In my past life I was a business owner. I spent 13 years as a seamstress that manufactured and sold cloth diapers. Although it was so very rewarding, I recently decided it was time to move on. My youngest daughter, Ivy, has been out of diapers for several years and I had become weary of sewing the same things over and over. I was surrounded with industrial cutters, plastic snap presses, bolts and bales of drab, vanilla colored hemp french terry and plain polyurethane coated fabric. My sewing room looked like an industrial workroom and was designed for efficiency alone. After packing all of my diaper sewing fabrics and notions away and putting my rolls of fabric out to storage, I’m left with a surprisingly stark room, which I’m suddenly inspired to transform into a glorious crafty, relaxing get-away. I know it will be a slow process but I’ve taken the first step! Hey, hard magnetic pin cushions – I know you have served me well over the last 13 years - you’ve been used and abused and kicked across the cold tile floor when I so carelessly dropped your contents. but you, my old standby, are the first to be replaced!
Mom gave me the wonderful Heather Bailey pattern: Fresh Picked Pincushions. The pattern contains an entire fruit and veggie stand of pincushions – a fat patchwork pear, an apple, a tomato and two adorable little strawberries! I’m so in love with the pear, I think I’ll just have to make several of them to place around the room- one beside my sewing machine, one beside my serger and one on my cutting table. Slowly but surely I will have the sewing room of my dreams. Hugging myself
Update: I’ve now made so many of these that I’m going to have to somehow reduce the pincushion population at my house. Is it giveaway time yet?
So, tell me, Crafty Friends. Do you have any craft room decor ideas you’d like to share? I’m open to inspiration! ♥
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Oh yes, my dear, I do have some craft room advice for you.
As you know, I am in the process of designing my dream room as well. My biggest purchase, and the best purchase ever for my sewing space, was furniture designed specifically for sewing/crafting rooms. Martha Stewart (gotta love Martha) has a line of craft furniture out that has so much storage I feel like I need to buy more crafting supplies now! I actually have empty drawers. I love how her cabinets are the perfect height to use as a cutting table and they not only look nice, but offer tons and tons of storage. Homedecorators.com has the furniture, but they do offer good sales, coupon codes, and free shipping so wait for the best deal if you ever buy it. Shipping can be outrageous on this stuff. Oh, and it is assembly required furniture, but we are crafty so no worries!
Bins – color coded bins are my thing. Yarn goes in pink, material goes in a precious minty green and cross stitch patterns go in a beautiful cream bin. Odds and ends go in my retro rainbow polka dot bin. All were on shelves in a closet that has since been transformed into my youngest bedroom – she didn’t want to be upstairs alone after her sister went off to college this year… and I can’t bring myself to ‘make over’ either room into a new craft area so my bins are tucked away in the garage for now. I bought three new bins (2 beige with tan trim and 1 green with beige trim) for under my living room coffee table… they hold my current projects.
I don’t have a craft room. I have a kitchen table, a stack of drawers shoved in next to my desk to serves as yarn storage, and a day bed/couch, where my lap serves as my work table. Whee! If I *had* a craft room, it would be full of bookshelves (okay, it may double as Library. I have a lot of books.), at least one large window that would be open a lot, a sewing table/desk under that window, a good chair, another chair that is lovely and cushy and a good curl-up-and-knit chair, room for my wheel and one or three more, and maybe an electric kettle.
There would also be a stereo and probably a TV, just because I can’t work in silence. And a spot for the cats. Maybe. If they behave.
I love your pear pincushions! So cute! I added the pattern to my wishlist, thanks!
My craft room, is where I display my most favorite art work from my kids. I have pictures or creations that they made in Kindergarten – 2nd grade. They are now 20 and 17, but I still have those art projects that bring me back to when they were little. I cherish them.
They are so cute!
Thank you all for your great ideas! I love the idea of kid’s artwork hangings and color coded bins.
Becca, your ideal crafting room sounds amazing! I may steal some of those ideas from you – particularly that big cushy chair!
There is nothing better than curling up in a big, cozy chair to work on knitting or similar.
Or just reading. My dream chair is actually one like this: http://www.papasanfurniture.com/product_info.php?products_id=253&osCsid=0b7432986fdceb8150d007135cca7dac
My mom had one in the waiting area of her massage office. Any time I spent there, I spent in that chair. Or I’d pull the cushion off and sprawl on the floor.
They also have double-size… I may have to get one of those for the living room for movie nights.
Oh Becca! I had 2 of those chairs in my living room but sadly had to give them away. With 4 girlies in the house, things get a little bit wild and they kept tipping them over.
I do totally agree with you – possibly the most comfortable chair ever! Maybe one day when my kids aren’t so wild….Ha!
Love the crafty pears, Carli !!
I suppose I will have to look way down to my stockings toe to
find mine. :0
framed fabrics: great decor and sometimes serves as my dry eraser boards. My motto is “get it in writing”, combined with love for fabrics…voila !!! i am too, transforming a sewing room, and looking for ideas, which lead me here.
Trinh, I’ve seen that idea before and LOVED it! Perfect for measurements that you are trying to keep in your head as you are working on a project. Or I’ll often make one item then need to make it again and forget the measurements I used for the first one. I’ll definitely have at least one of those in my sewing room! Good luck with your sewing room transformation. There are so many amazing ideas out there – it’s hard to keep up. My bookmarks are getting out-of-control!
and good luck to you. you’re right about so many amazing ideas out there. i found a dress form mannequin for $10 this weekend, very cool to have in my “sweat shop”, but startled me every time i enter the room. cant wait to make something for “her”.
That gave me the biggest chuckle because I can see myself doing the same thing with a mannequin standing in my room. I’d love to find one of those wrought iron dress forms (fancy – not really usable for a dress form I don’t think?) I used to see them all the time. Of course I wasn’t updating my sewing room at that point. Now I haven’t seen them in months.
My friend, Amy (Hi, Amy!) has a dress form that she made a gorgeous apron for and I always admired it sitting in the corner of her sewing room when we were video chatting.
Always have a massive space to put inspiration (I have a cork board above my desk) it’s really great! Helps you have an on going flow on creative ideas and projects!:)