Small Space Sewing Room Makeover {Storage Tips for Fabric, Thread & Patterns}

entropy /ˈɛntrəpi

Lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder

These racks are from Ikea and were pretty inexpensive. They are fabulously functional and don’t look awful. I love that they are quite high, taking advantage of that vertical space. I’ve filled them with fabric and that makes me happy!

Mummy Ask helped with my destash and finding a solution to fabric storage. We measured each piece of fabric, folded & rolled it, secured each end of the bundle with a rubber band and labelled it. Be sure to measure the boxes before this step, that way you can ensure things will fit. I used manilla labels from Officeworks. I put the length of the fabric and details about it (washed, vintage with some fade/holes be careful, used in x project) on to the label and then tied the label to one of the rubber bands. I divided the fabric into boxes marked with a category such as ‘wovens under 1m’, ‘lingerie fabrics’, ‘home dec’, ‘silk’, ‘sweater knits’.

This is the best solution I’ve found if you store longer lengths of fabric, the boxes keep out dust, light and cats (mostly naughty, naughty fabric pulling out for a little nap cats). The fact that they are bundled stops you from accidentally unfolding half the box while you rummage plus the label lets you know if you have enough for your project. I found having a variety of rubber band sizes means you can secure the bundles without creating undue creases. What I’ve found is that this method of storage keeps things crease free apart from the ones (centre) you want.

My scissor rack is just some Allen keys pushed through holes in the racks – ghetto storage at it’s finest! I wrapped some gaffa tape around the back side of the Allen key to stop it falling out, gravity does the rest. I love that when I’m sewing at my table, I can just reach back and grab, there are always scissors at the ready!

I bought this Arrow cupboard on eBay for a fraction of the cost of many similar tables. It folds up to a neat boxy cupboard the size of a large bedside table. The part of the table that holds the sewing machine has an airlift system, so when it’s closed, the machine is inside. I leave it open most of the time but it’s great to be able up fold it up if we need a space or to access the wardrobe it sits in front of. I keep my black, white and navy thread on it’s inbuilt thread board, easy access and all. I store good but used needles in tiny snap locks, I cut a little hole in the corner so I can hang those on the thread board too. I keep a little tub of my most used items and ongoing projects on the bench. That little bin is my thread bin and it really helps to keep things tidy.

I keep all my notions and bits and bobs on the back of the door, I wrote a post about it if you are interested. My only exception is the box of elastics and stretch laces I keep on the floor in front of the file cabinet. My aims with storage are; cat proofing and then tidiness. The cats leave these alone (I think the cards of elastic are uncomfy) and I ran out of space. I get a certain kind of joy out of the pretty rainbow and I’ve accepted they my house will never look like a Vogue Living shoot!

I also took the shade off the light in the ceiling. Bare bulbs are in right? I replaced the normal globe with a daylight globe from Daylight Man. If you’re wondering why, it’s that daylight globe show the spectrum of light you would expect from, well, daylight. It makes sewing such a pleasure when you can see! Black on black is so much easier. If you’ve thread matched in store, then come home to find it’s more off than you thought, you’ll appreciate what proper lighting can do! I came up with this solution after finding out the price of an OTT light. This is my dupe. It’s certainly enough in my small room, if you are blessed with more space, try both and overhead light and task lamp with this globe.

I may have mentioned that my cats see my sewing room as a personal soft things and fabric sleepy spot (not to mention what they do with a thread filled bobbin to play with), to help guide them away from precious stash but keep them involved in my sewing space, I put a cat bed underneath my sewing table. They always curl up (or create havoc) with me while I sew and so far they are happy with their hidden nap spot.

Well, this has been a longer than expected post! I am ever so well versed in making a small space work for multiple uses, in fact I had a series planned but I couldn’t wait to share. I feel like I read the whole Internet looking for ways to make my space work. Something that I found particularly hard to find was ways to store longer (3m plus) lengths of fabric. Pinterest tantalized me with things my space would never allow. This is what worked for me. No matter what size space you have, I hope that you are fired up and ready to sort it out! If you love your sewing space or you want to change it, I’d love to see pics!  Everyone has that voyeuristic enjoyment about seeing into someone else’s home. We want to be thrilled by the perfection, sit in approval or disapproval of decor and we are vindicated when we see mess, filth or disarray. So, when I tell you I want to see your space, I totally mean it! I have a more detailed post coming tomorrow (it’s right here if you’d like to see it) about the things make my sewing easier and it covers pattern storage etc. Stay tuned in for that, it will be fun!