Category: Sewing Room

Sewing Room {Pattern Organization}

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Pattern Organization Title

It’s funny when I’m asked what kind of sewist I am.  Quilter? Bag-Maker? Garments?  Well….I tell everyone, “I am all of the above.”  I like to dabble in everything — to challenge myself and I just love being able to make as much as I can with my own hands.  With this variety in my sewing repertoire, comes a TON of patterns!

I have a mix of both digital and paper patterns.  If given the option, I almost always take the full printed pattern.  As much as I love the instant gratification of downloading a digital pattern, the extra taping is a bit annoying and I have more difficulty tracing with printer paper.  I know…it’s nice to always have a back-up of a pattern on my computer, but be rest assured, I always make copies.  I trace garment patterns onto muslins and I create cardstock templates of bag pieces.  Which type of pattern do you prefer?

With all of the patterns and their print-outs…and the traced muslins…and the instructions…how do I organize them all?  As much as I would love a one-size fits all solution, it just doesn’t work for me. I have three different methods of organizing my sewing patterns and maybe one, two, or all three of them may work for you.

Classic Filing Method

Pattern Organization File Folders

This has place from my former corporate office days.  It also was my first method when started sewing.  Having all the supplies on-hand didn’t hurt either.  I had a stack of file folders, a desktop tiered rack, plastic file boxes and even a metal cabinet.

I use this method to hold my digital patterns and printout of free tutorials on-line.  (Thank you fellow bloggers!)  These are all categorized by my most frequent sews as shown.

 

Shelf Method

Pattern DVD Storage

Most physically purchased paper patterns are about 6″ x 10″.  They can easily get lost in regular shelving and other paper storage containers.  For awhile I had mine in cute little wire bins…but the patterns were quickly outgrowing my bins and I couldn’t see them well.

Fortunately, I had a friend who wanted to get rid of a DVD shelf…and it was nice solid piece.  (I bartered a toddler dress for this…score!)  This DVD shelf not only is the perfect size for paper patterns, but it holds fat quarters perfectly.  I love how I can see everything and my patterns are in easy access.

 

Art Portfolio

 

Pattern Organization Portfolio Open

So we tackled, letter-sized patterns and instructions with the file folders and the smaller printed patterns, but what about the big stuff?  For awhile, I folded all the taped pdfs up in those file folders and even used a large binder with those clear plastic sheet protectors, but they didn’t last long.  The patterns were all poking out and the folders got too full too quickly.  I needed something bigger…

When my kids started to bring home arts and crafts from school, I wanted to save all their cute projects.  So I picked up a smaller size art portfolio from my local big box retailer.  I use them to organize each year of school for my guys.  Then….it dawned on me one day that I should use one  for my big paper patterns.

This 11″ x 17″ portfolio size is perfect for my needs.  All of my patterns fit with only one or two folds without needing advanced origami skills to get them back into original form.  I love how it also holds my muslins and the clear pockets allow me to quickly identify what patterns are which.

How do you store all of your patterns?

 

Have a great week!

Cristy

 

Honest Sewing Room Tour – Supply Pegboard

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Pegboard Title

I’m going to give you a sneak peek into my new sewing & crafting room.  It is still a work in progress…I’ll show you sections of it as I go and this post will be all about the Pegboard!  If you have been following me on Instagram @loveyousew_, you’ve already gotten a look but I’ll explain the method behind the madness here 🙂

For the past 5 years, I’ve been sewing down in the basement and I called my space the “Dungeon.”  It’s dark, has poor lighting, and I was sewing with the creepy crawlspace in front of me.  Combine that, with having the water heater to my left, and the rumbling furnace behind me and you can understand why the “Dungeon” tag name was appropriate!

Earlier this year, I moved my boys into the same bedroom.  They were so excited to share the space and I was even more excited to move above ground…with natural light!  After I painted the room and moved some furniture around, the first part of the sewing room to be tackled was the Pegboard.

