Many professional sewers have extravagant sewing rooms set up with expensive equipment and fantastic feng shui. While these rooms look great, they can also cost a lot. This might discourage some aspiring sewers from setting up their own sewing rooms!
However, fear not! It’s not only possible, but actually relatively easy to organize a sewing room on a budget – if you know how to overcome certain challenges.
- Figure out your floor Plan
- Get your storage situated
- Get your table(s) set up
- Combine office & sewing room
In this article, we’ll share with you some tips and tricks for anyone wondering how to organize a sewing room on a budget.
Steps on How to Organize a Sewing Room on a Budget
1. Figure Out Your Floor Plan
The first you want to do is get your floor plan figured out. A floor plan doesn’t need to take up an entire room – you can use a smaller portion of a room.
Consider having extra outlets installed or getting a power bar – this can be a lot easier and more convenient than running extension cords throughout your rooms, as you’ll probably need to have a lot of things plugged in.
One of the best ways to save time, money, and space is to combine your sewing room with another space in your home. One popular option for people living in smaller homes is to combine their office space, living room, and sewing room into one single room.
2. Get Your Storage Situated
You’re going to want to make sure that your fabrics and sewing equipment are stored close to your machine. (Granted, it’s not the end of the world if your space requires that you store things elsewhere – it’s just more convenient to do so).
The Bin-Stacking Technique
If you’re not keen on shelling out money to get a sewing cabinet or storage unit specifically for your gear, then you can try the bin stacking technique.
First, get yourself a set of cheap plastic bins. These can be found all over the place, even in some dollar stores. You’ll want to label these bins for easy identification, but if you can find a set of color-coordinated bins, this could make organizing your stuff even easier.
Once your bins are packed up and labeled, you can stack them on top of each other. You’ll be surprised to see how little space a set of stacked bins will take up. Keep in mind that plastic bins are best for storing large things, like fabrics.
Books, Baskets & Little Things
Many sewers like to keep their favorite sewing books close at hand.
If you don’t have a spare bookshelf, don’t worry. Bookshelves might be expensive if you buy them new, but who needs a new bookshelf, anyways? Check out thrift stores, garage sales, and flea markets and you’ll certainly be able to find a cheap used bookshelf to store your sewing manuals on.
Besides, an older vintage bookshelf can really tie the room together.
Organizing your smaller things – needles, threads, measuring tapes, etc. – requires different storage units. For these, small baskets, plastic bins, or drawers can be useful.
- Small plastic bins and drawers can, again, often be found at dollar stores or low-budget furniture shops. Small baskets are abundant at thrift stores and flea markets and can be fantastic for storing all manner of small sewing trinkets.
- Apple boxes made of hardwood can be fantastic for storing books, sewing patterns, and tools. When stacked and arranged nicely, they can actually add a very pleasant, organic atmosphere to a sewing room.
- Thread can easily be stored in fishing tackle boxes or beading kits, both of which can be found for dirt cheap at thrift stores.
3. Upcycle to Save Money
Above, I mentioned how it’s a good idea to shop around at thrift stores, low-budget shops and secondhand outlets to acquire new furniture for your sewing room.
However, if you’re really on a budget (and you’re crafty), then you can probably make do with things that you already have. Repurposing old pieces of unused furniture or household items can be a fantastic way to save money.
- Instead of using plastic bins, you can use cardboard boxes to store fabrics in (although this can make it more difficult to locate specific fabrics quickly).
- Old or unused dressers, chests of drawers, and even filing cabinets can all be fantastic for storing fabrics.
- Old wicker baskets, wooden boxes, and glass or ceramic dishes can be fantastic for storing your smaller equipment. Look around in your kitchen – you’ll almost certainly have something that’s perfect for holding your needles and measuring tape.
4. Get Your Table(s) Set Up
One of the most important things that you need for sewing is a good amount of table space. Fortunately, it’s not too hard to find a table suitable for sewing.
Finding an old kitchen or dining room table can easily do the trick. Again, these can be found at second-hand shops or online marketplaces. Check the Facebook marketplace or classified ads – someone near you could be selling an old table for cheap.
The one thing that you might be interested in splurging on is a cutting table. These can be a bit trickery (but certainly not impossible!) to find used. quilter’s cutting tables are fantastic because they often have a storage cabinet underneath that allows you convenient access to your tools and equipment.
Estate sales are a fantastic place to find cheap, used cutting tables.
5. Consider Mixing the Office & Sewing Room
I mentioned earlier that mixing your office and sewing room can be a great way to save space, time, and money – but there are a few more reasons that you might want to consider this.
Computers and technology have provided a lot of convenience for sewers. machine-based embroidery, programs that allow you to create & print patterns, and the internet have all made it easier for aspiring and experienced sewers alike to improve their techniques.
Video - 5 Clever Sewing Room Organization Ideas
In Summary
It’s not hard to make a sewing space on a budget – you just need to be innovative and thrifty. Hopefully the tips in this article help you build the best budget sewing room that you possibly can!
