying, note leg and body position in relation to machine needle etc. I do like the Horn cabinet for all the neat storage it provides but for me it is uncomfortable to use for extended periods. Good luck with your shopping.

My "sewing table" is a 59" wide "Mission" computer desk. We left off the keyboard shelf and sawed off approximately 2 inches from the legs to make the desk 27 inches high. It has two drawers on the right side and a storage place with door on the left. It has shelves and dividers on the top where I put my manuals, patterns, accessories, etc. I use an 18 by 24" Sew Steady table with my machine, put my bobbin holders and sewing tools under it (where I can see and select easily). My thread racks sit on top of the shelved area, and there is space on the wall in front of my machine to tape up a pattern guide (where a monitor would have been). This is the best sewing arrangement I've ever had. The only drawback is that this "table" is heavy so I can't move it around and it was a pain to move when I changed sewing rooms. I bought it second hand for $75 but a new one like is probably about $120, last time I saw one.

I too have a Horn sewing cabinet with the above features and dearly love it. My only caution is that if you buy a cabinet check first to see how your machine fits before buying a custom made acyrlic insert. I bought one for my machine that fit fine no problem; then I bought a new machine with a longer throat and when I would sew I would be at an uncomfortable position because of the needle being farther to the left. Had another custom insert made and now I can't lower my machine unless I take the insert out and move my machine so it will clear the opening. But hey I never close mine up anyway so it's not a problem. :D

I just put my sewing room together last year. The room has a lot of uses so my space is somewhat limited. I chose to buy a desk from IKEA with a pull-out on the side. It is perfect for piecing and pressing. If I'm quilting, I put an ironing board at the front of the desk at the same height to increase the holding space for the quilt. So far it has worked pretty well for me although I'd love to have one of the tables that lets me lower the machine to the same level. Someday, maybe. :lol: Right now, I'm more concerned with figuring out what new machine to buy. This little Brother has served me well, but I'm ready to move on. This photo was taken right after the setup - there is a LOT MORE stuff in there now.

I have this one: http://www.hornofamerica.com/product...s&productID=92

I bought it 10 years ago, its been wonderful. I have 5 different machines that can all use the same cabinet; just by changing out
the plexiglass insert that goes around the machine's free arm.
You can see mine in my webshots album.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...45965719kFeKjn

Sharon W.

I got one of those long white tables from Sams Warehouse, it works great! My husband made some lifters so it would be higher up and I love it.

I found this Correll Bi-Level Computer table at a local thrift store for $39. They retail for as high as $450. :shock: They are extremely heavy and solid, so it's working just fine for my Bernina sewing machine. I love how the drop down allows my machine to be table height.

You can order them to have the drop down on the left, center or right side if you pay new price, which I've seen as low as $240. Mine is 30 x 60. They do come in a variety of sizes, too. I'm quoting the price for my size.

http://www.nextag.com/Correll-60-Bi-...81/prices-html

That's really nice!

I agree with Kwendt. Love what she has done.

Start with your space and what you can do with it. Dream as big as you can.

Then add your budget.

Then see if you know of someone who could build you exactly what you want if you prefer that route.

I have a Horn cabinet. I love it with my Pfaff. I put down my machine when company comes.

I have an IKEA table adjusted higher for my embroidery machine.

I have a folding Lifetime 18" x 24" adjustabale table for my FW.

Am still trying to find a better place to put my HQ when I get a bigger table ... or will I need a new home.

ali

Tracey's Tables. Very reasonable, quality made quilting/ sewing furniture. They are located in Wisconsin and will deliver anywhere and set things up for you. They have a website...just search for Tracey's Tables. The gentleman that makes the furniture has a wife, Tracey, who is a quilter. When he delivered my things he only charged $100 for bringing and setup. Many of my friends have purchased items from him.

what an adorable sewing room. so bright and inviting!

You can call Tracey I'm sure she will tell you prices of the tables or e-mail her.

http://www.hornofamerica.com/product...s&productID=85

Havn't really thought on a price yet or how hard shipping would be.

kwendt: thank you for taking the time to be so specific. When we get back home from this trip, it's finally going to be time to set up the condo so it will be more useful for both sewing and us!

I've been sewing in the back of our dining room under a window and need to be more focused about it. I was looking thru a magazine about using small spaces and got a revelation: we have these heavy nice, but wide black shelves for display and I've taken some of it over for sewing overflow. I now want to get rid of that piece and replace it with regular width bookcases which will do a couple of things. We can still display DH's radio collection, some of my quilting books and stuff and I think we'll get back a couple of inches of dining room space!

And also thanks to the rest of you for specific websites, I've marked those for future use once I've done the preliminary work, I can't wait to get home and get cracking. It's nice to have something fun to look forward to and think about as the miles roll by.