I bought two of these 24″ x 48″ boards from a big box hardware store but you can also find them here.  These were initially painted with acrylic in coral to add a little life down in the dungeon but when I moved them, I freshened up the finish with Valspar household paint in Passion Pink.  I wanted to keep the same color and vibrancy for my special space 🙂

Here are a few reasons why I love the Pegboard:

  • Supplies are accessible – If I’m in the sewing “zone,” I hate to get up and ruffle through a bunch of boxes to find something.  I like to keep my most used supplies right in front of me.
  • Inventory Management –  I can easily keep tabs of what needs to be replenished.  The pegboard keeps me from wasting money by buying items I already have because they were lost in a box!
  • Space-saver – I don’t have a big closet or a lot of floor space, so this also allows me to better utilize the walls for supplies.

Thread Rack

So what do I keep on the board?  Of course, my most used thread!  With the Etsy shop and a lot of side projects, I tend to go through many colors and types of thread in a single session at the machine.  It’s nice to be able to just reach over and grab my next color without missing any momentum.  I keep back-ups of these threads in my supply closet as well.

Baskets and Zippers

Remember my first Organizational Tips post?  Here are the Mason Jars sitting in a basket ready for use at any time with my Wonder Clips and Quilting Pins.  The Binder Clips are keeping my zippers organized and I can readily pick out the color and size I need for projects.  I have a box of these great handmade cards my brother made me up in the corner.  It’s always nice to have pretty inspiration on the board too!  And last, but not least, I need some Band-Aids around for when I poke myself with needles….we do not need blood on fabric, right?!?

Rulers and Washi Tape

I like to keep these rulers and washi tape up at the top of the Pegboard.  They are quilt specific so I keep them organized but up higher since I don’t use them as often.  The dowel for the tape and twine has been a great help.  I can see all the different rolls I have and grab as much as I need without have to move them off the board! Bonus – I use the dowel at craft shows with some display hooks!

Scissors

The scissors….I love my scissors and rotary cutters.  I keep a lot around for different purposes.  When I’m deep in projects, they end up all over my sewing room, so I (obviously) need extras 😉  These are all held in a standard Multiple Tool Holder for pegboard.  I used larger tool holders for my Pinking Shears.  As you can see, I have plenty of fabric ones, but I also keep Dollar Store cheapies just for paper crafts or cutting patterns.  My 4-year old even has a safety pair on my board.  Whenever he wants to hang out with me, we work on his scissor skills with scraps of paper.  He gets a kick out of having something in the room that is all his own.  Speaking of safety…with my sewing room being right next to my boys’ room, I need to keep all of these sharp object up and out of their reach.  The pegboard and some education helps give me some peace of mind…

Pegboard Image

I hope you enjoyed the mini-tour.  I’m quite eager to share the rest of my new sewing space with you…but I have a little more work to do before then 😉  If you would like to follow the progress or see more, check out #LYSstudiomigration on IG.

 

Stitches and Hugs,

Cristy

 

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through the links, I receive a small commission. This helps cover the costs of keeping this blog running.

5 Easy Sewing Room Organization Ideas

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5 Easy Sewing Room Organizational Ideas

5 Easy Sewing Room Organizational Ideas

I don’t know about you, but my “sewing dungeon” (named because I’m in the basement) is always in need of some organizational help.  I’ve come to terms that my space will ALWAYS be a work-in-progress and I’m okay with that.  It’s my creative space and unfortunately, the physical cannot keep up with my mental states of art 😉  So whenever there is something out there to help me tame my chaos, I’m all ears!  Below are 5 of my personal organizational tips…from one that will require some investment to my favorite…re-purposing!

1.  Mason Jars

Use Mason Jars for clips and Safety Pins

Use Mason Jars for clips and Safety Pins

Admit it….you have a bunch of these already.  Mason Jars have been quite the decor trend these past few years and I know I’ve received them as gifts and have bought my own as part of plenty of Pinterest projects.  However, you can collect them by just eating!  Many of the pasta sauce companies have beautiful jars nowadays and you just have to clean them out.

I’m a visual person and need to see what I have.  These jars are perfect for keeping my Clover Clips and Safety Pins together.  I like being able to bring the jars wherever I want to work in the house.  The only down-side is that my hand doesn’t fit in the opening, but shaking the items out hasn’t been a deterrent for me.  You could use these for all of your notions….elastic, trim, needles , etc. and to hold your tools such as rulers, scissors, and seam rippers….endless possibilities!

