Whether your sewing space is an entire suite or a tiny corner, these hacks canĀ help you make the most of it.
Cutting Tables
Glue a measuring tape to the edge of your cutting table – this is mine, and I use this all the time! I just hot glued it right on.
via Shanty to Chic
Don’t have room for a big cutting table? What about a Murphy style one that folds up onto the wall?
Or maybe just a drop down cutting table.
Fabric Storage Ideas
Stumped with fabric storage? Here are a few unconventional ideas.
File Your Fabric
Fabric StoredĀ on the Wall
Use Pants Hangers
Hide Your Scrap Fabric
I’ve gotten a new desk chair, but I still manage scraps this way.Ā
Ironing and Pressing Hacks
Add some storage to your ironing board like I did.
via Like a Saturday
Or keep your iron right by your machine like this.
Pegboard Belongs in the Sewing Room
Pegboard is easy to paint and can be used in many different ways in the sewing room.
via Sew Caroline
Painted a bright color it’s decorative and functional.
If you can’t do a big board, a small framed one works just as well.
So Do Magnets
Use a magnet board and metal containers to store buttons, snaps and other small notions.
via All People Quilt
Add magnet board to a door with fabric over it for pretty storage.
Magnet strips are also good to hold bobbins.
Or use kitchen knife holders to hold scissors and tins like I do in my studio.
Keep Your Thread Untangled
Golf tees can be used toĀ keep same colored bobbins and thread together.
via Grey Luster Girl
Or make a framed thread rack.
via Yellow Spool
Embroidery hoops also lend themselves to thread storage.
Or use a scroll saw and really personalize your thread rack, like mine.
And Your Scissors Handy
A mug tree can be a great way to store scissors.
via Design Sponge
Or hang them on the wall – they can be functional art.
Store Things Where You Can See Them
This is why pegboard and magnet boards are so handy.
I use curtain wire and clips to store my buttons on the wall for easy browsing.
And a corkboard showcases my zippers.
Always Have a Place for Trash
via Tried and True
Hope you are inspired by some of these!
Anna Robertson
Great ideas
Susan August
Love the ideas just wish my room was bigger than 9×10 with giant widows!!
Samina
There are some great ideas here. I’ve got to get a pegboard & get organized with it.
Alice
Thanks for putting some great ideas together. Love the small ironing table next to the machine.
Vanessa
This could not be more perfectly timed! Thanks for all the great ideas and for including my trash can!
Denise Penn
I cut 15″ off a tape measure and adhered it to my sewing table, much as you did on your cutting table. That way if I am working and I need to get a quick measurement or need to check the accuracy of something I don’t even have to reach for anything! (The rest of the measuring tape ended up in a couple of scrap book pages and cards!)
Jazz Caldwell
I am going to inlay a meter stick into the top on one side of my cutting table – always wanted that!
Susan August
I used an old huge cutting board to cover my sewing table.
Karen
Awesome ideas??
C.S. Weaver
Super! Pinned quite a few of those so I won’t forget them. Can do the hanging files of fabric in my plastic portable file that now houses a lot of JUNK! And I love the seat cushion of scraps. BRILLIANT!
Jo
Love so many of these! My daughter has just started sewing some & I can’t wait to share these with her!
melanie
Some really cute designs. I made a little ironing table out of a wooden folding TV tray. I use it all the time. I put a layer of the stuff I use to make pot holders. Can’t remember what its called. I want a Murphy table.. or a bigger craft room. Or both! I love storing my supplies where I can see them. For me out of site is out of mind. But I have to say that thread should be stored in a cool dark place. Thread does have a shelf life. It loses it’s strength as it gets old. Light especially sunlight ages it faster. This is even more so with embroidery thread. It will break while embroidering .
I saw on another blog quite sometime ago to put little pony tail holders on bobbins. I find them at WalMart they call them hair elastics. They are really cheap. They pretty much are perfect to cover a bobbin. I put my bobbins in bobbin box but still loose threads would be everywhere. My apologies for not remembering where I saw that.
Mary
I had no idea thread has a shelf life! I guess you learn something new every day. š
Pamela
Especially cotton thread! And elastic also has a shelf life…
Martha Roloson
When making the little ironing table you should use cotton batting. The polyester has a tendency to melt. When I make mine I’m going to put a thick layer of cotton batting then a layer cotton fabric.
DaVerne
Yes, I was going to say the same thing. I keep mine in plastic lock organizers from Walmart, made by Sterlie. They stack together and each level comes with dividers. So pinks, reds, orange in one section, and so on. Plus you can see through the plastic so very easy to grab the correct one. I also store my serger cone thread in these, notions, etc. A great find! would show a photo but that doesn’t seem to be an option.
linda
Another cool idea for buttons, put in a jar, and hang them on the pegboard with a clamp and a hang it on the peg hook
Deb
I’ve been sewing for decades and had sewing rooms in multiple houses as I’ve moved around the world. This webpage has several great ideas for storing sewing items. REALLY GREAT IDEAS! These are some of the best ideas to solve problematic storage issues I’ve seen. They work in a large, lavish room or a small corner. Thanks for sharing!
rebecca
Great ideas for a small space. I just need to get started on creating mine.
