Just put the sewing machine on the table, and the sewing room is ready. We don’t want it to be that boring after all. When furnishing a sewing room, we can give free rein to our creativity. Sometimes we also need unusual solutions regarding storage space and order. The seven best tips and ideas are here with us.
This Furniture Is Part of the Basic Equipment
Anyone who sets up a sewing room can only do with certain furniture and accessories. These include a good sewing table with a cutting mat, a comfortable chair, bright lamps, a place for the patterns, and a shelf or cabinet with plenty of storage space. A dressmaker’s dummy is also recommended if the sewing projects get a bit more complicated and garments accumulate.
Optionally, and if there is enough space, you can add a cutting table or another multifunctional work surface that can be used both for cutting and, with an ironing board, for ironing. After all, accommodating an ironing board can be challenging in a sewing room. Of course, such a cutting table also offers even more opportunities to neatly store fabrics, buttons, thread spools, scissors, and other tools, for example, in a drawer. Get inspired by our seven tips and ideas when decorating your sewing room.
Tip 1: Invest in a sturdy sewing table
The most important item in your sewing room is, of course, your sewing machine. But right after that comes the sewing table. The more stable the table is, the less it will take on the movements and vibrations of the sewing machine, thus making less noise and letting you work better. Ensure the table fits you ergonomically so you don’t have to reach up or down. It should be long enough to accommodate your sewing machine, fabric, and sewing basket and also wide enough to still have a table lamp behind the sewing machine. Legroom between the table legs is also an important consideration; after all, both the sewing machine pedal and your feet and legs need room under the table.
Place the sewing table frontally in front of a window or with the short side across the window to get as much daylight as possible. When sewing, avoid sitting with your back to the window and making your work more difficult by casting your own shadow. Also, place a multi-outlet under the table or attach it to a table leg to plug in your sewing machine and one or two desk lamps.
Tip 2: Set up the sewing room ergonomically
Since once you sit in front of the sewing machine, you will most likely be sitting in front of it for a while, you should do so on a good chair. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just suitable for the height and build – when you sit, your knees should form an angle of more than 90 degrees and should not be affected by the seat cushion; otherwise, your legs could fall asleep while sitting. The thighs should rest horizontally on the chair without you finding the padding hard and uncomfortable. A wedge cushion on the seat and in front of the backrest can help maintain an upright posture in front of the sewing machine and not fall into the hunched-over slouching position for hours.
Tip 3: Ensure a lot of light in the sewing room.
Lighting is a fundamental issue when setting up your sewing room. Plenty of daylight is the first choice, but you can also cleverly help it along. Make sure there’s at least one portable lamp on the sewing table or mounted on the wall next to it – we recommend a daylight lamp with a magnifying glass – and attach a bright but warm ceiling light. Preferably a lamp with spotlights illuminating the sewing room in the important corners. Add a daylight lamp directly above the sewing machine if you want to play it safe. Then there’s nothing standing in the way of a sewn-through night.
Tip 4: Storage space for fabric is a must when setting up your sewing room.
If you love to sew, seeing a beautiful piece of fabric can rarely stop you from buying it. But there is only sometimes a suitable sewing project for every fabric right away. So where to put the fabrics that made your heart beat faster? Clearly: sorted by color, either in a closet or on a shelf. If you have little space or, for example, a sewing corner in the living room, you can also use this shelf to visually separate the hobby area from the rest of the room. Suitable, for example, is the model Kallax from Ikea. Available in different heights, with different numbers of shelves, and in several colors. The highlight of the Kallax shelf? If you want to use only some of the compartments as fabric storage space, you can also buy from Ikea drawer inserts with doors, boxes, and boxes designed for the Kallax system, which close the compartments dust-free—the perfect place to store the UFOs – the unfinished objects.
Tip 5: Store utensils in style.
Thread in at least ten colors, ribbons, buttons in all sizes and shapes, zippers, various scissors, seam separators, rivet setters, needles, sewing machine spares, patterns, several types of rulers, chalk, pens, and magazines: How you stow the paraphernalia depends on what type of organizer you are and how many floors or wall space you have in your sewing room. Do you like jars, boxes, or boxes and still have a shelf free? Then, when you set up the sewing room, you can store the utensils separated by type in decorative vintage tins, for example. Before the next sewing project, you collect all the important utensils in a small basket and place it within easy reach on the sewing table.
Do you want to have everything easily and quickly at hand? Then hang up the utensils. On a magnetic bar or wall grid, you can attach other containers. If this is too chaotic, you can sort the countless parts into a so-called small parts magazine. When setting up your sewing room, you can either hang this near the sewing table or a little further away to keep it moving regularly.
Tip 6: Every sewing room should be individually designed
The top priority is feeling comfortable in your sewing room and working in peace! Be creative in solving space problems, and be bold and put things to a different purpose than their original one. Who says that only spices should go in the bins of a spice rack, not needles or buttons? Or in a cutlery box, only forks and knives and not also scissors and rulers? If you have a sewing table with a drawer, such a box is an ideal storage.
Use side panels on shelves and cabinets to hang things if you need more space in your sewing room. A rolling or serving cart can be a multifunctional solution in small spaces. In it, you store important utensils and have them quickly at hand – this allows you to compensate for the lack of space on the sewing table.
The sewing room is set up so far, and you wonder: where only with the patterns? A picture frame without glass, which you can hang next to the workstation or place on the sewing table, is a decorative option to prevent patterns and slips of paper from getting lost. Of course, a classic cork wall is also possible, on which you pin the pattern. For example, if you don’t have space for this because the remaining free wall space is too small, you can cut a piece of cork to size and stick it directly to the wall with a strong adhesive.
Tip 7: Perfection is in the details
Once you have the sewing room set up, you can move on to the perfecting finishing touches that will make the sewing nook not only pretty but also professionally functional:
- A small non-slip mat under the sewing machine pedal and the cutting mat on the sewing or cutting table will save your nerves.
- Attach a tape measure or part of a folding rule to the long edge of the cutting table – this is easily done with double-sided tape, saving you the everyday struggle of cutting fabrics.
- Do you feel like collecting all the pins flying around one by one after several hours at the sewing machine towards the end of the day? No? Then you need a magnetic tray. You take it in your hand and then move it around the desk and the floor around the sewing machine. The pins simply stick to the magnetic tray. Handy, right?
- While setting up your sewing room, think of a spot for plants. After all, they are not only useful helpers in regulating the humidity, but the greenery of the leaves also supports human creativity and the ability to concentrate.
- Where there’s a lot of fabric and dust – a plight many sewing fans know all too well. Regular cleaning and airing do help in the fight against nasty dust particles. Still, if you also install an air filter when setting up your sewing room, you’ll do yourself and your respiratory system a real favor.
