What Are The Rules For Sewing Room Organizing?

I spent many years battling the problem of sewing room organization. After much effort, I have recently discovered that this isn't a problem for me anymore. I have finally learned how to keep my sewing room neat and well organized. How? By keeping in mind and following just a few simple rules. To keep better order in your room, please read my post, Sewing Room Organizing: The Rules on the Sewing Machines Plus blog.

Scrap Stash Organization

Hi! I am so happy to say that I finally, FINALLY got my large scrap stash organized.

I prefer not to throw anything out that could be put to good use, and I am thankfully blessed with the good sense to be able to imagine a use for any scrap. But having all my many scraps of all different sizes and shapes and contents stuffed into a big "barrel" pop-up hamper was definitely not working for me!

I have worked so hard on getting and keeping my sewing room clean and organized, and this was the last problem to solve. I want to make art quilts to raise money for Alzheimer's (see the link in my sidebar), but I have been avoiding making any scrap projects because the barrel issue made such a mess. First, let me show how it's all better now:

Here is a picture I took the last time I made a scrap project, to show what a ridiculous mess this scrap storage system would make.  Before I moved the scraps up to the barrel, I used a smaller version of this messy system, a scrap bag or basket.  This has always been a mess and much less than optimally organized!

I love keeping my sewing room clean and organized and I am so glad I finally got this big problem solved!

I searched around on the internet for various scrap management ideas and I stopped to read this post at quiltville, Scrap User's Organization System.  When I sew her system, I thought AHA!

So I decided my baby son really didn't need those plastic drawers in his closet, and that I needed them more!

Here's how I sorted my crazy mess of scraps into a workable order:

 
The top drawer holds red, orange, yellow, purple, and black and brown quilter's cotton scraps.  I see now that they are not in that order!  I was working quickly to get this done.  It took me a full day and a half to do this project, by the way.

I have a lot of blue and green cotton scraps, as these are my favorite colors- so they each got a bin.  The pink bin holds both pink scraps, and also pink pieces that are as big as a full yard.  The smaller bins hold small scraps of felt and silk.  I don't actually keep the bins on top of the drawer unit, but rather stash them neatly beneath my sewing table, which is well within arms length.  I can pull them out and put them on top when I need to work with them.

This middle drawer holds "crumbs:"  These are little small scraps to be used for string piecing and such.  The maximum size for the Alzheimer's Art Quilts is, I think, 10 by 12 inches, so I know I will be able to make something using even the smallest crumbs.  These small scraps are confined using a white open bin, so that this drawer can also hold muslin and batting scraps that can be used in making these small quilts or other little scrap projects (such as my favorite scrap project, soft crazy quilted color books for baby)..

This bottom drawer holds scraps from sheets I have already cut, a bag of plaid scraps, and a ziploc with denim and corduroy scraps, as well as some patterned white and light neutral quilter's cottons.  So it is kindof a miscellaneous drawer.

I had a lot of scrap knits, but no good bin to fit them; this reusable bag is the perfect size.  So for now, the knit scraps are in here, stashed under the sewing table next to the bins.

There is a couple more categories of scraps that I save.  One is the "stuffing scraps."  I stuff tiny pieces, even thread chains and serger trimmings, and small batting scraps, etc, into a drawstring garbage bag, which I use for stuffing things like pillows and toys.  Someone recently gave me an antique wardrobe which I am using as my "sewing room closet," although it doesn't fit in the sewing room and is at the end of our hall instead.  That "closet" holds the bag of stuffing scraps, a bag of larger felt scraps, and also some sheets I haven't cut yet, interfacings, and some other things.

I also have two large shoebox bins, one holds apparel fabric scraps for making Barbie doll clothes, and the other has novelty scraps, which I am collecting to make an I-spy/ Alphabet quilt sometime soon.

The last step to make this system workable is one more basket, empty now.  This is also stashed under my sewing table and I can use this to store daily scraps in for quick daily cleaning of my mess, and then sort these away every week or month or whenever.

It can be a good, useful, and productive thing to save and use lots of scraps, but this will work out MUCH better and be easier to do when the stash is workably organized.  Towards that end,  I hope this post is helpful!

Have a great day!
Millie

Easy Quilting Project: Make a Wall Pocket from One Block

I have been working hard on rearranging my sewing room and making a lot of improvements.  I keep sitting down to make a post, looking at my photos, and thinking of another improvement to implement.  I have a lot of new ideas to show you soon.  For now, here is one little project I whipped up for my sewing room.  I used a UFO block that was never going to be a quilt.  I had planned to make a throw pillow cover from this block, but have since decided that we have more than enough throw pillows around here!

