I dream of having an entire floor in my home dedicated to sewing, but for the time being, my sewing area is my kitchen table and supplies spread throughout the house. I’ve seen tons of different storage solutions advertized at the fabric store, but they can be rather expensive. Everything you need to get organized you can find around the house, at a hardware store, or Goodwill. With a little resourcefulness, you can completely revamp your sewing collection like a pro.
Fabric
Remnants- The fabric stores have it right with this one. Any fabric that is under a yard, but too large to be considered a scrap can be rolled up into a remnant. Use some freezer paper or computer paper and cut into 1 inch thick stripes. Roll up your fabric and wrap with a strip of paper and seal with regular tape. Tape two strips together for thicker fabric. If you want to get really fancy, you can write out fabric details on the remnant strips. This is the fastest way to organize fabric and still have it easy to navigate. I then separate my remnants into bins; one for woven and one for knits, and shove under my bed.
Shelves - I found plain flat wood shelves at Goodwill for $2 and installed them 18inches from the ceiling. I display my favorite fabrics on the shelves so I can quickly get inspired. They are part decoration and storage. I feel the shelves also add the illusion of height to me room, making it appear larger.
Plastic Newspaper Sleeves – keeps your fabric dust free, separated, and easy to find.
Scraps – The clear zipper bags that come with new sheets is perfect for storing scrap fabric. I also use these to hold my batting, stabilizers, and interfacing.
Hangers – Slide a rod on 2 hooks and you have somewhere to hang your fabric. I feel children’s hangers work best as a space saver. I have two large bookcases that I propped a rod in between to hang fabric for current projects.
Thread
Spools –Slide out an unused shelf from a tall bookcase and hammer in some long nails. It makes a great thread organizer. You can lay it flat or screw it into the wall. You can also hang your scissors, rotary cutter, spool caps, and bobbins. If you want to get really fancy, you could wrap the shelf with a cool printed fabric before you hammer in the nails. This also works with plywood or a cork board.
Loose thread – Small children’s fabric hair ties from the dollar store is great for securing loose threads. Just wrap it around the spool or bobbin to prevent pesky tangles.
Trim/Binding/Ribbon
Trim/binding – Fold up trim or binding and secure with the wire ties you get off a loaf of bread. You can then store these in any container. Empty baby wipe containers work well or cookie tins. Even left over take out containers are great.
Ribbon – You can find long plywood rods at Michaels that are perfect for holding spools of thread. Slip the spools on the rod and place the rod on two long nails or hooks. If you don’t want anything in your wall, Command Strips are awesome! You can find them at pretty much any store.
Zippers – Use a tie rack to keep your zipper organized, but still visible.
Notions
Needles – Jewelry boxes are great for keeping needles separated. I also store my extra rotary blades.
Empty Baby Jars – Great for storing snaps, buttons, sequence, beads, and pins. Really anything that is small stores well in baby jars.
Spice Rack – Works just as well as the baby jars, a rotating spice rack will make it so much easier to store and access those small items. An alternative is old prescription pill bottles.
Patterns
Shoe Boxes – Use the bottom of the shoe box to stand your patterns up right. Cut the top into strips to label and separate patterns by type.
Loose patterns – Fold loose pattern and slip into a clear plastic paper protector. Store in a three ring binder. You can also store loose patterns in plastic zip lock bags and label with permanent marker.
Equipment
Folding table – If your space is limited a folding table is perfect! Also, if cutting makes your back hurt, place the folding table on some bed risers. The added height really helps to prevent back pain.
Bed Riser- Use them on your bed and free up a bunch of extra storage space under your bed for fabric bens.
Small suitcase– Keep current projects in a small duffle bag or suit case that can be easily taken out and put back away at the end of the day.
Hanging Shoe holders – Use to store containers, tools, fabric, craft totes, cords and foot petals. You can also stack any accessories, like cutting dies or ruler, in these.
Goodwill - Thrift stores and consignment shops are GREAT for finding bins, shelves, and a variety of storage supplies. Look for dishes, buckets, basket, etc. Office desk supplies have great little holders you can put anything in. Even magnetic locker accessories are great.