2.  Binder Clips for Zippers

Binder Clips for Zippers

Binder Clips for Zippers

If you have ever worked in an office environment, these Binder Clips have come home with you once or twice…  If not, these are cheap and can be found easily wherever office supplies are sold. I used to have a home office back in my sales days and have a ton of company provided office goodies.  It’s nice to find other uses for these, other than to keep snacks fresh!

These Binder Clips are great if you have a pegboard.  I use them to clip my zippers together by color family so whenever I need one, I can easily make a selection just like a paint swatch ring.  Additionally, I use these to hang up directions/tutorials of projects I sew often.  It’s great to have them accessible right in front of me on the board.

3.  Car Organizer = Ruler and Pattern Organizer

Re-purpose a Car Organizer

Re-purpose a Car Organizer

So, I bought this Thirty-One Hang Up Activity organizer with full intentions of actually using it in my car. But it was from a local Buy-Sell-Trade Facebook group (bonus for being cheeeaap!) but required a little stitching to fix a pocket that was falling apart.  By the time I actually fixed the pocket, my boys’ legs had reached the point where they can (and will) kick anything on the back of the driver or passenger car seats.

My awesome score on the BST site was sitting in the back of the mini-van until I realized it could hold all of my “flat” sewing supplies. Yay!!! As you can see, it holds my various rulers, marking pens, patterns and even my Fold-Away station.  This would be great if you are not a pegboard person, but would like to hang some supplies close to your machine without having to take up a lot of space.  You can find a ton of similar versions of this organizer on Ebay for less.

4.  Sew an Hour Basket for Fabric Storage

Sew and Hour Basket for Fabric Storage

Sew and Hour Basket for Fabric Storage

Have you made an Hour Basket yet?!?  Kelby Sews has this great FREE pattern available here in her pattern shop.  I have made quite a few of these baskets but they have all been for gifts and not for myself…cue in the latest IG Alison Glass Mini Quilt Swap.  As part of my swap package, the lovely Kitty from The Night Quilter gifted me this awesome basket.  Not only is it absolutely gorgeous, it has pockets all around…genius!!!

This basket is great for holding all kinds of odds and ends, but I am using mine to hold my beautiful Alison Glass collection.  The finished dimensions are perfect for fat quarters.  As pictured, I have 27 fat quarters and 15 half-yards….ALL in there!  I plan on make a few completely in my favorite designers to hold their respective fabrics (don’t worry you know I will share pics.)

Although this organization idea takes up some fabric and some time, it is great for scraps….which is less evasive on the wallet. Check out #hourbasket on Instagram for ideas on how to design your own!

5. Use Mini-Bolts for Fabric Storage

Before and After making Mini Bolts

Before and After making Mini Bolts

Did you know that Paper Pieces, the supplier of all kinds of English Paper Piecing (EPP) templates, also has a division called Polar Notions?  Well, they have these great heavy duty plastic organizers  (11-3/4″ x 7-1/2″) that can help you create these sweet mini-bolts.  If you have a lot of yardage like me, the original size is for you.  You can take  typical 42-44″ width fabric and fold it into fourths which will be the optimal size to wrap around these boards.

I happen to buy a 50-pack of these guys when Polar Notions was having a ridiculous 50% off sale….so I would suggest either subscribing to their website newsletter and/or following them on Instagram @polarnotions to learn about their sales.

As you can see, my original stash was in pretty poor shape.  And then after, my fabric is just SO pretty.  I can easily see every fabric and not have to run into another incident of  I-gotta-tear-apart-my-whole-dungeon-to-find-this-one-particular-fabric-I-KNOW-I-have 🙂 You know you’ve been there!  I hope this will keep my fabric less wrinkled as well.  I make fabric pulls for my Etsy shop customers all the time and it will be nice to pull smooth fabric going forward.

The only down-side of these boards is that I ran out…a little too quickly.  A 50-pack was not enough…sad to come to the realization that I have a serious fabric addiction…but don’t tell my husband!  He already has seen my full bolt collection increase! Yikes!

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I hope these ideas help you keep your space organized….or maybe you are already a sewing cyborg clean freak?!?  Only a myth, I’d say…

What has been the most unusual re-purpose of an item for your sewing space?  I’d love to know!

 

Keepin’ it (somewhat) clean,

Cristy

 

*I have not been compensated for use and/or mention any of any items in this post.  All opinions are my own.