I always have a lot of garment pattern pieces tacked on my bulletin board, and this leaves no room for the other stuff I want to tack up.  So I used this orphan quilt block and made a big wall pocket for holding whatever garment pattern pieces I am working with.  I wrote a tutorial, too; here is the link to this easy quilting project.  Please stop by and read my tutorial at AC!

Happy Sewing!

Mess Management and Holiday Idea: Casserole Cozies

Please excuse me ya'll, for taking so long between this post and the last.  I told ya'll that I make a mess, and I had to spend a whole day cleaning my big mess in the sewing room so I could think and sew.  It was pretty ridiculous in there.  The day before that, because of the mess, I spent making other things, not sewing.  Then I started working with the softest yarns I have ever felt and making what I hope will be beautiful, my first scarf, honeycomb knit in two contrasting blues, a gift for my sister.

But I did finally clean the sewing room really well, and now I feel so much better!  I am going to try to implement a new rule with myself, to clean up after I complete each project.  I tend to want to run on to the next project.  But mess upon mess accumulating beneath me contributes to insanity, lol, so I am going to work on cleaning up after myself throughout the day.  We'll see how it goes....

And now for our project.  When I got my copy of One Yard Wonders, this was the first project I saw that I knew I really needed to make.  When I saw it, I immediately thought of last year, Christmas Day.  We were supposed to already be at Grandmother Green's house and I was standing in our kitchen, looking at the hot dish from the oven, and wondering how on earth I was going to get it to Grandma's house.   Mr. Green came in and assisted, and we wrapped it in towels and nested it inside of a collapsible beer cooler.  I was embarrassed when Mr. Green had to walk into the party carrying that!

So I made this:

It will fit several different casserole sizes and shapes, including one considerably larger than the one that is inside in the picture.  My sister told me she does not have one and would love one, so I made this:

I did not then have any more one yard cuts I wanted to use to make more.  I did have a bit of the John Deere fabric remnant I had bought for my other sister, to make the oven mitt I showed you already, and so I used it for the straps and made this:

The last one I cut out, I cut from a partially ruined storebought quilt that came from Mr. Green's grandmother's house.  I also used part of a quilted poly blanket that wouldn't be soft for a bed and that was given to me to reuse.  I thought I wanted to use the quilt sides on the outside, and have the pink stripes showing on the inside bottom:

But now I am thinking I should turn the bottom piece over with the quilt showing on the inside and have the stripes on the table side.   Any opinions??  I want to get more binding before I finish it, but should wait until notions are half off at Hancocks Fabrics, on August 13.

I think this casserole caddy makes a great gift.  I plan to be on the lookout at the thrift store for some glass casserole dishes to give inside of them.  Don't ya'll think that would make an amazing hostess gift, to show up with something delicious for the party, in a pretty and practical package the hostess can keep?  I  thought about making one from holiday fabric for this purpose, but I decided that is too limiting, as I will want to use mine all year.  But there is your perfect present for someone who has everything already and who loves having Holiday "Stuff."  She would probably love to have a Holiday theme cozy for her casserole!

This pattern is great because it fits different sizes and shapes of dishes, and also because of the design of the straps.  Mr. Green pointed out how you can just slide it over your arm to carry, and have your hands free for carrying presents or whatever else.

Seriously, if you sew and you haven't gotten One Yard Wonders yet, buy it now!
I appreciate you ordering at Amazon through my links.

This book has 101 projects (and full sized patterns).  I am thinking I will probably wind up making about 96 of them.  Maybe more.  I assure you you will find many projects in this book that you want to make too.  There are clothes for ladies, babies, and children- even the dog; adorable toys; awesome things to make for the home; a selection of beautiful bags; precious things for pets; and plenty more.  It has been the best book buy I have made for my sewing library.  You should get it now for yours!

Have an amazing day and Happy Sewing!  I will be back here real soon.

Sewing Space Organization: Small Spaces

Sewing Space organization  is something I have struggled with a lot.  It is apparently in my nature to make a big mess.  When I am creating I get into the flow and scraps fly.  But I have worked hard and put a whole lot of time and thought into the organization of my sewing space.  I am incredibly thankful to have a whole room devoted to sewing, and while it definitely gets messy, I can honestly tell you that it is finally well organized.  It is such a joy to always know where to find things and to have them easily at hand.  Tomorrow I am going to show you my room, and explain how this organization came to be and what works for me.  

For years, however, I did not have the luxury of a sewing room, and I had to figure out how to make space for sewing within rooms also used for other purposes.  I think the most important thing that I want to say on this subject, is that if you do not have your own sewing room (yet), then find some place where your sewing machine can live all the time.  I know it's a cliche, but it also is true that out of sight equals out of mind, and if you have to set up your machine before you can sew, you will likely often not bother.  Just find some small space somewhere to dedicate to this purpose and you will find yourself sewing.

