Get Organized - Day 4 - The Sewing Area

Welcome to Day 4 of Get Organized!

We're focusing on -

 The Sewing Area

Before I lose you in essentially what is a tour of my sewing area, here's my biggest tip, the moral of the story..

Try your best to keep everything in a certain place so you can find it, reachable so you don't have to get up, and...I know you'll hate me for this....

But KEEP YOUR SEWING AREA PICKED UP! The better you are at keeping it organized, the more inspired and creative you can allow yourself to be.  You won't be overwhelmed by heaps of stuff you have to move first.

Here's my keys to setting up your sewing area (and any crafting area).

Location

Do you have an area you can set up just for sewing?  I know some people can take over their dining area, and others have entire craft rooms...and if that's you, I am beyond jealous.My sewing area is a portion of our master bedroom. The layout of the room gives me a special corner that no one but me really uses.  If you set up in a common location and have kids, you really have to watch out about pins and scissors. With kids, it's best if you can set up in an area you can close a door or put up a gate.  Even better be a "scissor nazi" - label your scissors to what use they have (like "FABRIC ONLY") and lock them away if you can.

Furniture

I have used a small desk and a "sewing table" for my machine in the past.  The sewing table had a fold out portion, that made it so you couldn't use the table without it open. Lame.  I wrote about my new sewing desk the other day, and I LOVE it. It's the same size as the sewing table was, but more stable.  You don't want something that wobbles when you use your machine.

Supplies

For me, what I keep on hand is whatever would make me stop sewing if I had to go looking for it.  At the same time, you don't want to take up your whole sewing surface.

After trying a few different things, and acquiring the brand new sewing table, I reorganized everything. I've used tabletop cups to hold scissors, a sewing box, various baskets, and really, the best thing ever is having drawers again.

This is the front drawer of my desk.  This is the easiest place to reach when I sew.  I can block it with my chair to keep kiddos out, so I keep my sharp stuff in there, as well as anything else I don't want them getting into.  It's also the go to drawer, the place I put my most used things.

Let's start from right to left.

Markers -
On the far right, a huge stack of a dozen permanent markers.  I use these for pattern making on swedish tracing paper (see this post), as well as doodling and writing on mailing envelopes.  Totally don't need the kids getting into those.

Pattern Wheel -
Next over.  My fabric pattern transfer wheel, my vanishing fabric marker, a pencil, and a seam ripper.

Sharp Things - 
My rotary cutter, pinking shears, white scissors for crafts, pink scissors for anything, and my fabulous dress shears (see this post) for ONLY fabric.  Hence the "scissor nazi" coming out.

Measuring Tapes -
Plural - there's 2 measuring tapes.  But they always seem to wander off, so I try to make sure I stock the drawer up with cheap ones.

Quilting/Clear Rulers -
On top of the scissors are my two clear rulers, a smaller wider one and a longer skinnier one.  

Extras -
There's also a couple extra rotary blades.

Pincushion -
Last but not least, my favorite magnetic pincushion (see this post).  This arrangment is awesome, since I can pull the drawer open and sweep the pins towards the pincushion without having to move anything.  Sweet.

Next on the lineup - things I like easy access to but I don't want in a drawer.  

DESKTOP

I still keep things on the desktop, even with all the drawers.  I used to keep a lot of stuff in my sewing basket.  Well, I got rid of it - I have no sewing basket.  And I'm proud of it!  I never took it anywhere, so it seemed sort of silly to me to keep it's contents separated from everything else.  Plus the sewing basket opened on top, and I couldn't stack anything on it.  Wasted table space.

I now use this tiny drawer set I used previously to store makeup in the bathroom. 

My embroidery floss case is to the right of it, a small pincushion on top, and something else fabulous too...The prettiest little set of washi tape in the prettiest box the world has ever seen (from this Etsy shop).  I. Love. It.  I don't even use it that often...but it is just so pretty to look at, it deserves a place on the top of the table. I think of it as useful decor.

This is the inside of one of the drawers.  A case of bobbins fits in the drawer perfectly.  I used a smaller box to put in my extra/alternate sewing machine needles of various types.  I also store my accessory feet in this drawer that don't fit in my machine's accessory case.  Here you can see my walking foot.

And in the large drawer of my table, I keep my favorite sewing books, and magazines.  Mostly because my bookcases are all overflowing, and partially because I do like to have them close to my sewing supplies so I can refer to them.

All my other pseudo-necessities go into the other drawers - snap press, safety eyes, velcro, elastic, fabric adhesive, etc.  The stuff I don't pull out every time I sew.

Wait, did I forget to mention the thread? It's the right hand top drawer, right above the books.

And the fabric?  Various locations, but what I use most often goes in the shelf above the sewing desk.

I've enjoying putting together this series for you - I hope you were able to bring some order to your chaos like I did.  If you need any ideas/suggestions for storage, email me - I'd love to talk more organization in the future.

As always, I appreciate your visit, and I love comments!