Stylish Sewing Room

A well-organized work space means less time spent searching and more time spent quilting. Whether you have a dedicated sewing room or are set up in the guest room closet or a corner of the family room, you'll find something to suit your style and space. Adopt the ones you love!

Stick your neck out and add a mannequin--or two--to your space. Then put her to work holding your measuring tapes and modeling your newest apron. If her frame is fabric-covered, pin on a couple of fabric swatches so you can ponder them for a few days as your play with your next project's color palette.

Plain glass jars too boring? Dress them up with adorable labels you can download!

Get the free labels here.

Elevate your thread collection to artwork! Surround an ordinary thread spool holder with a brightly painted frame to set it apart.

Who doesn't enjoy getting a cheap seat now and then? If you find one with fabric that offends your style sensibilities, re-cover it with your favorite dots for a seat that's spot on!

Not finding an attractive ironing board cover? Create your own! Using the original cover as a pattern, cover the board with a favorite cotton fabric that you've lined with one or more layers of thin cotton batting for padding.

Don't limit your reading material to standard bookshelves. Repurpose a vintage wire rack to keep quilting resources in view.

Sort buttons by color or style in test tubes and store the test tubes in a beaker so you won't have to experiment with your ability to resist buying more buttons.

Fat quarters: Fold them and forget them? No way! Press and hang them side by side from curtain clip rings to make easily changed cafe curtains.

Tired of patting your tabletop to find where you've set your scissors? Slide your scissors, point first, into the center openings of antique bobbins and you'll always have a handle on their whereabouts.

Do you buy bits of ribbon, then wonder what you'll do with them? Store pieces in sight on a multipair trousers hanger so they will be top-of-mind for your next project.

Stacking rulers on uneven surfaces can warp them. Why not hang them instead? Turn old doorknobs and metal hooks into hangers by mounting them on a pretty painted 2x4 that then can be hung on a wall. Tie ribbons through the holes in the rulers and hang them from the knobs and hooks.

Look at a storage piece from another angle. Upend a cubbyhole unit so its openings are on the top instead of the side. Then fill it with tall rolls of interfacing, freezer paper, and fusibles.

Storage comes in all shapes and sizes. You may prefer uniform boxes that hide away dissimilar ojbects, or you may like to line up your spools of trim in an open bin that's at the ready when inspiration strikes.

Vintage magazine and pattern covers make great art--group them for visual impact.

Skirt the issue of how and where to hang mini quilts (or sets of finished blocks waiting to be joined). Clip them to a skirt or pants hanger and hook the hanger over a shelf. Hangers are especially helpful where wall space is limited.

Cook up fun displays by stealing from the kitchen. One possibility is to fill a three-tier server with colorful spools of floss, tiny jars of buttons, and other quilter eye candy.