Sewing

[Doreen]

Come to the JoAnn's Forum and sign up for the e-mail and snail mail coupons, browse the flyers for a class, and have a lot of fun with it.

Best of all~ read the JoAnn's forum. I hope you have a store near :)

[chriscree]

Check your local community college they sometimes give classes that only last a few nights on the basics of "things". like sewing,wine tasting, knife skills, I can't remember what they are called.

[Kristen.C]

DH was so generous to surprise me with a really nice sewing machine for Christmas and a project/how to sew book. So for all of you veteran sewers out there, I'm wondering what you would suggest in regards to a sewing area.

Option #1 is in the dining room, we can fit a very large table/desk in there along the back wall. My concern with this is that I don't want my projects to overtake the room and I'm a bit anal about clutter. I don't know that I want a work area in the same room as where we eat. The positive about using this area would be that it's the dining room, which is right next to the kitchen and the living room and would allow me to multi-task with cooking, having the tv on, etc.

Option #2 is in our office area. We can fit a smaller table/desk in there and the area would be closed off from the rest of the world. I already have a computer desk in there and all of my scrapbooking/card making supplies. I don't have a tv or as much space to overtake, but I think it's enough for what I need, plus I have a closet in there where I can have some additional storage.

Are there any suggestions you can make or tips you can give me from your experience with setting up and using your area? Would you get just a table? A desk? How big/little of a workspace do you prefer? Do you like to have storage right near your machine or is that not such a big deal as long as it's in the same room? I haven't bought anything yet so I'm very open to suggestions! Thanks in advance!

[Doreen]

I promise to post some pictures of my sewing room :)

[mandybeyl]

I am not lucky enough to have a sewing room. I have to sew right out in my living room where we watch tv and my kids play. It was the only room in our house with enough space. I sew a lot (small at home business actually). I have this sewing table from Walmart and I LOVE it!


Walmart.com: Sauder Sewing and Craft Table, Cottage Home Collection: Furniture

I think it is available in most stores so no need to pay shipping. This table is perfect for me. I have a pretty large sewing/embroidery machine and this allows me plenty of work space when opened. When I'm not using it I can fold it up to keep my kids out of my stuff and slide it back out of the way, and when we have company, my machine stows completely inside and out of sight (there's a shelf on the inside to put it on). I've had it for about 5 years and it has held up great, no problems with it at all. I would highly recommend it for an easy to use, no clutter, sewing area.

[Kristen.C]

Thanks so much for the link, something like this would work perfectly for me! The closed dimensions are exactly the right size to fit under the window in my office area, and I'd still have room to open everything up when I'm using it without it getting in the way. Excellent. Thanks so much for the suggestion. I'd love to order it now but I'm thinking I should at least look around a little bit first.

It's a great price, too!

Originally Posted by mandybeyl I am not lucky enough to have a sewing room. I have to sew right out in my living room where we watch tv and my kids play. It was the only room in our house with enough space. I sew a lot (small at home business actually). I have this sewing table from Walmart and I LOVE it! Walmart.com: Sauder Sewing and Craft Table, Cottage Home Collection: Furniture I think it is available in most stores so no need to pay shipping. This table is perfect for me. I have a pretty large sewing/embroidery machine and this allows me plenty of work space when opened. When I'm not using it I can fold it up to keep my kids out of my stuff and slide it back out of the way, and when we have company, my machine stows completely inside and out of sight (there's a shelf on the inside to put it on). I've had it for about 5 years and it has help up great, no problems with it at all. I would highly recommend it for an easy to use, no clutter, sewing area.

[Onward]

If you're like me, the manual won't help a whole lot - better to take a class and have someone show you the basics. If you teach yourself and get frustrated it's too easy to give up.

I occasionally use mine for repairs, but for the most part I do crafts. I took a class at a local quilt shop on making a quilted pocketbook & made those a couple of years ago for Christmas presents. This year I made heating pads filled with cherry pits - sounds horribly uncomfortable, but they're not; they're great for headaches.

I love to look at patterns in JoAnns or quilt shops for things to make - I have a pattern now for a checkbook cover, but haven't had time to try it out. I also love to make Christmas patterns--wall hangings, tree skirts, etc.

Most of all, have fun with it! Once you see a finished project it will be well worth the effort it takes to learn.

[thickbluebug]

I have some fabric I am making napkins out of.

Just trying to make my paper towels/napkins last longer.
I am cutting down on my deals this year and this is something to slow down my stockpile usage.

[spoe]

I have this table also and it is perfect... When you close it up you can use it as a sofa table or set some lamps on there, you would never know.

[Kristen.C]

I actually went ahead and ordered the craft table from Walmart. When I measured, it will fit perfectly regardless of whether it goes in the Dining Room or in my office. I'm shooting for the office, but we'll see how I like it once I get it in there.

Thanks for all of the help!