Lori S

I wish I had put doors on all of my fabric storage units and had more shelves , so when I pull out a piece I am not disrupting such a high stack.

kyquiltlover1942

I agree with everyone else. I could not live without my pegboard. Actually I wish it was a little bigger. I have felt for my design wall, but I think flannel works better.

Scraplady

Okay, this is a lot more than ONE thing, but I'm planning a new sewing room, which I hope to move into this spring, so I have a list!

I gotta have shelving for my stash that is spaced closer together, even if we have to build it. The shelves I use now are spaced far enough apart for the file crates that hold my fabric, but the full crates are getting too heavy for me to lift. And the piece I want that is ALWAYS at the bottom of the bin. So my new system will have shelves only about 8" apart and the fabric is coming out of the crates.

Pegboard, pegboard, pegboard, can't live without it.

My new space will definitely have a design wall, but you already have that in the works. I agree with kyquiltlover above, I like cotton flannel better than felt or fleece. Cotton fabric seems to stick to it better.

I will have a pressing station that stays in place at all times.

If you have the room, a large cutting table that you can access from at least 3 sides is wonderful. (Your pressing station could even be at one end of this table.) My cutting table is made from two cheap microwave carts from Kmart with a huge old desktop mounted across the tops. The carts are both on wheels so the whole thing rolls anywhere I need to put it. We spaced the carts back to back and far enough apart to mount a set of Closetmaid style wire drawers between them. These are great because I can access the drawers from both sides of the table. I mounted peg board on the sides of both the carts. The desk top measures 36 X 60" --big enough to baste large quilts.

One last thing, a deep cup-holder that clamps to the table so I can't knock my coffee off in the floor anymore, or all over my project! Enjoy your new workspace!

nancy14418

I have one of those towers of multi-colored drawers. It's in storage right now (I miss it!) but I think it has 6 or 7 drawers, none deeper than 3 inches or so. You can get them at JoAnn's or even Lowes/Home Depot. This thing is so handy, each drawer has a specific function, cutting items, pins & needles etc in the next one, Marking tools including small rulers etc. all the way down to the bottom drawer that holds my basting spray and tools for making my quilt sandwich. It's a keeper! The only issue is I have to turn and open a drawer, rather than just reaching up to a peg board.

cricket_iscute

I gave a huge amount of thought to what I needed my sewing room to do when I was setting it up years ago, and from that, how it should function. I knew I would be watching, or at least listening to, television while sewing, so the first decision was where the audio/visual equipment, cords, etc., would go. I recessed them into the wall, taking space from the adjoining workshop.

I then had my husband build 24 inch wide plywood shelves, big enough for laundry baskets full of fabric, along one wall, the back wall, and put slide-in-the tracks doors on them. This protects the fabric inside from light and dust. Next to them, a column of built in drawers with space on the bottom for a laundry basket of fabric and space on top for bolts. The drawers hold notions and supplies which I don't need frequently. Next to that, a set of metal shelves replaces what used to be a solid cabinet, but which was too hard to move to get to the electrical box. Now anyone can just reach in and flip a breaker. When you think of your room, think of expansion of fabric, supplies, machines, etc. Look five or ten years down the road.

Along the perpendicular wall, he built a surround for the utility meters (this room is in the basement) with pegs for clothing thread storage to be kept away from light and dust. There is also an enclosed cabinet holding clothing fabric and threads. Plus that, there is a double set of bookshelves. The bookshelves have a dowel and holder at the top and I put small finished quilts on it for display. One thing I would change is to have space under the bookshelves big enough to hold any sewing machine to be stored. On top of the bookshelves, there is room for batting, machines, a window, and more. Next to the bookshelves are pantry cabinets mounted on the wall and under them are wire storage shelves on which thread lives in closed containers. I caution you not to get the Snap containers; I did and I'm sorry as they are much too flimsy. What I wish I had bought, and plan to, is these containers from Joann's.
http://www.joann.com/iris-medium-sta...ers/xprd78990/

Continuing around the room, the far wall is both a hallway for getting to the woodshop and a design wall made of rigid insulaltion and standing upright in front of the stairs. That insulation also keeps the room warmer.

