Finding Space to Sew in a Small House
Finding space to sew in a small house can be tricky, but it’s not impossible!
As someone who sews a lot, I know how much of a difference it makes when you can leave your sewing machine out.
Suddenly sewing for 10 minutes is an option. If you have to allow 10 minutes to get it out before you can start sewing, then clear up your sewing stuff and pack your machine away again at the end, you need to have a good chunk of time to make it worth it. And there’s no point if you know that people are going to need to sit down for dinner at the table you want to use in half an hour’s time!
With all the beautiful sewing rooms on Pinterest, it’s easy to feel that having a permanent space to sew not an option for you if you live in a small house or flat and if you don’t have the spare cash to splurge beautiful storage that all matches.
Well, I’m going to tell you a secret. You don’t need a whole room!
It’s true!
I sew all the time. We live in a fairly small house. There are 6 of us, plus the cat. There’s Lego everywhere, and usually piles of laundry. I can’t justify taking a whole room when the kids are already sharing.
So I don’t! Instead, I have a corner in the living room. I leave my sewing machine up and I have some space for sewing related stuff.
If you’re wondering where on earth my fabric is, it’s behind the bedroom door. I’ve shared my fabric mountain before and I’ve resolved to do something about it this year, as it’s started to spawn mini mountains elsewhere in the bedroom. That’s another blog post!
So what do you do if you need a space to sew but you don’t have the space, the furniture or the money? Here are some tips for you if you are struggling with finding space to sew in a small house.
Finding a Space
Like I said, your space to sew doesn’t need to be a whole room. You just need enough space to wedge yourself in with your sewing machine.
1. Do you have any space that you are not currently using that would be big enough for yourself and your sewing machine? Think hallway, landing, under the stairs, empty corner of bedroom/ living room.
2. Could you rearrange things a bit to make some space? My sewing area became free when we got new sofas and changed the layout in the living room.
If moving the furniture around won’t give you more space in that room, could you move some of it to a different room?
3. If you’re lucky enough to have a room or an area that doesn’t get used very often, you could use it for your sewing machine. Even if you have to pack it away every couple of weeks, that will still give you more sewing time than if you have to put things away before every meal time.
Furniture For Your Sewing Space
Lovely as it would be to spend a fortune on purpose built craft furniture, for lots of us it just isn’t an option. But like with whole sewing room myth, you don’t need bits of expensive furniture either!
My sewing desk thing is actually a computer table bought from Ikea 15 years ago. It became redundant when we swapped the enormous desktop computer for a laptop. At the time, I took it apart and stashed it down the side of a wardrobe.
When I need a table for my sewing machine, I remembered that I had this, so I got it out and put it back together! It had turned an unattractive shade of orange, but mercifully a couple of coats of Annie Sloan paint improved things quite a lot! There’s room for my sewing machine (and my legs!) and there are cubbies for storing sewing stuff. I do have to share it with the printer though.
The computer desk had a fold away section for the keyboard. I removed this and covered both sides in sticky backed plastic. One side looks like wood, the other side looks like wood painted white. I use it for photos for Instagram and it lives under the sofa when it’s not being used.
So here’s what you can do to find furniture for your sewing space.
1. Look at what you have already. You might be surprised to find that you already have something you can use. It doesn’t need to be fancy or perfect, it just needs to be big enough for your sewing machine and your legs.
2. If you really don’t have anything, try charity shops or junk shops. You might even find that somebody is throwing out something you could use! If it’s a horrible colour you can always paint it.
Storage
The sewing rooms on Pinterest all have beautiful storage. Every kind of caddy, box and container and beautiful co-ordinating colours, with sewing supplies tastefully and carefully organised. And if you don’t want to spend a fortune, well, you could take 2 months out of your life to make it all yourself!
Of course, most normal people probably don’t have the money or the time. Although you could make some stuff yourself (these little fabric boxes come together quite quickly), you’ll never use your sewing space if you take several months making stuff for it!
Instead, you could try these.
1. See what you have already. A bit of a sort out or some reorganisation might free up a basket or box or two. The basket where my wool lives was previously home to toiletries I was never going to use and other junk that I threw out or rehomed.
2. Cover cardboard boxes in pretty paper, fabric or sticky back plastic. My drawer is a cardboard box covered in wrapping paper. I reinforced the edges with sellotape.
3. Buy cheap plastic or cardboard boxes. I got some little plastic boxes from Wilko. They were £5 for 4. Or Tesco have Chinese takeaway sized plastic boxes at £2 for 8. These cardboard boxes from Amazon
4. Be super thrifty and keep all your jars and tins! These will work for keeping buttons and ribbon safe.
If you’re trying to find space to sew at home, I hope you found this useful. If you have tips to add, please leave them in the comments! I’ll do my best to reply to all of them!
I think its so true, having the sewing machine up means you can catch the odd ten minutes here and there:) I have a table in what would be called a study by an estate agent, also home to guinea pigs, laundry, endless board games and a freezer:)!