Donna Kelly
Loved the golf tees! I was looking at Lowe’s for something to use but like this better!
Cristal
These are excellent ideas! I’ve got to try some of them since my stuff is so cluttered.
Janet
I loved the hanging file fabric storage.
Denise
this is so wonderful! I am just learning to sew and at the age 59 going to be a bit overwhelming, I love the ideas you guys are showing and the pics are awesome too. I have a bedroom that I call the craft room. wanting to sew will be a dream come true. I don’t know how to open pinterest for directions though. ugh.. I can pin, send, like etc., just don’t know how to get those ideas. darn it. no pun intended! hehe sewing term? (darn) tried mellysews pinterest also. well thank you all so very much I will keep looking at pictures and try to get the hang of it and learn to sew!
Tammy
to open pinterest just click on the word “view” or “Read” the word should be somewhere in the right hand corner
Penny Dudley
Denise, you are never too old to feel young again. I am 71 and taught myself to sew when I was in my 60’s. I used old jeans that people no longer wanted. I cut and ripped them into shapes and sewed…figuring if I messed up I was not out a lot of material supply money. Those jean scrap items grew as my skills grew. I still LOVE turning old jeans into coats that I fray and personalize for family and friends. Learning how to read and understand patterns still gives me problems so most of what I make are my own designs. My whole attitude is that if I made a mistake it is a new design element and I meant it that way LOL. I do not know what area of the world you live in but I would be glad to share anything I know. I would attach a picture of some of the coats I make to give you ideas but I do not know how to do this. YOU have picked a GREAT website to follow. I absolutely LOVE Melly Sews as she explains in the way that is understandable to us who have not sewed all our lives. Her you tube videos have helped me tremendously. I am also new to technology so the computer can baffle me at times but like I started this post….YOU are NEVER too OLD to FEEL YOUNG AGAIN. Mellly keeps me thinking young and her energy helps me pull through the projects that I try. Don’t give up Denise.
louie
I had a kitchen knife block & I turned it on its side..did a few adjustments and now have a handy ruler block with slots sitting on my cutting table
Shirley
For thread storage I use a jewelry bag (similar to a pocket bag for shoes) it is clear, has some zippers, pockets on both sides, that i can hang anywhere. The larger pockets are best, i can store 2 spools in each pocket, frontand back. With the zippers, i can fold for travel or to store anywhere. Works great for me, hanging behind my door. Purchased mine at TJ Max. Also when my machine started vibrating, i tried a mouse pad, it worked ok, then i found just a rubber mat, thin and it elimates some of the movement, or double layers of shelf liners.
Nancy
Thanks for introducing me back to sewing.
My girlfriend wants to get me back to crafts shows.
Now thanks to you have the ideas that are different and fresh to start with.
Peg
I made the pegboard for my thread holder but when I remove one cone several others fall off. I made the posts longer for the cones and even angled the board to no avail. Can you help?
Janet
Such Amazing ideas loads that I could not have even dreamt of thank you for sharing
Liz
I keep all my Tictac boxes. They’re perfect for stashing pins, buttons, needles, you can store rolls of lace or ribbon inside them to dispense from the top, and they look nice standing together on a shelf.
Ponygirl
I repurpose gum and grated cheese containers by punching two holes on the back side and zip tie them to my framed pegboard. Downsized recently from a craft studio to a corner of the family room. Your ideas were so helpful.
Mea Cadwell
I purchased two inexpensive 5-shelf metal units and they’ve helped a ton in my tiny sewing room.
One shelf has a wooden spice rack(I found at a garage sale eons ago) which I laid on it’s back on a shelf – it holds my ironing stuff. Beside that is a lidless quilted fabric cube I made to size to hold my tailor’s ham and log and wooden clappers. Other shelves have matching quilted fabric cubes, these ones with lids, to hold other things, like fabric charms, bias tape, zippers, etc. Hanging on the back is my extra cutting mats. Hanging on the sides are my mini-iron, all my rulers, and a matching quilted bag to hold my cone thread.
The other shelving unit holds fabric cubes, that match the ones on the first shelving unit, but these ones have pull-string tops and they hold all my fabrics. The different colored tops denote the different types of fabrics. On one side of the unit hangs my old ironing board (sans broken legs) that I covered with batting and cloth as though I’d be ironing on it but I used it as a pegboard instead – it holds a ton of stuff. On the other side of the unit are hangers to hang what I’m working on as well as a write-on/wipe-off board for measurements and a small bag to hold more odds and ends.
Jean
I use empty peanut butter jars with lids to store buttons, notions, bits of lace etc. They can be stored on their sides in a drawer, or upright on a dresser surface. They are small enough to sort things by colour, and clear for seeing exactly what’s in them.
Donna
thanks for all the information some of which I use already enjoy your business
margaret
THANK YOU SO MUCH! me and my friend do a tun of sewing, and these are all really helpful! especially the fabric storage tips!