Organizing the Sewing Studio: starting with a plan

Hello Friends and Welcome!

This week, I focused once again on making progress towards the completion of one of my seasonal sewing goals, but, oddly, without any actual sewing.

As you may remember from my year in review post, I have several projects and goals that I aspire to work on throughout this winter. I've been quite successful on some but have barely started on others. Last week's quilting progress on Simply Woven really inspired me to carry on with some of those goals again this week!

But after all the quilting last week, I noticed my machine wasn't feeling so well - something not quite right with the tension - and took it to a local technician to be serviced. The unfortunate part of this is that most of my winter projects include some degree of machine work and I won't be able to progress on those until my machine has been returned.

Instead, I'll be focusing my efforts this week on my one organizational goal, cleaning up the sewing studio!

Revisiting the Goal

A neat and organized sewing space offers such a better creative experience! Being able to find tools and supplies when they're needed makes the process go quickly and smoothly. Having the space to lay out projects both to work on them and to simply look at them and think is such an important step. An organized studio space just makes making so much easier!

But none of that is actually the reason for organizing the studio right now.

As I mentioned back when I originally set the goal, I’m hoping to begin renovations on the sewing studio this spring. And renovating will require that the sewing room be empty, all my supplies, materials, and tools packed away somewhere else in the house.

While that sounds a little sad to say, I know that remaking the room into a proper studio, one with real storage and work tables, will ultimately make the space more functional and more enjoyable to be in!

The Studio Now

My studio is currently a spectacular mess.

I have three tables, one each for cutting, sewing, and storage, as well as a small, four-drawer storage unit. Because the majority of my storage space is just a table top, I find that most of my tools and supplies have no real home location, in other words, there’s nowhere they go back to when I’m done using them. This results in things piling up in places they really don’t belong and getting in the way of working on other projects.

As I’ve already said, I’m hoping to remedy this during renovations, but for now, here’s how the room stands:

As you can see in the diagram, I actually work between two rooms; the storage and sewing tables are in the studio proper, while the cutting table has replaced what should be the dining table. Although it’s in the neighbouring room, the spaces are only separated by an open doorway, so it’s quite easy to move between the two rooms while working on projects.

Also shown in the diagram, the second half of the sewing studio is currently occupied by furniture and outdoor clothes that were displaced by the living room renovation. That is currently being wrapped up, so those things won't be there much longer.

Taking a closer look at each table:

The cutting table is an easy and convenient place to put things down when I bring them into the house, so it tends to accumulate a wide variety of things, some related to sewing and some not. I also use this table for computer work, so I have a lot of things related to that stored in this area as well. Things that land on this table are often used frequently and it doesn’t seem necessary to put them away or are used so infrequently that I forget they’re there.

The sewing table is my neatest surface. Usually my sewing machine would be here, but as it’s currently away being serviced, the only thing here is the Simply Woven quilt with a few travel sized cutting mats hidden underneath. Behind this table is where some of my larger items are currently stored, including my ironing board and quilt frames.

The storage table looks almost as bad as the cutting table, but since it was intended as a place to put stuff down, it’s a little more acceptable. I store fabric, rulers, and other frequently used items on top, with my serger, art supplies, UFOs, and some less frequently used supplies below.

At the end of this table is a stack of storage drawers, the only real storage I have. They mostly hold assorted quilting and sewing books, as well as supplies for book binding, embroidery, and other, more conventional arts like drawing.

It will be interesting to see how these spaces look after I’ve taken some time to organize. As I keep saying, I’m looking forward to having proper storage so the studio won’t get to this point again, but of course, that won’t be for another few months. For now, it's best to start with a plan!

Making a Plan

This is all just a little bit overwhelming, so I think the best way to work through it all is to start with one table, sorting through the stuff that’s there, and move through them one at a time. I have two categories in mind to help with sorting; things that relate to my current and ongoing projects, and things that do not.

For my current projects, I’m working through the five I planned as winter goals; Simply Woven, the 2021 NQM BoM, the Generations Quilt, the MQG Mystery BoM, and a linen shirt. Materials relating to these five projects are the ones I’ll need to keep accessible.

Each of these projects has a designated bag or box that all materials and completed blocks are kept in. This ensures I don’t lose pieces or use them in a different project by mistake. I try to keep patterns and templates in the project bag/box as well.

For the common tools and notions needed to work on these projects, like pins, needles, scissors, and thread, I will be using my quilting bag. This keeps everything accessible for use on any project, including last minute projects that may come up, like mending.

Cutting and pressing supplies, as well as quilting frames are some of the larger items I will need to keep out. I’m not sure exactly where they will go, but they all either break down into pieces or fold so they can be propped in the corner of any room. I expect they might end up in behind the couch in the living room when it gets moved back there.

For objects, tools and materials that fit into the second category - not needed or relating to current projects - I will be packing them away as much as possible into storage containers and finding alternative places throughout the house where they can live until renovations are complete. As an example, my UFO bag, which holds all of my finished but not yet quilted quilt tops, can fit nicely into the bottom of my closet. There looks to be space for some other things here as well!

With a plan in place, I’m getting quite excited to start organizing and cleaning up the sewing studio! I don’t know how long this process will take or how long my enthusiasm will last, but it’s clearly something that needs to be done.

If looking at my mess of a studio this week helped you to realize you have a mess of your own to deal with, know that I am cheering you on! Or if you have an amazing organizational system in your own studio, feel free to share your tips in the comments below. I would love to hear your advice!

I’ll be back next week with an update on my progress. I may surprise all of us and have the studio neatly packed up, or I may only be a small way through. We’ll have to wait and see!

Until Next Time Friends, Stay Organized!

~VA