Nammie to 7

I ruler fold my fabric -- eliminates the need to purchase comic boards which can take up a lot of room on your shelves!

wildyard

My sewing space is small, but packed with fabric and I have many little tricks to make things easier for myself. I use organizational tools and repurpose items to suit my purposes.
I have a desk caddy converted into sewing tool caddy that sits to the right of my machine on my sewing desk. This holds all my scissors, rulers for marking fabrics, a cup for my smaller items, etc. Next to it sits a box of tissues and next to that a square metal basket with scrap paper for notes and math figuring, etc. This basket has a handle that folds down and will hold up the lid of my safety pin box when I need it to stay open during quilting so I can easily drop the pins in as I remove them. Before I figured out using the handle, the lid of the pin tin kept falling shut and slowing me down. LOL Little things make all the difference. My thread holder has a bobbin holder on it for the filled bobbins and my snips are attached to it by a ribbon, but I added a loop of elastic at the end for those times when the ribbon is just a bit too short. And now, when I drop the snips, I just grab the ribbon and tug them back up.
I have a shelf with gallon size plastic bags that hold my scraplets by color. This makes for fast easy access for sorting and making string blocks. Just grab a bag or bags to work with the colors of choice.
My cutting table is the top of a dresser I redid. My rulers are in the narrow top drawer. It sits in front of the window and also serves as my ironing station. On the window ledge I keep extra scissors in a cup; pens and pencils in another cup; a spray bottle on a candle holder for height; a cube of note paper.
All of my fabric is sorted by color, including scraps, except for batiks and novelty, which are sorted by types. I also have bins for precuts.

Sophie2

I recently moved and one thing I wish I had done when packing was list on the outside of the box just what was in it. I labeled everything "sewing room". I had time to sew before my studio was built and could not find my rotary cutter and a few other things. Thank goodness one of my new neighbors is a quilter and had extra supplies I could use. Good luck on your move and enjoy your new room!

QuiltnLady1

Agree Sophie2, label your boxes very well -- I have boxes labeled fabric but not what kind and have had to rummage. Unfortunately, I was pretty ill when we moved so other folks helped me pack, so I have had to deal with things randomly packed. I noticed you don't have a closet -- that has been a savior for me as I had it fitted with drawers and shelves (and rods) that I use for my fat quarters and my rolled precuts. The shelves hold some of my batting (with other pieces of batting in bags on the floor in the linen closet and a storage closet). Since my sewing room will not hold all the fabric of my stash I have plastic bins of fabric in the garage. Most of my fabrics are ruler folded (I have some of the comic book boards, but they don't fit in the shelves my father made). I sort solids and tone on tone by color, then group by holiday, novelty, batik, fairy frost and Laurel Burch. I generally have the solids and batiks in the sewing room and the rest is in bins in the garage.

One thing moving has allowed me to do is better organize my fabric and my tools -- I found most of the tools that I had put in a "safe" place so I had double and triples of some things. I have donated some the church quilting group and the rest I donated to Goodwill. I am also giving the church the larger pieces of fabric that I don't think I will ever use.

lots2do

When we moved, I gave up a folding cutting table, a large quilt ruler rack, and a large task lamp. I don't miss the those things. One thing we did here in Florida was to install wall to wall cabinets in the spare room. We got them from IKEA and picked out white bead board doors. This has really helped with storage. I kept most of my yarn and fabric but purged my kid craft supplies from teaching.

ctrysass2012

Don't take the smallest room for your sewing room. I wish I had taken the larger room when we moved. I can't get my husband to switch rooms now.

mjpEncinitas

I used Creating your perfect quilting space by Hallock to help. She really has the ergonomics down and the book is very helpful for furniture placement. Well worth picking up if you are designing a new studio. I think you can find used copies. Good luck.

clevermom3kids

My suggestion is to put everything on wheels. That way you can easily re-organize down the road as your needs change of if for some reason you need to stash something behind something else and then need to find it again!

SarahBethie

I would employ savvy storage solutions. Consider how the rest of the house is laid out. Bring your aesthetic into the space. I'm not a fan of most sewing furniture. You can get better quality second hand and repaint it to your specifications. Employing zones is a wise choice. Designating a specific area for sewing, quilting, cutting, etc will bring symmetry to the space. Most importantly, consider the necessity of breathing room and your specific creative nuances in turn. If you abhor clutter don't stuff it to the gills. If you're overwhelmed by visual stimuli then tuck the fabric away.

Finally, make it yours. Decorate. Use attractive colors on the wall and decor. Be mindful of your lighting. Extra never hurts. And if you're inclined to be near a window consider the seasonal changes and make adjustments when the weather cools.

If you're in need of ideas check out Where Women Create Magazine.

tessagin

My room is set up so I do have to get up and move. Too much sitting can become a problem. My work stations are at different heights but comfortable. The comic book boards only take up as much space as they do in the package. They aren't that thick. If you use small cubicle spaces then you may consider measuring that space and fold accordingly. the idea of measuring your room and furniture and putting on graph paper is excellent. I have a very lit up room. It sees the morning light most of the day so most of my stash is stored in a huge cabinet my husband made. It's 6'x 3'x 2'. The shelving space is between 13" and 14 1/2" in height. I have easy access to everything and all is marked or visible because of the clear storage containers. When you go to the fabric shop and even WAlmart ask if you can have their leftover empty bolt boards. The less they have to carry back the happier they are. Therefore you can wrap the larger yardage.