How to organize a sewing room
10-16-2011, 06:33 AM
#41
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Washington state
Posts: 820
I do several things. One..my fabric is folded as if on a short bolt and then placed on it's side in a clear tub of like-colored fabric so that I can see all of the material in that tub with one glance. I have tubs for my reds, greens, browns, blues and so on. When I start a project, I pull all of the small bolts out and place them in a small tub so that I have everything together. (I usually have about 4 or 5 projects going at the same time so I stack my project tubs on top of each other.)
I also have my fat quarters and anything less than 1 yard folded on a small size bolt board. (My husband cuts the bolt boards for me out of poster board.) I have about 3 long but not tall tubs with my fat quarter tubs with all of my fat quarters. I do try to have the organized by color but I have several different colors in the same tub.
I have my rulers/ scissors and cutters hanging on a peg board. That seems to help me keep them organized.
I hope this helps.
I also have my fat quarters and anything less than 1 yard folded on a small size bolt board. (My husband cuts the bolt boards for me out of poster board.) I have about 3 long but not tall tubs with my fat quarter tubs with all of my fat quarters. I do try to have the organized by color but I have several different colors in the same tub.
I have my rulers/ scissors and cutters hanging on a peg board. That seems to help me keep them organized.
I hope this helps.
10-16-2011, 06:33 AM
#42
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Southwest Kansas
Posts: 4,820
In spite of the fact that it's organized it can still be messy. I'll get it cleaned back up and take some pictures.
:lol: :lol:
Originally Posted by Mad Mimm
I would LOVE to see some photos of your sewing room; it sounds so organized and lovely!!!
:-D
Originally Posted by Scissor Queen
I have a decent size sewing room. I have four different dressers in here. One of them has four drawers and holds all of the fat quarters orgainized by color. Another dresser is also my cutting table and has small tools in the top shallow drawer and the two big drawers have half yards and yards. I have another long, low dresser that has fabric collections (charm packs + the jelly roll and yardage that go together) and odds and ends. The fourth dresser is also my ironing center and its drawers have ufos in the two middle big drawers, thread and ribbon spools in the two shallow bottom drawers and things like an applique sheet, basting threads, etc in the top three shallow drawers.
Two of the dressers came from old motels, one I found on Craigslist and one I bought from Wal-Mart. Guess which one is going to fall apart and be replaced first?
I have two bookcases with nothing but fabric on the shelves. Some of it is wound on the coroplast boards and some is folded so three stacks fit across each shelf. The stacks are by color since they're all the same length. The fabric on the boards is just stuck on the shelves for now. At some point I'll take them down and sort them out by length of the cut.
I have a stack of three of the Art Bin cubes and enough of the Art Bins to fill them. Those hold my WIP that I'm actually working on and I have them in the cubes from first priority to last priority at the bottom. They might be a little on the pricy side but they were definitely worth the investment.
Two of the dressers came from old motels, one I found on Craigslist and one I bought from Wal-Mart. Guess which one is going to fall apart and be replaced first?
I have two bookcases with nothing but fabric on the shelves. Some of it is wound on the coroplast boards and some is folded so three stacks fit across each shelf. The stacks are by color since they're all the same length. The fabric on the boards is just stuck on the shelves for now. At some point I'll take them down and sort them out by length of the cut.
I have a stack of three of the Art Bin cubes and enough of the Art Bins to fill them. Those hold my WIP that I'm actually working on and I have them in the cubes from first priority to last priority at the bottom. They might be a little on the pricy side but they were definitely worth the investment.
10-16-2011, 07:01 AM
#43
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 1,537
Just went thru tubs of fab for next project. Who else has been going thru the tubs to make such a mess? Realise I must take time to reoganize. I have to use tubs and use my 12*6 ruler to fold yardage and almost yardage. Then able to store by color families or other subsorts such as holiday. Hoping to make a move this year and then I'll get a sewing room and leave this *sewing "house" to someone else.
*defn of sewing house: Anything relating to sewing or quilting stored in almost every room of the house. Some rooms will have more sewing/quilting items than others
*defn of sewing house: Anything relating to sewing or quilting stored in almost every room of the house. Some rooms will have more sewing/quilting items than others
10-16-2011, 07:03 AM
#44
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Cheyenne, Wy.