The fourth wall is doors to the woodshop, a cedar closet, audio/video equipment, and three way mirrors, plus the door to the bathroom.

All of this was built from the concrete up. Also important to note is that I designed all my sewing furniture ON WHEELS because I knew the room, at 9 x 15 reet, was too small and I would have to change the configuration of the furniture and equipment for different types of sewing.

Another thing to take into account is the electricity in that room. You need adequate outlets on enough circuits. I have four circuits in my room, one for just lights, and one is a dedicated 20 amp circuit for a large steam generator, a regular iron, or a heater. I access it on only one place, by design. It has one outlet with two plugs. Lighting is so important that this is where I put my money during construction.

Flooring is important. Mine is light colored heavy-duty industrial linoleum squares which have performed magnificently day in and day out. Get the best floor you can from the start, and make sure you can roll your chair around on it - no carpet.

I would say the most important thing you can do is plan. After that, I'd say paint those ugly bookcases and pick a color to paint the room (mine is cream, which is great because it is a neutral backdrop for any quilts). Good lighting is essential. I've tried most of the lighting out there for my sewing room and what works best is fluorescent lights with Ott bulbs. Ott Bults are full spectrum lighting. I also have Ott lights over several key machines and work areas. I do have a couple incandescent fixtures, which I do use, and have halogen track lights, which aren't as useful. Get good overhead full spectrum lighting every few feet if you want to match colors and see well. One needs more light for sewing than almost any other activity, including reading. The right lighting is essential.

By the way, my walls are drywall and they work just fine. The ceiling is ceiling tiles on a grid, necessary to get to wiring.

If I ever move, I want a much bigger room with a fireplace and windows with views and want industrial hang-down-from-the-ceiling electrical connections. Google Caryl Bryant Fallon's studio and see what mean. I also want a separate room, lined with shelves, for fabric storage. It would have a work/cutting table in the middle under OTT lighting. My fabric collection has grown a great deal and my space hasn't!

I think you need finished plywood shelves along at least one wall to hold your plastic storage bins, which then become drawers and more useful.

I don't recommend a big board for your design wall, and definitely not felt. The board will get in the way. However, if you put up a big dowel on curtain rod holders at the top of one wall - possibly in front of the shelves - you can hang either plain flannel, vinyl-backed flannel as in picnic tablecloths, or rigid insulation covered with flannel or cotton batting or even plain. If you wanted to, you could run cords through it so you can roll it up when not needed.

I designed an area about 18 inches wide to the right of my main machine in my main sewing table. I put a tray from a tool kit with small baskets in it so I can grab what I need quickly. It holds awls, some needles, feet I often use, pencils, measuring tools, magnifying glass, and a whole lot more. I could take it to another machine if needed. Other needed stuff is in drawers in the main table.

Leave a space for guests under good lighting.

I highly recommend the book, Sewing Dream Spaces :

http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Sewing-S...g+dream+spaces

Think about where to put a laptop.

It pays to put time into planning. Except for what I've mentioned, I would do the room again just like I've described. It has served me well for over 20 years and still meets my changing needs.

Cricket

TexasSunshine

I love my pegboard. It is a 4X8 sheet, painted and mounted on the wall above my sewing table. I keep the things I use most like scissors, rotary cutters, etc on the lower part so I can reach them easily. I have all kinds of things hanging on it like some larger rulers, blades for cutters, embrodiery hoops, tape measures,masking tape and patterns.

damaquilts

What a great idea..

katesnanna

That is a brilliant idea. I have a space in my room where that would fit perfectly. Thank you for sharing.

katesnanna

Lighting, lighting,lighting. I let my electrician talk me into less but am now regretting it. Thank goodness for lamps and strip lighting. Get one eye fixed tomorrow so will be able to drive by Saturday. I'm going shopping.

MaryKatherine

Though there are windows at ceiling height, I wish I wasn't in the basement.
MaryKatherine