Designing a new sewing room - hints & tips

[KatyMac]

Ok so now ive done the kitchen and bathroom (very tricky) i can have fun designing my sewing room.

It's 2.5m by 5m with a door and window on the short wall and an internal door door 2/3rds to 3/4's of the way up the left long wall - hopefully I can add a velux at some point in the future (when we can afford it)

So cutting table, projector, storage, ironing board? (Or cover the table in ironing cloth?)

Any helpful hints, tips, suggestions, handholding? All gratefully received

Congrats on finishing your kitchen and bathroom.

I'd have a sewing table with drop down shelf for the sewing machine and appropriate storage for fabric etc. I'd be inclined to start small and add things as you find a need for them.

My cutting table is height adjustable, drop sided, wheeled and has a cutting grid marked on top. It's really fabulous (with a £££ price to match) and doubles as a movable WFH desk for me/DH as needed when we have guests staying in other rooms. DH is a foot taller than me, hence the height adjustable bit. The cutting grid is really worth having.

I don't have a dedicated room, I use the 2nd sitting room/garden room (north facing with patio doors so fab in Summer), hence the drop sided choice, but sewing is only one of my many hobbies, so it would sadly be a waste of a room.

Yes, when I say finished, I mean my plans are ready to take to the builder!!

It's my job so it needs a room, I also do teaching and fittings from home so, shrugs

Im looking at 2 kallax with a play wood top, which folds onto a 3rd kallax against the wall giving me 1.5 square(ish) but I might be better narrower longer ill have a play with drawing

And im thinking a kitchen counter for the sewing machines but maybe a bit lower

Very envious of the height adjustments but im not sure I'd use it

Do you use task lighting?

Ill project onto my cutting table so ill need a socket near the ceiling with a switch by the lights i think

This is definitely worth an afternoon on youtube. Sewing room set up and Ikea hacks for sewing will get you a lot of videos!
I am just a hobby sewist, but the projector onto a big enough cutting table was a game changer for me. Think about work flow and lighting. I have the iron off to one side of the cutting table and the sewing machines on another table on the other side. Which works when ironing to cut, but not when pressing seams when sewing if you see what I mean. I also need to sort the lighting, as the ceiling lights are behind my head when I stand at my cutting table, so what I am cutting is in shadow.
Good luck with the planning and hope you get an amazing space!

I think ill have 2 irons one at sitting height for when sewing and one on the cutting table

I am instagramming ideas but ill move on to YouTube!

My current desk is too low but I would like my sewing machine/overlocker level with my counter - not sure how to do that with different shaped machines

Initial plans are quite pedestrian and im a very visual person so open storage is vital

I'll need a large cutting mat (I use electric scissors but I need ut for the projector)

I've found this https://merlin-industrial.com/products/heavy-duty-cutting-mat?variant=42598275973256 - what does anyone think?

I see for a living so I do use my space a lot, rather than for a hobby. I have two IKEA tables with adjustable legs for a cutting table (with Kallax units underneath). My old sewing desk was the same but I have industrial machines now so have their own tables.
I love my thread organiser on the wall, I have my threads in a rainbow so I can easily find the colour I want.
I have plastic drawers from B&Q under my cutting table for things like zips, elastic, templates.
My metal metre ruler is my most used sewing accessory apart from scissors.

@DelilahBucketwould you mind sharing your Ikea tables with adjustable legs/ cutting table set up? I sew for a living too and still use our dining table resulting in a really stiff back during busy spells.

Adjustable LED daylight lighting. My main room light mimics sunlight and I can adjust the brightness. I have task lights that can be adjusted for temperature as well as brightness. I can mimic daylight when choosing colours and then adjust temperature and brightness according to my comfort and preference when I’m doing other parts.

I quilt, and have seen sewers using miniature irons to press seams without leaving the sewing table. Not travel irons, but irons held in the palm, or irons like a heated triangular spoon. I like the look of them and the efficiency. OTOH getting up from the sewing table and going to my ironing board is better for my back, so I haven’t bought one.

I would probably have a selection of ironing surfaces. Sometimes all you need is a ham or a sleeve board, sometimes you need the large pointed end of a full ironing board.

I love the adjustable leg tables and the idea of daylight/adjustable lighting - squee! Id love details about both

Love my 1m rule and I have a tape measure taped to the table by my sewing machine which is so useful (only about 40cm or so)

I have a lot of kallax and I have some fake kallax which I hope to replace with real ones so I am size consistent

Thinking ironing table at sewing machine height but at right angles so I can swivel between the 2 & an ironing pad on my big cutting table for bigger jobs - i just broke my steam generator so im waiting to replace that on marketplace & im using a standard iron atm - so ill have 2

I have a sleeve ironing accessory and I should make a ham or 2 I guess, anyone seen a pattern?

Im trying the reuse or buy 2nd hand as much as possible

Getting lots of ideas, thanks

I bought my first LED daylight ceiling panel from Costco, and was so pleased with it that I bought two more for the kitchen. Mine are simply dimmable, without temperature change, but they are so comfortable to use. Since then, I have bought or been given freestanding task lamps, some of which can be adjusted for temperature as well as brightness. One of my favourite tabletop task lamps came from the Middle of Lidl. There is so much choice now, and what I have is relatively old, so I hesitate to recommend particular models. Google something like adjustable LED daylight lamps.

Depending on your age you may want to consider a task lamp with an illuminated magnifying glass. I find I need one in the evenings. I like my Magnificient Pro 3-in-1 Magnifying Lamp - when it works. It has a weak connection and sometimes turns off when I adjust its position. I use it floorstanding.

What about an LED lightbox? Much better than taping things to the window to copy them! I have a Purelight A4 one. It's big enough for patchwork and embroidery. For dressmaking patterns I would get a larger one.

I have a freestanding magnifying mirror with a light which I use occasionally but I have an old daylight (sad) light which i reflect off the ceiling and I adore that!

I picked up the daylight one on marketplace amd bought a second smaller one i balance on my machine (eek!)