Yo! I cleaned my sewing room yesterday and thought it a good opportunity to take some photos. Because I like seeing other people’s sewing rooms, you know? You’ve seen my Kansas sewing room (that baby was so bare! The notions cabinet was so empty!) and my Virginia sewing room (the images are all messed up–I don’t know why, sorry!). I didn’t have a sewing room in Connecticut or Florida. So here’s my current set-up in Chicago.

I’m very fortunate to have such a big, extra space in our city apartment. We have a really big living room/front room area where we hang out, and both of our kids have their own bedrooms, so this space really was extra. It could technically be used as a den or a formal dining room (it’s open to the rest of the house and you have to walk through it to travel between the kitchen and living room), but we have no use for either of those. So, sewing room it was!

I have four tabletop areas: my sewing table, my cutting/drafting table, my folding table (where I iron…and okay, where everything gets dumped, mid project), and my fabric storage under the window.

I’ve considered moving my iron and board over to the area under the window so that it’s right next to my machines. Right now, I walk around my cutting table to press each seam. It’s…inefficient. But, I’m kind of used to it and habit is a controlling master. (Psst–see the update at the very bottom! I finally did move this and it’s great.)

I’ve got some pretty amazingly colorful scraps happening over here, so what to do with them?! I need some good scrap-busting ideas.

I actually don’t stock fabric without a project in mind (you understand by now that we move a lot, right? Nobody wants to move a closet full of fabric every 12 months). I have mostly sizable quilting cotton scraps left from running my Etsy shop; I dig into them fairly often when I need a pocket lining or for small projects (I recently made my toddler a backpack all from scraps). Anyway, I don’t need a ton of fabric storage.

This metal board was a DIY–a sheet of metal from the hardware store + a strip of baseboard found in my father-in-law’s basement rafters (I often think of him while sewing for that reason!).

It’s the perfect place to hang all of my presser feet, needles, scissors and other small things I need at my machine. A couple of years ago, it would have KILLED me that my magnets/presser feet are not all perfectly aligned and spaced…but time and momming changes people, I guess. 😉That’s not a Sewaholic pattern in my trashcan…just a mis-printed instruction page. Ha!

This is my current “stash” I guess…some knits for my daughter’s fall/winter wardrobe, fleece to make my husband fleece-lined jeans, cotton twill for a jacket, and a few incredibly wonderful double gauzes and shirtings for some Grainline Archers and Hey June Cheyenne Tunics. Hashtag all the things I want to make when I release my first pattern.

My clean sewing room is beckoning to me to start a new project, but I’m still 100% invested in trying to get my pattern to the finish line and launched for you all. Just a couple more weeks! I’m primarily a stay-at-home mom, so I only “work” during naptimes and evenings. It’s slow-going, but I’m grateful for my creative outlet just the same.

Have you blogged/posted pictures of your sewing room somewhere? I want to see them! Leave a link in a comment here or on instagram or somewhere. 🙂

Furniture source/creds:

• Sewing table: DIY by us
• Cutting/drafting table: my husband built this as my Christmas gift (I KNOW), using Heather’s great post
• Ironing/catch-all table: just a good ‘ol folding table like this
• Fabric storage: combo of these and something like this

Psst–UPDATE!

I built a mid-century inspired console table and it now sits where the white folding table was. That also means I finally moved my ironing station across the room to sit next to my sewing machines.