I don’t know about you but I have sewing room envy. Gorgeous sewing rooms get me every time. But alas, I don’t have one. At this point, I’m just thankful for the little corner of the house I’ve been allowed to take over as my small quilting space.
I know a lot of you are in the same boat with little to no sewing space so I wanted to offer up what works for me and maybe even draw from some other inspiration out there.
Quilting in a Small Space
My current quilting space is along a nook in the dining room.
Our house is pretty open so it’s basically right in the the middle of it all. Most days I’m ok with this as I’m always around when the kids are around. It would be harder to sneak away to a sewing room when the family is home.
My husband is a neat freak a little tidier than me so keeping everything organized and not too chaotic is important. Plus it’s literally the first thing you see when you walk into our house.
Use Furniture for Storage
One of the things I’ve tried to do to keep my space looking tidier and more intentional is use furniture pieces as storage. I picked up this teal cabinet from Target and love the pop of color it adds to our house and the practical fabric storage it provides.
The wall shelf to the left of my desk is also from Target. I use it to display newer bundles or favorite bundles. It also holds thread and pincushions. I love the fun happy colors it provides the space also.
My main work space is an IKEA set. One side is designated for my computer and the other my sewing space. Those drawers… they hide away a lot of junk! ;) The matching chairs…als Target… starting to see a trend here… pretty much all IKEA and Target.
Since my IKEA desks don’t fit wall to wall (like i wish) I use an IKEA cart to hold miscellaneous items like works in progress, larger cuts of fabric, rulers and extra thread. Target has a similar one if you don’t have an IKEA near you.
I probably could keep this cabinet tidier by folding everything the same but honestly I don’t see myself maintaining that so I’m ok with a little haphazardness.
Find cute accessories
Do you even need an excuse to buy an aqua cutting mat ;) Since my cutting mat is always sitting out I chose a color I would enjoy looking at all day every day. This double sided Riley Blake one fit the bill.
Before I opted for the larger size mat I used this gorgeous American Crafts aqua one. I got mine from Amazon but it doesn’t look like they have it anymore. They do have this size in pink. Or Riley Blake has this cute red and pink option.
Same goes for the other things that stay out a lot like your pin cushions, scrap bin (I’m using a stainless steel canister) and your rotary blade for that matter.
Keep it Minimal
Easier said than done… right!?
I naturally prefer to keep my quilting stash under control because I’m easily overwhelmed. But it’s also a necessity when your in a small quilting space. I don’t really have any other option than to limit my fabric stash to fit the storage I have.
If you are in the same boat, I suggest finding a nice storage piece and only allow what fits to stay. De-stash and let go of the rest! Are you really going to use up all of that fabric in your lifetime?!
Stick with the Basics
I’m not a gadget collector. I’m not a thread collector. I’m not a fabric collector.
I don’t have a lot of threads and the ones I do have are basic colors like white, grey and black.
Keep rulers to a minimum. Use your favorites and let the rest go. Or find your favorites and then stop collecting them ;)
De-stashing
While I have never actually done a destash, I have bought from others who are destashing ;) Instagram is a great place to do this using the hashtag: #thegreatfabricdestash
Etsy could also be a good place to sell off some extra fabric.
I admit, I also get fabric stash envy when I see beautifully organized shelves that look like they belong in a fabric shop. But the truth is, that doesn’t work in my current situation and really I don’t think that works with my personality type either. I tend to have weird guilt around all this unused fabric sitting around. Not sure what that is all about ;)
Having fabric out in the open like this is a good reminder that it needs to get used! These Target shelves get shuffled around a lot usually holding either new stuff or favorite stuff.
Since my quilting space is small I usually switch over to kitchen table quilting when it’s time to quilt a quilt. (How many more times can I add quilting to that sentence..hahah)
Our kitchen table is nice and big which makes for the perfect surface to wrangle a big quilt. And it’s just behind my actual sewing space so swapping my machine back and forth is no big deal.
See…. these are the perks of not having an actually sewing room… you pretty much can have a sewing HOUSE. Or at least that’s what my husbands calls it. ;)
Creative Spaces
I’m pretty much a minimalist and never quite polish off my spaces so I had fun scouring the web for others who make small spaces work for them. I hope you enjoy!
Here are some of my favorite small space ideas from the web:
A house full of sunshine uses a nook in her home also for her work space. Looks like plenty of room for a computer and sewing machine. She is also using IKEA furniture to customize her space.
