My sewing area can get messy from time to time …. I’ve shown you the photos! I do, however, have some easy tips to keep my sewing tools organized and close at hand. I thought I’d share some of these tips to help you organize your sewing area.
First, I like to keep my cutting table area free of clutter. Nothing is more frustrating than getting ready to cut out a quilt …. and not being able to find the ruler you want or the space to cut your fabric! To solve that problem, I bought a metal pegboard that was made for a garage and hung it on my wall.
This keeps my rulers hanging to the left of my cutting surface. I can just pick the ruler I want! Before I had a place to hang them, I would just put them down anywhere on the cutting mat. They would either get in my way, or I would bury them in fabric and not be able to find them!
I also keep a wire basket next to my mat to the right to place all the extra strips left over from cutting. Before I did that, scrap fabric used to pile up on my cutting mat and get in the way. Let me tell you, that was not good. When the scraps take over your cutting mat, it leaves no room to cut out a new project!
By the look of the basket ….. it’s time to store or use some scraps!
Next, I occasionally need marking pens or pencils, my klutz glove and other tools while cutting. I re-purposed an old sewing machine drawer and placed it at the top of my cutting area above my mat. Now things are easy to reach when I need it!
Once again, it keeps things corralled so they don’t “disappear”!
On the other end of my cutting table, I have my scissors, rotary cutter and some other small tools I use hanging on an old coffee mug tree.
It’s fun to find things around the house that you can put to good use in your sewing area instead of throwing them out.
Have you ever struggled with where to put a pattern while your sewing? I like to keep block patterns and instructions I’ve written close by while I am sewing, but I never knew where to put it so it doesn’t get in the way. At a garage sale, I found an old wooden clipboard and problem solved!
If you have a wall space next to your sewing machine to hang the clipboard on …. even better! I don’t so I just prop my clipboard onto a wooden box I have next to my machine.
Speaking of wooden boxes ….. besides holding my curious studio cat …. I use these to store the tools I need while I’m at my machine. Machine needles, pincushion of pins (to hide from a prying cat), wooden pressing tool and machine cleaning tools. It keeps them close at hand but they’re not scattered across my table to get in the way of my piecing. This is a great storage solution if you do not have a sewing cabinet with storage. I don’t because I use an old dining room table for my machine.
So, that’s a few of my tips on taming my sewing area. Do you have some to share? Put some of your ideas in a comment and be entered into a drawing for my book, Blooming Patchwork!
The drawing will be on Monday, September 17th…. so leave your comments and tips below and good luck! Ooops! Today is 9/23 and I missed my deadline to choose the winner. Congrats, Eugenia! You’ve won my book!
Happy Quilting!
Deanne
Your tips are really great, I’ll use them. I use clips (large black ones in office supplies) to hold my blocks as I make them. The clips are then put on a hook attached to the wall. I can always find the BOM blocks as I go.
I like that idea! Great tip!
Thanks for the tips! I always try to put things back where they belong when I’m done using them or done sewing for the day. I try to keep it organized so the next time I go to sew, I don’t have to clean up a mess first. I can just start sewing, cutting, etc.
That’s the best way to keep track of things … put them back after use. Something my hubby is still trying to figure out.
I keep my rulers in a standing file holder starting with smallest in front up to larger/longer toward the back. They are not next to the cutting table simply because of space limitations but it keeps them organized and easily accessible. I have a small rubbermaid box next to my machine that holds all the small things you need often. Screwdrivers for machine, seam ripper, stylus, chapstick, extra machine needles, small scissors, Roxanne’s glue, etc. Keeps them all handy and with the lid on easy to transport for classes and workshops. The credenza behind my sewing chair has 8 drawers which keeps all kinds of things within reach when needed. I try to keeps things in their place but occasionally I have to do a clean up day. I like knowing where things are when I need them.
I also use mugs for pens and tools. I often use mugs that I got as gifts. Lots of Santa and snowmen mugs decorate my sewing room.
I keep two baskets on my cutting table, one is for “pet bed stuffing” (my throw-away) and the other is for scraps, whenever they get full….the one gets dumped into a larger bag for the pet shelter and my scrap bin, I stop and cut it into strips and shapes and I have labeled plastic bins for those. Always fun to read everyone’s ideas and use whatever appeals to you at the time.
I use a heavy napkin holder to keep my smaller rulers in place and easy to reach.
Love your tips. I have to spend some time at the end of every project decluttering. My cutting table becomes covered with stuff. I would like to get some drawers to put under my sewing machine table, to keep the clutter off that table, too. I’m always tinkering with better storage and organization.
An old makeup holder holds my fabric covered tin for pens, pencils, and markers together with Quick & Easy Block Tool Booklet, rotary cutters, gloves, gauge, and 4 1/2 square ruler. I have begun cutting square scraps in various sizes and hold them together with a binder clip then hang them on a push pin in edge of mini shelf on my craft table. I do have drawers close by to store threads, ribbons wound around a clothes peg and stored in a jar, and smaller items not in immediate use. I love your ideas too and will be implementing some asap.