My first place for sewing consisted of 2 feet of counter space in a corner of my kitchen with a small cabinet underneath to hold my supplies.  When my stash outgrew the cabinet, I was able to claim part of a drawer in the same room, and then I acquired a large rubbermaid tote that I stored nearby in the laundry room.

My machine has lived in a laundry room, too.  This was actually a nice arrangement and I found myself keeping up with my laundry more than was my usual habit!

I have also shoved my clothes tightly on one side of a closet and tried to carve sewing space from the other.  This didn't work well for me as it was impossible for me to avoid being overwhelmed by a mess.  But as I said, I tend towards messiness; for someone more inclined towards neatness this might work fine.  I once saw a photo of a beautiful space created from a dedicated small closet.  Maybe you could keep most of your clothes in your dresser and store your hanging clothes in the back of a child's closet to have a whole closet for nothing but sewing.  That would be a luxury!

 I once lived in such a small house that the only space I could find was behind the couch, which I pushed forward.  I made enough room for a small sewing table and a couple of bins, and while my room looked cramped and not chic, this worked well enough.

And then I moved again, and I was gifted a desk.  It has six drawers which can hold a lot of notions and a backboard with shelves which was made by some person, and not bought in a store.  There are two long shelves and then the top shelf has a lip going all around, which keeps things secure.  This arrangement held all of my supplies in my bedroom in a beautiful way.  Except for the fabric; I folded small pieces and stored them in an underbed box, and kept yardage neatly pressed on hangers in the closet.  This was my favorite arrangement until I was blessed with an extra room.  This shelving unit could be easily made by anyone who knows how to work a hammer and nails.  You will see it tomorrow.

Other options available are wardrobe armoires, entertainment centers, computer desks (my favorite for my machine; the keyboard tray holds pins and scissors right where you need them), even toyboxes.  A china cabinet or hutch could hold a lot of fabric.  How often do you use your china anyway?  Couldn't you just stash it in a box?

I have seen a crafter claim space in a hallway, with a bookshelf and desk.  My friend had a large family and small house.  But she had a huge dining room table and her machine had its place at the end.  All of her supplies were kept at hand in a set of plastic drawers on wheels.  This was kept out, with the machine, almost all of the time.  For Thanksgiving or company, she would wheel everything into her closet out of sight.

And then there are wonderful cabinets made just for this purpose.  I looked over at Amazon to see what I could recommend, but to be honest, I saw a nicer one that will be a better price on sale starting July 8 in the Hancock flyer.  It's not online yet, or I would give you the link.  What I did see at Amazon are these plans for building one yourself.

There were several things that helped me when I was cramped in small spaces.  The first I have already mentioned, clear plastic bins.  I don't like to buy new plastic, so I acquired these mostly from thrift stores, and freecycle.org.  While clear bins are helpful in letting you see what's inside, I found these worked better when I labeled each box.  Gallon Ziploc bags are wonderful for storing pattern pieces and fabric.  When I am planning a quilt, I often group fabrics for the project together in a ziploc.  This helps me remember I have plans for this fabric so I don't grab it for something else when inspiration strikes.  I also group like things together in smaller ziploc bags in my sewing toolbox.  A tackle box works great for storing and organizing your tools, too, by the way.

I have even used cereal boxes for grouping and stashing.  Just cut off the top and cover the box (you could use wrapping or construction paper, or fabric)- these are nice for storing your ziplocs!  Now I use a thick binder with sheet protectors to store patchwork and small unfinished objects neatly on a shelf.

Baby food jars work great for buttons and pins, beads, or other small notions. You can also make pincushions from these, which are as cute as they are useful; here is one link.

Another thing that is helpful is to also claim wall space.  A bulletin board can hold pattern pieces, design sketches, or inspirational photos.  Or what I prefer is a piece of flannel tacked to the wall.  The flannel will hold quilt blocks magically so you won't have to use pins.  You could get a thread rack that hangs on the wall, and/or hang nails or hooks for storing your ruler, rotary cutter, and scissors.  A piece of pegboard and hooks could be painted to match your decor.

There is an advantage in not being cloistered away.  Having to share space for your sewing means you will work within view of your family and home.  This is really helpful if you have children to watch!  It also helps partners to not feel abandoned for crafts!

Be creative and resourceful and you could transform any bit of space into your own sewing haven.

I want to encourage ya'll to comment if you can add anything on this subject.  Please tell us about your small sewing space and what you have found helpful in organizing it.