This time of year I'm in the mood to get get my sewing/quilting space organized and Andy has some really useful and practical tips and storage solutions. I'm re-sharing this helpful sewing room organization ideas guest post as it has been one of the most popular on this site. Even if you're not in the mood to overhaul your entire sewing space, you might find an idea for one small project to help get your quilting patterns or supplies organized. Andy has some really practical and doable suggestions.
Hi everyone! I’m Andy Knowlton, pattern designer and blogger at A Bright Corner. I love creating pretty things every day and I’ve discovered that I feel way more creative and productive when my space is well organized.
I have a series over on A Bright Corner all about sewing room organization where I share tons of tips and suggestions on ways to store, sort and organize everything -- from rulers and tools to fabric and even those printable PDF patterns.
Today I’ve got my top 10 favorite organizing tips to share, but if you don’t want to miss out on any great ideas, you can find my Sew Organized series here:
Sew Organized Part 1: Tips for Storing Quilting Tools and Rulers
Sew Organized Part 2: Tips for Storing Patterns, Magazines and Books
Sew Organized Part 3: Storing and Organizing Fabric and Scraps
Sew Organized Part 4: Quilting Projects and WIPs
There have also been lots of questions about my cutting table. Here's how we built this diy Ikea hack cutting table.
Alright - here we go!
Sewing Room Organization: Top 10 Tips
Tip 1: Storage Ideas. Sort and Store your Quilting Tools by Use & Store near the Work Area.
For example, keep all of your quilting rulers together by hanging them on a bar near your cutting table or workspace for easy access. Amy has another simple idea for ruler storage using Command Hooks here.
Another simple option would be a craft tool pegboard.
Store scissors, pens/markers, rotary cutters, sewing machine presser feet and other sewing supplies in a kitchen organizer like this one near your sewing table. Stay productive by keeping your favorite tools within reach! This organizer is called Grundtal and I bought if from IKEA.
Tip 2: Consider How you Use your Patterns.
If you refer to a few favorites often, they might be best stored in a 3 ring binder such as this one, with tabs to keep them organized and easy to find.
Paper patterns stay organized in a mini binder using small page protectors. They’re the perfect size for sliding a paper pattern into, and as you flip through the binder you can easily see both the front and back cover. You can also purchase mini binders at most office supply stores, Walmart, and Target.
Tip 3: Speaking of Patterns...
Always save a backup of any printable PDF patterns on a thumb drive, or hard drive! Once printed, I store PDF patterns and printable online tutorials in these cardboard magazine holders.
Tip 4: Sort your Quilting Magazines & Books:
Once a year sort through all quilting magazines and books and donate or give away the ones that you’re ready to let go of. Local quilt guilds and groups are a great place for passing along books and magazines. I try to limit my magazines to one shelf, and books to one shelf. When they start to overflow that small space then I know it’s time to donate some!
Tip 5: For your Favorite Magazine Patterns:
If you have favorite magazine patterns but don’t want to save the whole magazine, tear out the pages you need and store them in page protectors in a 3 ring binder like this one.
(photo from Make Life Lovely)
Tip 6: Fabric Storage:
Now let’s talk fabric stash storage. Think about how you choose fabric when you start a quilt. Do you reach for a certain designer first? Or do you look for colors? Or maybe you like to work within a certain style (Civil War prints, feed sack prints, modern geometrics, etc). Store your fabric according to how you use it! I usually start a quilt with a color palette in mind so I sort most of my fabric stash by color.
Tip 7: Storage Bins
Baskets or clear bins are a fantastic storage solution to corral your fabric storage. You can find bins in any size and shape to fit your space. You can stack them on a shelf, store them in a closet, or even push them under a bed if you’re short on storage space.
Tip 8: Sort your Scraps
When storing scraps, sorting by color is a great solution. Sorting by size is another option. I keep most of my scraps sorted by color in these bins on the top shelf of my closet. When I need to dig through for a scrap project it’s kind of fun to just dump the whole bin out and make a colorful mess. Clean up is easy because I just stuff everything back in, click on the lid and put it back on the shelf.
Or buy the clear drawers. You can find more tips for sorting, storing and using your fabric scraps here.
Tip 9: Storing your Projects
When storing quilting projects and WIPs, store everything for one project all together. I like to use these ArtBin Super Satchels -- I can even keep the backing and binding fabric in here along with the blocks and the pattern. If it’s easy to find, then you’ll be more likely to work on it! You can find these here at JoAnn's (where they are currently 50% off!)or here on Amazon.
Tip 10: Keep Track of those Projects!
Use some kind of planner or tracking sheet to help keep you on track so no project gets left behind. I like these two options: the Quilting Organizer Pack from Maker Valley, and this free printable Weekly Planner from Lisa to help break down the big picture lists into small, achievable goals.I keep these on a clipboard that hangs near my cutting table. The hope is that if we can keep our projects organized, then we’ll be more likely to finish them, right?
So there are my top ten tips for keeping your quilting space organized! Want even more sewing room organization hacks? Check out the entire Sew Organized series:
Sew Organized Part 1: Tips for Storing Quilting Tools and Rulers
Sew Organized Part 2: Tips for Storing Patterns, Magazines and Books
Sew Organized Part 3: Storing and Organizing Fabric and Scraps
Sew Organized Part 4: Quilting Projects and WIPs
And for even more ideas be sure to follow my Sewing Room Organization pinterest board - I’ll keep adding great ideas to the board as I find them!
Thanks so much, Andy! Be sure to check out Andy's beautiful quilt patterns in her shop! You can also see all of Andy's quilts and other inspiration on Instagram and Facebook.
I love this sewing room storage and organization post! I definitely feel motivated to get my own space/fabrics/projects organized. I hope you found some tips that were useful to you! And if you want to refer to this list later, be sure and pin <---- this image!
What about you? Do you have any great sewing room organization tips that have worked for you?
