Sewing room redo

Out of need I had to purchase a new desk for my sewing machine (the old table was too small for my new machine, as you can see in the before picture)

After researching different types of sewing table, I thought about building one myself.

I even drew out some plans however time was not on my side so I went the next best route and went to Ikea.

I purchased a set of Alex drawers, an Alex storage unit and a table top.

Here are some before and after pictures.

this is the before

this is my new and improved sewing table

I will do a follow on blog post for anyone interested in seeing my sewing room in more detail.

New iron for the sewing room

Hi everyone

I have never done a review on my blog before but when I purchased my new iron and put a photo on instagram someone asked me to do a review so here it is.

This is only a brief review on what I think of my new iron as I have only had it for about a month and it doesn't get used everyday so I do not feel I can do a thorough review until I have used it a bit more. This iron is for my sewing room only.

When my last iron broke ( or more to the point my mum overfilled it when I lent it to her) I was unsure on what type to get. I would love to own a gravity feed iron system but don't have the room of the money.

I made a list of all the things I require from my iron, steam, dry iron, variable temperatures, water spray, the weight of the iron, auto shut off and a solid base for standing.
I then spent some time researching irons online, both through blogs and shopping sites. I looked at my list and the reviews of various makes.
I felt I needed to test feel the irons for the weight so went to my local supermarket electrical department and spent some time just lifting and holding the irons (I did get some funny looks from other shoppers but hey I needed to hold them all)

I eventually went for the Tefal 4488. It is an ultraglide steam iron. 

It has a variable steam slide control on the top of the handle. A simple turn button to adjust for the type of fabric you are ironing. There are 2 buttons on the top, one for steam and one for water spray.

The pros for this iron are:
anti drip,
auto shut off,
vertical steam,
large easy to fill water tank,
solid base for standing (that you can fill straight from the tap)
Plus it was a reasonable price - I got it on sale for £25.
So far I have used it to iron some linen and some calico and it seems to have handled both easily and with no fuss. It cuts off after about 10 mins of no use which is fine for me.
I haven't had the iron long enough yet to test all its features or to list any pro's and con's apart from my thoughts above. In a few months once I have tested it a bit further I will do an updated review.

Below are some photos of fabric before and after using this iron on it just to show how well it irons

Crease down centre of fabric

centre of fabric after ironing

creases

after ironing

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Thread Storage

When I started to sew more regularly and do more embroidery I purchased a bulk set of threads. The set consisted of around 70 colours plus 5 black and 5 white spools of thread. To begin with I left them in their original boxes. This was fine to start but eventually  I got fed up of trying to find the correct box for the colour I wanted so I came up with my own storage solution for them.
I needed the storage to be solid enough to hold the threads but also be portable in case I needed to move it.
Below is the instructions on how to make your own storage.

First step is to find an old cardboard box that is suitable for you storage needs ( I required 2 boxes and they are both now full)

I then covered the boxes with sticky backed vinyl. I'm lucky that I got both the boxes and the vinyl from where I work.

Measure your threads to see how wide they are. You also need to know the height of your threads and length of your box. Example my thread is 5.5cms high and 4cms wide. Box is 26cms long.
Double the width measurement so that you will have cardboard under the threads, add these measurements together by the length of the box.
I also added an extra 2cms to join to the adjacent divider and made the height just under the thread height. So my final measurement was 4cms x 3 + 2cms = 14cm's x 26cms long.
Mark this out onto a piece of thin card, marking all the sections.

Cut out the amount of dividers you can get across the box width (mine holds 6 cardboard dividers giving 7 sections)
Fold the cardboard on each of your marked line
Attach double sided tape to one of the middle sections, stick the 2 middle sections together (sections B and C)

Attach the cardboard dividers to the cardboard box using double sided tape, ensuring that the 2cms section is attached to the adjoining divider (section A of one divider will be stuck to section D of the neighbouring divider)
Arrange your threads. I arranged mine by colour.

On the second box I changed the dividers slightly.
I  added more cardboard to attach to the adjacent divider  the final measurement was 16cms x 26cms. I put double sided tape to one of the end sections, attached this to the side of the previous divider. Add more double sided tape to the middle section, stuck this to the section I had just taped.

As a final finishing touch I added a colour chart to the inside lid of the box so I know where each colour sits in the box, this helps when replacing colours but also to find the colour you require.

Decorate the outside of the box if you wish.

I have also started to do the same thing with my bobbins using an old ferrero rocher plastic box. I just need to purchase some more empty bobbins to finish.

Hope these instructions are clear, if you have any questions or suggestions please leave a comment below.

Lace and trim storage

As well as fabric I am also starting to get quite a stash of various laces and trims. As the stash has been growing so has my struggle to store it all.
Then I had a light bulb moment whilst shopping for yet more trim. Pulling out various trims on the plastic storage from the shelves I had a picture of how I would be storing all my lace and trim from now on.
 First I measured the shelf it would sit on - both the height and width of the shelf. I then cut a piece of plastic to the size of my shelf, (you can also use cardboard but it would need to be fairly thick to hold the weight and be stable)
 The 2nd step was to cut a 'u' shape out of both sides to create an indent to wrap the lace/trim around.

