Deb takes us on a tour of her amazing new sewing space, which has been thoughtfully planned and stylishly executed (note the Amy Butler curtains and cheery orange walls). Even her fabric stash is displayed beautifully! This is truly the sewing studio of my dreams!
Take it away, Deb:
First, tip: Figure out what you have!
My biggest problem was that I had stash all over the place, folded but not by type (quilting, bottom-weight, home-dec, solid, print, fleece, etc... OR by quantity--fat quarter, yardage, half yard, scrap), so it was like buying more canned tomatoes without checking the pantry! I organized my stash and that helped a LOT, I did mine by prints and solids, then fleece and flannel b/c that's how I sew, by type of fabric. Others do it differently (quilters might want by color or by amts), no matter how, getting the stash organized is KEY to inspiration and efficiency of purchasing for projects.
Then I organized my closet or secondary storage area. Some stash is in there (the solids and flannel/fleece/minky stuff) as well as my interfacings, batting and patterns.
Organizing patterns is key too. When I want to make something, I can now search by the type of thing I want to make (I do mostly garments so I have mine by boy/girl/adult and size) and I keep e-books in a binder inside plastic protectors that load vertically--they make heavy duty ones that hold up to 70 sheets EACH and you can get a pack of 25 at staples for about $5).
I also put a shoe organizer on the back of the door for things like stapler, adhesives, fasteners (velcro and such) and tools I don't use often, but need to find easily when I need them.
Then of course I did the sewing space itself. I decided to do a U shape so I can move around with the process, from pressing to sewing to serging to coverstitch (if needed) to pressing again, without a lot of up and down. I do have to cut in a separate space, but I plan to cut three projects at a time so I can keep cutting table closed up to save space.
Finally, I created two drawer systems. One directly to the left of where I'll sit, one directly behind me. The one behind me has things I need for projects, but not "as I sew" so-to-speak. The one to the left has tools and space I need as I'm working, including a big drawer where I'll dump scraps for sorting later.
So basically, my "tip" is to figure out what you have, and organize according to what or how you sew.
I also have (under my stash in the shelf unit) boxes that contain things like trims/ribbons, elastic--grouped within the box by width or type inside plastic sandwich bags, also labeled, so I can grab the right width as I bundle a project, without rummaging around through a heaping pile of elastic, etc...
I also recently added one of these to the wall above my cutting area: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50163264
The pockets hold regular patterns easily, but you can put oversized ones (european) folded in half. I have one row for those I need to trace, and the other one is for those I need to cut. It gives me a bird's eye view of what I have coming up or what I want to do, keeps me motivated and inspired.
I am one of those people who gets overwhelmed very easily by all I want to do. I make plans on top of my plans and my ambition writes checks my time limitations can't cash! Anything I can do to increase efficiency and to keep myself energized and motivated, especially to trace and cut (ugh, my least fave) I will do! Organizing like this has helped a LOT!