I must make a confession. We finally found my "dream" machine a 1952 Singer 15-91 in an antique store to add to my "stable". I tried to get the guy to sell me just the machine and not the little cabinet it was in, but no go. So now we have to figure out how to get it from NH to Ga in our VW bus and camp at the same time. Life is never dull, ya know :lol:
My next message is to Billy to see if the cabinet can be taken apart and put back together.

The ideas and suggestions by Kwendt couln't have come at a more helpful time. We are rebuilding our house after the blast and fire and are starting from scratch. I will have a large bonus room for my quilting and sewing and have been searching for ideas to make it as user frienly as possible. There were lots of good ideas here. Now for the graph paper. We can even tell our architect about plug and light placement.

So sorry for your lose. I hope your rebuilding goes well. It's a shame this tragedy happened, but you will get a "Do Over"

Yes it can. I've taken mine apart before. BUT I know you know that, since you've already done it! (I'm over on the VSMS thread too!). I think it's sooo neat what you've done.

Enjoy the process of setting up your sewing space. The idea of gaining space, even 3", is important. Functionality is key. In my room, since wall space was at a premium... I changed the depth of my cabinets. I had been using regular Staples white laminiate tall bookcases to store my folded fabrics on. 2 stacks of rectangularly folded fabric per shelf. The long side of the fabric stacks faced out. Those bookcases were 28" wide each. With my new configuration, I wanted to add a fourth bookcase to display things on, but didn't have room. So what I did, was bought the white estate pantries from Home Depot.

Um, for anyone buying those pantries, here's a note: the more expensive version have the nicer door, but also the INSIDE of the cabinet and the shelves are laminated too. The fabric doesn't snag on particle board. But the cheaper, plain/flat front white pantries - have rougher interiors and will snag your fabrics. NOT good.

Okay... back to what I did. Those pantries are 16" deep, not 12" deep like the laminate bookcases were. I rotated my fabric stacks, so that the shorter side of each stack faced 'out'. I still get 2 stacks of fabric per shelf, but the pantries are only 24" wide.

Here's another tip: Think about any DOORS you have in the room, and how much outswing space they take up! Some of you may wonder why I opted for 24" wide pantries. Pantries have double doors, so the 24" wide pantry door 'swing out' is only about 12" per door. A 48" cabinet, with double doors, means each door swings out taking up 24" of space just to open the cabinet! My walking areas in my sewing room are between 38" and 42". When my body is in the isle, I still want to be able to open and close my doors, and walk around them some.

So try looking at things from different angles when fitting up a sewing room. Especially on paper, it's easy to ask 'what if I did this?'...

The difference: 3 bookcases at 28" each = 84" versus 3 pantries at 24" each = 72". Finding that extra 12" enabled me to fit in a corner shelving unit to display my dolls and things. The bottom self is curtained off and used for storage. (nice and neat).

As you sew, pay attention to how you like to move around, where you like to 'be' when doing tasks like ironing, cutting, pressing, crafting, etc. Some people like to stand as they sew, some prefer to sit. Some like the window in front of them so they can stare out at the scenery, while others want the daylight to come from 'behind' them. Make your space a fun, relaxing, interesting place for YOU. Then you'll spend much time there and enjoy it.

Oh! beautiful! If you can plan it out before they're done furbing up the inside... try to get them to put at least TWO different electrical circuits in your room, and more if possible. Irons take a LOT of electrical current to run, especially the new 1700 or 1900 watt ones. So plan on more circuits and keep your irons on one, and everything else on the other. Another idea that a friend of mine did... and wish I had!... is to put some of the electrical plugs up about 3' off the floor (counter level), instead of always at the floor level. That takes planning, but then you've got places to plug in your TV, DVD, radio, iron, mini iron, craft gadgets, etc. Leaving the machines, floor lights, etc. to be plugged in below. She used kitchen laminiate white counter tops around one side, sitting on kitchen cabinets for storage. Her room is over the 3 car garage, so it's something like 30' by 20' huge! Sounds like you'll have something similar! Whoo hoo! I'm jealous! What fun and I hope you plan to have places to have over your quilting buddies. I'm sorry about the blast and fire, of course... but I'm just sayin... !

The sewing center that I bought my cabinet from ordered the acyrlic insert straight from Horn to match my sewing machine - a Viking Sapphire. I also have the huge cutting mat, but haven't used it yet.

I use my old computer table

For those DIYers out there, here are the drawings and dims for the sewing table that my dad made for me. The lift for the serger was sourced from Rockler (about $160). There is a drop leaf on the back to handle quilts when I am doing FMQ - it was attached with piano hinge. It is very heavy but you can either put locking casters on it, or those workman slide feet. The drop leaf could double as a cutting board if you put a mat on it.