Our Fifth House took over a wall in the basement for her work space. Love the chalkboard wall. Do you see how the calendar is just drawn into the frame. So clever!
Fabric Paper Glue has an actual room but this little set up right here looks good enough to go anywhere you have an extra wall space. All the black and white!! Good stuff.
Thread Storage
Fabric Storage
Love these wire shelves for fabric from Hey Lets Make Stuff! Look how pretty they all look out in the open.
Favorite small space finds
 in a small space | https://www.quiltylove.com'))
I too work in the dining room! And as much as I would love a dedicated sewing room, I actually love being out in the open and part of the action! Thankfully, we eat in the kitchen, so I only have to clear the dining room table when we entertain ;) My fabric and supplies are actually stored in another room, which helps me stay focused on the project at hand…I think I would be easily distrated otherwise!! Love your space and thanks for sharing lots of tips and tricks!!
Love your little sewing space. I have sewing room envy too. We don’t even have enough space to give me a section like you have, my sewing machine is on the hall floor, and everything else is tucked under my bed in pull out boxes. When I sew I have to clear the kitchen table and bring everything I need. It takes a good while to get everything set up each time. I know I would sew more often if it was out and easily available. x
My sewing space is a sewing table in our living room and a work table/cutting table (aka our dining room table that I put on bed risers) in our dining room. I actually love having my sewing space as part of our living space. I like having the kids nearby, plus this way I can work away at a project a few minutes here and there.
We mounted shelves to the wall above my sewing table which is great for quick access to supplies, thread, needles, etc. So handy!
Thanks for sharing your space! I love your little shelf with new fabrics!
Love what you have done. Quick tip- comic book backers make the perfect board to wrap fabric. This allows me to shelf it like a book! Just thought I’d share.
Yes, my husband made me 10×10”wooden boards about 3/16ths inch thick so that I can wrap any fabric that is a yard or more…also some that were 5”x8” …for smaller ants of fabric and because they are all visible I think I make better use of what I have rather than investing in more fabric… they sit upright in a large and deep bookcase…
Great post! I have two bookshelves where I store my fabric (except for the fabric on bolts) and whenever I run out of space in the bookshelf I put a hold on buying and try to use or donate fabric until I have room again.
Having a system to keep us in check is always a good idea..lol.
Hi Emily! Love your blog and have been following you on Instagram for quite a while. Love all your work – and to see you work that all in those space, Wonders! Small and functional is better than big but not right? Awesome article. Mind if I share it with my newsletter reader?
Thanks in advance,
Kind regards,
Amira
I love this post! The long term plan in our house is to convert the garage to another bedroom/study/sewing room, but that’s a few years away, so in the meantime I am also in the dining room. This post has restored my belief in it being able to be a functional space again! I find the hardest bit is reigning in the chaos when I have multiple projects on the go, so I use scrapbooking boxes (12″x12″) to store half-made blocks and keep projects neat and together while they’re not currently on the table.
I think this is the reality for most of us! Small nooks in our homes… But that’s no reason to not have a functional and nice looking space! Great idea on the scrapbooking boxes! I could see even storing those in a closet or something.
Hey Emily! Loved this blog post! I have just recently had to switch to a smaller space (AKA- a corner in our bedroom). I love the metal/wood shelving you have next to your sewing space! That is a great idea for fabrics that are just prettier than the rest or ones that you plan to use for an upcoming project. Hopefully I can score one at the local flea markets or antique stores! Thanks again!
Loved all the ideas for small spaces. Where were the wire shelves bought? I would love those for my sewing room.
Truly amazing ideas.Keep sharing with us .
I have a 1/3 of my lounge as my sewing space in my tiny home and a very patient husband with sewing stuff stored under the bed too but I did my City and Guilds Fashion courses with just a small cupboard to keep my machine and everything else in. I moved everything around to wherever there was a spare few inches of space in the family home and I was far more more productive as once I got everything out I really concentrated and got on with it. I was far tidier too and had less stuff but made more. I also always finished work and didn’t have lots of unfinished items around. Is this because I now embroider and quilt rather than make clothes I want to wea?
Hmm it appears like your site ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say,
I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything.
Do you have any recommendations for novice blog writers?
I’d certainly appreciate it.
Thank you Margot! Nothing worse than losing something you already typed out :( hmmm… I would say google will be your best friend as a new blogger. I don’t remember necessarily using one resource. I tend to jump in and then start googling where I get stuck. I would say step one is choosing a platform. Either WordPress or Squarespace is a good place to start researching.