Posts: 200
FYI: Last yr right after Halloween Walmart had their Halloween colored tub on sale for almost nothing. I really don't care what color the tubs, are so I really stocked up. They were charging $2-$7. $7 being the 3 drawer rolling tubs. Also, the plastic zippered bags that sheets, blankets etc come in work well.
10-16-2011, 07:06 AM
#46
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Prescott Valley, AZ
Posts: 1,329
Originally Posted by Linda Renfro
I need some help....do you organize your sewing fabric by project, by color, large verses small pieces of fabric, do you put them them in clear plastic containers, stack fabric just on shelves, use totes, put fat quarters by themselves or mix with like colors? My sewing room needs some major help in getting organized and I thought you folks might have some neat ideas so I didn't have to do the trial and error method. :)
10-16-2011, 07:51 AM
#47
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Douglas County, GA
Posts: 1,722
Mine is not very organized. Any of it that is organized is by project or what fabrics go well together. I don't have a big stash, so when it gets a little messy, it usually stays messy until I need to search through it. Meanwhile, I'm familiar with what fabrics I have and where they are on my shelves.
10-16-2011, 08:14 AM
#48
Power Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: PA
Posts: 10,704
This is a very individual thing. What works best for you?
One thing that I do is If I buy fabric for a particular project I keep it all together with a copy of the pattern. I tie the bundle together with bias tape and keep it right on my stash shelves so I know where it is. I put all the bundles on the same shelf. I bundle lots of baby material this way and I can pull a project to do without searching for material in different spots.
All my other stash material is sorted by color.
Have fun puting things where you want them. I also like to keep all my tools out in the open where I can see them or I will have to so a search and rescue to find them. I only have one drawer in my sewing room and I never open it!
And a sewing room doesn't stay organized for very long. It has a way of re-arranging itself overnight. It is an ongong process! Have fun :thumbup:
One thing that I do is If I buy fabric for a particular project I keep it all together with a copy of the pattern. I tie the bundle together with bias tape and keep it right on my stash shelves so I know where it is. I put all the bundles on the same shelf. I bundle lots of baby material this way and I can pull a project to do without searching for material in different spots.
All my other stash material is sorted by color.
Have fun puting things where you want them. I also like to keep all my tools out in the open where I can see them or I will have to so a search and rescue to find them. I only have one drawer in my sewing room and I never open it!
And a sewing room doesn't stay organized for very long. It has a way of re-arranging itself overnight. It is an ongong process! Have fun :thumbup:
10-16-2011, 09:08 AM
#49
Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: SW Virginia
Posts: 3
I finally, after all the years (40, started sewing in 7th grade) of having my sewing/craft stuff crammed into a corner of a room, have a dedicated sewing room. My daughter just bought her first house (she's 23 and we're so proud of her) so with the help of my husband and teenage son moved all my "stuff" from the basement to her room. I quickly realized that the entertainment center wasn't going to come close to holding all the fabric I had stored in totes so just had to buy a bookcase at the local antique/consignment store. Spent 2 nights organizing by color and type of fabric, all the small stuff is in small totes, books, magazines and bulky/large pieces in the entertainment center which is in the closet, I now have a basket for scraps and will get a couple for fat quarters and remnants. As a special treat I bought a small flat screen TV and mounted it on the wall. I can't resist peeking in whenever I walk by the room and quietly giggle in delight at my beautiful sewing room. Hopefully I can get more accomplished now that I can find stuff.
10-16-2011, 09:20 AM
#50
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 374
Remember the movie "Batteries Not Included"? We all need those little guys. Tho I remember in mid'70s when my older sister visited and rearranged my kitchen cabinets one night when I wasn't there. It didn't cause a problem with us as it was back the way it belonged within an hour after she left. lol Just taught me that my priorities don't work for others.
I have a quilting house like Julie in NM. I was converting my 1 car garage into a sewing oasis when I broke my back so it's been slow going. It's cooling off here in FL so I'm ready to get going again. It will be a 15x22' room. There are a few corners in the bedrooms that will finally see the light of day. I'm also about ready to compose a song called "An Ode to the Dining Room Table".
I have a quilting house like Julie in NM. I was converting my 1 car garage into a sewing oasis when I broke my back so it's been slow going. It's cooling off here in FL so I'm ready to get going again. It will be a 15x22' room. There are a few corners in the bedrooms that will finally see the light of day. I'm also about ready to compose a song called "An Ode to the Dining Room Table".
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