Not long ago, I shared a picture on social media that really went crazy. It wasn't of a furniture piece I had thrifted and refinished, or of a DIY room remodel. Nope. It was a picture of my sewing fabric storage.
My sewing space is an evolving process and is always being tweaked to suit me better. Rarely these days do I get much of a chance to sit in my hallowed nook, but on occasion I make time to do what I love. SEW!
THE SETUP
I have moved my sewing desk from one place to another over the years because I needed somewhere well-lit, and easy to access on a whim for a quick repair. My notions and fabrics have been stored at up to 3 different places at the same time and it was driving me crazy to not have it all in one spot.
Then it hit me. Why not make it look funky while functional, and use something most people overlook...office filing cabinets. You know they're all over and people are aching to get rid of them because they are "in the way" or they don't need them anymore. Finding them is half the fun!
After
scoring my desk and curbside chair (my favorite piece of furniture in the whole house next to my
new chair, that is), I went on a hunt for industrial style storage.
My first score came via Craigslist. I love that place. I was expecting our baby and not wanting to send my husband to far away to retrieve something. The gentleman was selling it for $50 - a huge dark gray four-drawer beauty. It was located about a half hour away, and I told the owner if he delivered I would give him full price. It's delivery is the next day...tee hee hee! Never thought someone could be excited about a filing cabinet could you?
STORAGE
You might be wondering how I would take a rusty crusty filing cabinet and use it for fabric? Well...by utilizing hanging file folders as hangers it made for easy access to my stash.
I've organized it by use (apparel, upholstery, home decor, etc.) and I can't tell you how easy this has made my life!
Another sneaky trick is I use the inside of the file folder to store the coordinating scraps of fabric. No more digging around for loose pieces! {enter angels singing}
The second industrial beauty I acquire is this awesome locker that's from by a church puppet ministry to store their puppets. The previous owner had bolted the doors together to create one door, instead of five, and added handles for ease of opening/closing.
The locker is for my notions, so I created cardboard cartons to be like shelves I can slide out and take with me to my desk , or wherever I'm crafting. Finally, I'm storing my assortment of vintage and new buttons in old spice containers from our local bulk food store.
This is my favorite storage piece!
ONE MORE
My third addition was similar to the first filing cabinet, but this one would be for my large yardage and miscellaneous. I dont' feel like I've really maxed out this cabinet yet, but it'll come to me how to make the best use of it. My little baby decided to come early before I could really set it up.
At this point you may be thinking that I'm all organized and ready to craft with my sewing fabric storage. Sadly, however, I still don't have everything in one place...yet. I've still got my yarn, my collection of miscellaneous scraps. They are all color sorted and labeled into plastic bins, but are not in my sewing nook. In addition, all my other utility fabrics and more all in other places for now. One day it will all be in the same place. However, for now I'm quite happy with the start I've made.
How do you organize your craft/sewing room? I'd love to see what you've got.
Craft on people, craft on.
To get these DIY tips & tricks in your inbox, be sure to
sign up for my newsletter. PLUS, you will get your FREE Furniture Buying Checklist and special discount to
my shop. Until next time!
MEWE | PINTEREST | GAB
Also, more fun DIY's like my sewing fabric storage:
My sewing space is an evolving process and is always being tweaked to suit me better. Rarely these days do I get much of a chance to sit in my hallowed nook, but on occasion I make time to do what I love. SEW!
Then it hit me. Why not make it look funky while functional, and use something most people overlook...office filing cabinets. You know they're all over and people are aching to get rid of them because they are "in the way" or they don't need them anymore. Finding them is half the fun!
After scoring my desk and curbside chair (my favorite piece of furniture in the whole house next to my new chair, that is), I went on a hunt for industrial style storage.
My first score came via Craigslist. I love that place. I was expecting our baby and not wanting to send my husband to far away to retrieve something. The gentleman was selling it for $50 - a huge dark gray four-drawer beauty. It was located about a half hour away, and I told the owner if he delivered I would give him full price. It's delivery is the next day...tee hee hee! Never thought someone could be excited about a filing cabinet could you?
I've organized it by use (apparel, upholstery, home decor, etc.) and I can't tell you how easy this has made my life!
Another sneaky trick is I use the inside of the file folder to store the coordinating scraps of fabric. No more digging around for loose pieces! {enter angels singing}
The second industrial beauty I acquire is this awesome locker that's from by a church puppet ministry to store their puppets. The previous owner had bolted the doors together to create one door, instead of five, and added handles for ease of opening/closing.
The locker is for my notions, so I created cardboard cartons to be like shelves I can slide out and take with me to my desk , or wherever I'm crafting. Finally, I'm storing my assortment of vintage and new buttons in old spice containers from our local bulk food store.
This is my favorite storage piece!
At this point you may be thinking that I'm all organized and ready to craft with my sewing fabric storage. Sadly, however, I still don't have everything in one place...yet. I've still got my yarn, my collection of miscellaneous scraps. They are all color sorted and labeled into plastic bins, but are not in my sewing nook. In addition, all my other utility fabrics and more all in other places for now. One day it will all be in the same place. However, for now I'm quite happy with the start I've made.
How do you organize your craft/sewing room? I'd love to see what you've got.
Craft on people, craft on.
To get these DIY tips & tricks in your inbox, be sure to sign up for my newsletter. PLUS, you will get your FREE Furniture Buying Checklist and special discount to my shop. Until next time!