Vicky Myers recently posted…Ideas for upcycling old keys
It’s just having somewhere to put it where it’s not in the way and it can stay out 🙂
I use the end of the dinning table and have to clear it off if we want to not eat from trays! Or I just shove everything up one end if I’m right in the middle of a major project.
I pop my machine just behind the sofa so it’s handy and I am an expert at putting it out in less than 2 minutes! One day when everyone leaves home I’ll have a sewing/craft room….
Julie recently posted…Handmade Monday #8
We often have a pile of mess at one end of the table anyway, there’s not room for my sewing machine as well!
You put me to shame, I have 2 rooms and stuff every where, lol
Does anyone have any good ideas for a cover for the sewing machine that doesn’t *look like* a cover for the sewing machine? I have a nice place to sew in our living room hall (on a long sofa table), and a fair bit of space tucked here and there to store things in. But when I use it my machine sits right in the sightlines for – well, everything. Fibro means that if I have to haul it out every time I just won’t use it. So, to leave it in place I need something to cover it that doesn’t look like I’ve got a sewing machine sitting there in the middle of my living room, and that fits in with the decor. I’d been considering converting a wicker(ish) basket with lid and just cutting out the bottom so I could lift it off when I wanted to use it, or some kind of wooden box. But so far anything tall enough is too large for the space. I probably need to make something custom – but I can hear your argument against having to do that. Would you (or any of your readers) have any good ideas about making or repurposing something that will look inconspicuous enough to fit in with a fairly formal space?
That’s a good point actually, I had a quick google and all the sewing machine covers look like sewing machine covers! The best ones were some very cute ones made to look like camper vans, but I’m guessing that’s not what you’re after! The basket idea’s a good one, but it’s finding something that’s the right size that’s also not too £££. My friend Paula made some cardboard boxes to look like little houses to hide her husband’s kettle weights, so doing something to a box might be an option. It would also be light if lifting things is an issue. A wooden thing might be quite heavy. I’ll put it on Facebook and see if people has any ideas xx
Thank you! I debated posting my question here, but I figured that some of your other readers might be facing the same challenges I am, and your post brought up the wonderful idea of just finding space where you actually do your sewing. I’m really enthused about that idea now – have really got the sewing bug again! Camper vans and little houses won’t exactly do the trick :-), but I think finding some nice way to cover a box to make it look decorative just might! I’ll try to remember to post again when I’ve figured something out, but in the meantime any ideas would be appreciated!
Would a wicker magazine rack work? We have one that is full of magazines but I’m pretty sure would cover my machine if I popped it over upside down. It’s one without a divider in the middle of course!
Julie recently posted…Handmade Monday #8
That’s a good idea 🙂
That’s a wonderful idea – thank you! We have a couple of magazine holders in a style that matches our furniture that *almost* fit it perfectly, but they are just 1/2″ too small (actually it would have fit except for the flywheel). I’ve been looking online – you used to be able to find wicker magazine racks everywhere, but I can’t seem to find any locally for some reason. Will have to put my husband the super-shopper on the case for me!
It’s interesting hearing other people’s ideas 🙂
This is an excellent thought to ponder. I agree that many that enjoy sewing, would sew more if their space was readily available.
Growing up, my mom had her sewing machine in the sort of laundry/mud room off of the kitchen, it was a perfect set up and interestingly there was a window to the right, and the water heater and furnace on the wall behind. It was cozy
She had a huge cardboard box that used to be the spot for the Electrolux vacuum cleaner, but over time this box turned into the scraps bin.
Ahhhh, good memories.
I love your sewing space because it is downstairs with the family. That is how I like to sew. When your kids grow up and move out (horrors, but really it is sort of good) then you will be the queen and you can take over the whole place.
I tried the utility room next to the boiler because it was warm, but there just wasn’t room! In the end I decided that I’d rather be in the living room with my family. I like the idea of being the queen, I can forsee arguments with hubby over sewing space being limited so that he can get his train set in!
Thanks for all the good tips for a sewing space! I use empty ice cream (2liter size) to store most of my stuff like thread, bobbin cases, elastic, bias binding etc. I covered mine with odd pieces of material and washi tape. It is easy to store on top of each other.
Creative regards from South Africa
Hi Magda, ice cream containers are great for storing stuff!
Great post! I’ve got a dedicated sewing room now, but I used to do all my crafting in the dining room. I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for this evening that features your post: http://sewing.craftgossip.com/?p=91252 –Anne
Anne recently posted…Free pattern: Round patchwork floor cushions
Thank you xx
good post. I have been through every way and now have a dedicated room but the more space you have the more you use. My “studio” needs a good sort but I am a hoarder by nature and people give me stuff that I don’t like to part with. not good.
I do sew clothes but mainly quilt and you do need a bit more space to machine quilt though
Brenda Cupryna recently posted…Socks
I’m also a bit of a hoarder and I know what you mean about filling up the space you have!