Mark a 'U' shape in each end

Cut the 'U' shape out

 I use 3m magic tape to stick one end of the lace/trim to the plastic. The length of lace/trim then gets wrapped around on itself until you get to the other end. This is then secured using a 2nd piece of magic tape.

Attach lace to plastic using magic tape

Wrap the length around the plastic

I use the magic tape as it is sticky enough to hold the lace/trim in place but also peels off easily plus you can write on it.

Magic tape to secure.

 I then write a number or letter on the 2nd piece of tape. This corresponds to my fabric log book with the amount I have, the cost and where I purchased it from. I sometime also add when I purchased it so I know how old it is (especially the lace)

My fabric log sheet.

More lace storage.

The last picture is of the first lace storage I made.

How do you store your laces and trims?
     
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Sewing room re-organizing Machine cabinet

I managed to buy this handmade sewing machine cabinet on EBay. It had been donated and was being sold by someone for charity. It has a removable solid top that reveals a air lift. Sadly my machines do not fit this so I leave the solid top on all the time.

Sewing machine cabinet.

The top is big enough for me to fit both my machines on except when I'm embroidering then one has to be moved. Behind the machines sits my daylight lamp, a mini dummy pin cushion and my sewing box for when I'm sewing on the go.

Sewing box

Daylight lamp and pin cushion

The pincushion was made using this tutorial from Debbie Shore.

As I don't use the air lift the inside cupboard space was being wasted. There was already a piece of wood across the back so I just added two more pieces across the sides (level with the back piece) and then added a shelf. This now holds my embroidery unit and my bobbins box (used Ferrero rocher box). I will also be adding another shelf just below this to hold my thread boxes. The ruler will end up being hung in the side of my bookcase (just need some hooks)

The table also has four drawers down the left. The top one holds my scissors plus machine items (tweezers, tape measures, etc ) the second drawer holds my machine booklets, etc. The third one has some storage boxes made using empty cereal boxes, these hold embroidery stabiliser, etc.

The fourth drawer is currently being used by my dad for his packing materials (he sells his old football programmes on eBay)

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Sewing room re-organizing - After

So it has taken the best part of 2 weeks to sort out my sewing room but finally it is finished and I can get back to actually doing some sewing.
Here it is

View from the doorway

View from just inside the doorway

The cot under the table will be staying. Once the other corner (not shown) is sorted the cot and cutting table will be going there with another junior bed going where the cot is at the moment (these are for when my nieces and nephews stay)

I have made myself a cutting table ( details of which will be in the next blog post)

Cutting Table

Cutting Table in use

As you can see the table is already getting good use. The mannequin at the back is a small one I made myself for quickly trying out ideas with draping. The silver box is for keeping the items I am working on in one place, the laptop is my old one that I have to empty and dispose of. The cardboard will be swapped for fabric once the wadding arrives. I am going to use these instructions here (from bee in my bonnet) to do my board.

I will just post quick pics of the rest with more details to follow


Designing table closed

Designing table open

Bookcase

 I will post further details of each section of my sewing room in future posts so that this one isn't pages long and boring.

Re-organizing my sewing room (before shots)

When I 1st started sewing my nan said that as she sewed as well I could set her spare bedroom up as a sewing room. It is the smallest room in her house but I still managed to get a sewing table, a old dining table for cutting out on, a chest of drawers for holding fabric, a computer table for all my books, magazines, TV and radio and a few other odds and ends of furniture. However over time I have purchased embroidery machines which have stayed at my house (which is only about 10 houses down the road from my nan's) The new machines being in a different place plus my nan passing away has meant that I spend less and less time in the old sewing room and things have slowly taken over my brothers old room after they moved out. I only need to go the my old room when I want to cut anything as I don't have a big enough space in my new room but this all about to change as my Mum has agreed for me to build a cutting table in my new room as long as it can be moved for the grandchildren to stay. I am planning one that will fit over the top of the cot and can be dismantled by taking the legs off.
At the moment I have roughly 2 sides of the room sharing with a cot and some other items. I have a sewing cabinet which I managed to get on eBay. It has 4 drawers one side and room in the other side for the sewing machine to be lowered. My machine is too big for this so I leave the flat table top on.

Machine table with  embroidery machines, grey bag currently holds scraps of fabric.

Machine table with door open. Boxes inside holds thread and quilting supplies.

I also have a work table which I use for patterns and making cards (which I don't do much anymore). This table also holds my radio and various magazines.

Work table closed. At the moment this has just become a dumping ground including my old laptop.
Storage underneath (in beige tub) holds my card making supplies.

Work table with section opened out for working on.

In the other corner I have a bookcase from Ikea which holds all my card making items but is slowly being taken over with sewing items. The grey drawer unit was rescued from a skip at a school who were doing a refit. It holds all my paper sorted into colours.

Bookcase holding all sorts. Grey drawers hold paper.

The other 2 side of the room holds a cot, a wardrobe plus boxes of football programmes that my dad is currently selling.

Cot and wardrobe.

Boxes of football programmes.

I also have a bit of storage behind the door, which you can see in the shot above and below.


Storage trolleys and filing cabinet.

The tubs hold more card making supplies, finished cards and items I have made. The storage trolleys hold various supplies like glues, etc. The filing cabinet holds all my business items plus embroidery items (hoops,etc)


I am hoping to get this room sorted and add the cutting table in 2 weeks time so keep tuned for after photo's.

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