More sewing room changes

My sewing area is still a work in progress. . .  I just keep changing things around.  Of course, with the arrival of my new vintage Singer, things had to get rejiggered.  The old table got exiled to the basement, and the sewing machine is on the floor.  The “new” Singer and it’s table are now where the old table was.  I’m also hoping to fix up the treadle table and put a new top on it so that the newer Kenmore can sit there.  (Yes, I’ll still have to use it if I want any decorative stitches.)

For some reason, I decided that my fabric storage needed another overhaul.  Maybe it’s because I didn’t have any extra space for new fabric (and there is ALWAYS new fabric), and the space in the bookshelf was not being well-utilized.  I got some ideas from other blogs and refolded much of the fabric.  The scraps were left unchanged, and the larger pieces that weren’t big enough for the new system were also unchanged.

Here’s what I did.  I cut up an old cardboard box into two different sizes, I think it was 7×13 and 10×13, to correspond with the shelf sizes.

Then I sewed up a little cover out of lining and put that around the cardboard.

Then the fabric got folded around the cardboard, kind of like a bolt of fabric in the store.

While I was doing this, I was also measuring and cataloging all of the fabric.  I cut some notecards in half and then on one side included the following info:

1. Type of fabric
2. Yardage
3. Width
4. Washing instructions
5. Why (half the time I buy fabric and then forget why I got it!!)

One the other side, I pinned a small square of the fabric so that I would have a visual representation.  Everything got divided into different categories (cottons, home dec, knit, fleece, etc) and the cards got put into a box.  So far, it’s working great!  No more taking out a piece of fabric for a project and realizing, “shoot, I don’t have enough!”

A before and after pic for you.

You’ll notice there are still a few bins on the bottom, these pieces just weren’t big enough to wrap around the boards.

The last change, so far, was made to the cutting table.  I decided that the table needed to be taller.  This decision came after I ended up with sore shoulders from being hunched over cutting out a pattern.  The original height wasn’t bad, it was about the same height as a regular kitchen counter.  But, I still ended up sore.  Alas, I didn’t have any wood to put under the sawhorses.  What to do?  What to do?  Enter, 8 quart-sized paint cans.  They raised the table just the right amount.  My 2.5 year old was quite helpful . . . I’d lift the table and he’d crawl under and stuff the cans under the legs.  We made a good team!  Anyway, now the table is at a great height.  No more sore shoulders here.  It actually might be a wee bit to high, since it’s a little tricky to reach the tools on the wall, but I’m going to go ahead and attribute that to my giant preggo belly!

Okay, so I lied, there were TWO more changes.  I added another layer of carpeting, so I now have two layers of the super, ultra soft and thick carpet remnants.  SOOOO nice to stand on that!  I also scored a nice office chair at a second hand store for $10.  Wow, what a difference that makes!  It’s so nice to be able to swivel around rather than having to move my old chair in and out.

All in all, the changes are great.  I’m sure there will be more as the space evolves!