titdilapa: Sewing

I grew up in a family of women who sewed. Somehow I didn't get that gene. I have an inexpensive sewing machine that I use for light repairs. That's all some people need. A place to put your sewing machine so you can hem some pants, sew on a button, repair a torn seam, etc. Some women do a little more and they need a better spot. They do easy sewing crafts like making pillows or tote bags, they do their repairs, make aprons, etc. Then there are to people who are into sewing heavily. They need a whole room. These people (male and female) sew their own clothes, do quilting, make sewing crafts, and are able to do just about everything! I really envy those people.

As I said, my Mom, Grandmothers, aunts all sewed. As a child I didn't appreciate their craft. Wearing handmade clothes were considered an embarrassment like we couldn't afford to buy store-bought clothes. About the time I started to appreciate it, was about the time that they stopped sewing. My mother did make me an Easter dress when I was 17. I got to pick out the material and pattern. I think that was the last time she sewed. I begged my Grandmother to sew me a blouse made from a vintage pattern she had. She did but it was a little too small so I didn't get to wear it. I think I still have it. My Aunt Ruth used to sew all the time. She taughter her daughters and they made their own wedding dresses and tousseaus. When we would visit her in the summer, some of that time was spent in her sewing room. She smoked and drank coffee all the time and she whistled while she worked. So I have these memories of the smell of cigarette smoke, coffee, the hum of the sewing machine and her whistling under her breath. We would stay in the sewing room with her and play.

She was the only one I remember having a dedicated sewing room. But she would keep moving it around. She had it in her basement, in an unfinished room upstairs or even in her outbuilding. I guess moving it around helped her to keep it organized. But the other women in my family would use the dining room table to sew. And they all only had 1 sewing machine.

I started looking for ideas for sewing rooms, sewing areas, organizing sewing notions, etc. I did a Google search on these subjects and came up with a lot of wonderful photos. I appreciate all the work they put into their sewing/craft rooms and then sharing the photos with all of us. I tried to pick photos that show the full range from just a sewing corner, a sewing closet, all the way up to full sewing rooms. I tried to get a good mix of inexpensive to expensive ideas. If you sew a lot you need to have a large table for laying out your fabric and cutting out the patterns. You also need a place to iron as you iron seams a lot. You also need good light. I did notice that most of the serious seamstresses have more than one sewing machine. That surprised me because, as I said, my family were heavy seamstresses but they made do with one sewing machine and their dining room table. You also need to consider how to organize and store your patterns, fabric and sewing notions. Keep in mind, that you can let your local fabric store be your warehouse. You don't always have to store tons of fabric at home.

So here is what I found on the Internet. I wasn't necessarily looking for beauty, although I found some beauties, but clean, organized, functioning.

Notice this is a vintage suitcase filled with sewing notions. I use vintage suitcases as well.

An old jewelry box will organize notions. Fishing tackle boxes work that way too.

This is a beautiful and huge sewing room!

A nice sewing cabinet. I've come across sewing cabinets at thrift stores.

Shabby chic charm

I like this chalk board! What a great place to make some notes, a shopping list, draw a design, brain storm.

Dust free fabric storage. This is functional and saved the fabric from dust. But I feel sorry for the seamstress when she needs some fabric from the top or bottom of the pile of plastic storage.