Sewing Storage Hacks Under $15
Transform common household items into creative organizational solutions.
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Utensil Caddy
My husband attached a utensil caddy to the unused iron rest on my ironing board. Now my tools, pincushion, and everything else I need are at my fingertips when ironing.
—Joanne Noyes
Eustis, Maine
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Chip Clips
Keep cut fabric pieces together with chip clips. Use a marker to label each clip with the designated row for its set of pieces.
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Coffee Mug Tree
Repurpose a coffee mug tree to keep scissors and rotary cutters close at hand. The vertical holder means less wasted table space.
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Lunch Tray
Embroidery floss, needles, and a small scissors can be easily seen in a divided lunch tray.
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Lunch Box
Create a portable English paper-piecing kit using a lunch box that has a resealable lid.
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Napkin Holder
Napkin holders aren't just for dining room tables—engage them to hold rulers, cutting mats, or templates. If you're storing bulkier items, consider heavier metal holders. (You can achieve a similar effect with two matching metal bookends.)
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Ice Cube Tray
Let the compartments of an ice cube tray confine sewing machine needles, bobbins, and machine feet.
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Shower Curtain Hooks
Hang oversize rulers, templates, and patterns from shower curtain hooks suspended from a tension rod.
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Ponytail Holders
I wrap small ponytail holders around my bobbins as a colorful and inexpensive way to contain the loose thread ends.
—Jane Bulen
Stover, Missouri
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Shower Caddy
Corral fabric bundles, spray bottles, hoops, scissors, and rotary cutters with a shower caddy hung on the back of a door.
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Cosmetics Organizer
To clean up your work surface, gather items from your sewing table into an acrylic cosmetics organizer.
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Soap Case
Fill a plastic soap case with your favorite needles, thread, and scissors for a customized travel sewing kit.
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Expandable Coupon Organizer
Hold individual appliqué pieces in an expandable coupon organizer, labeling each pocket with the block number.
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Trading Card Sleeves
When I am working on multiple quilts, I put fabric samples from the different projects in trading card sleeves. It keeps the project swatches separate and makes them easy to see and match quickly. When I go shopping, I fold the sleeve and slip it into my purse.
—April Schnars
Lakewood, California
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Spice Rack
Harness spice racks built for organizing kitchen counters to store buttons, thread spools, or jars of other small notions. If repurposing a wall spice rack, look for one with a groove in the bottom or a lip designed to keep spice jars in place—the groove or lip can keep notions from falling off the shelf.
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Grip Grass
Stand marking utensils and rulers in flexible silicone grip grass.
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Clipboard Box
Use a clipboard box as an appliqué kit, tracing patterns on the closed lid and storing tools inside.
—Linda Kile
Catawissa, Pennsylvania
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Cable Wraps
Secure binding strips with cable wraps.
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Screwdriver Holder
A screwdriver holder that fits a pegboard can hold scissors, keeping them off your work space, yet handy.
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Cookie Jars
Display clear cookie jars not on a kitchen counter but near a sewing area. Fill see-through jars with colorful sewing supplies, such as thread spools, embroidery floss, zippers, or even prepared binding, to easily see and grab items as needed. The jars double as decorative accents.