How To Organize A Craft Space
Today I’m going to show you how to organize a craft and/or sewing space. I have arranged my space in one corner of my office.
I’m a firm believer of that old saying “There’s a Place for Everything and Everything in its Place.”
Storing Buttons & Thread:
I decided to organize my buttons in jars. Glass jars are a good source for storing a multitude of small things in your home.
It’s a good way to store thread as well. I was lucky that this tall glass jar managed to hold all my small spools of thread. Barely!
My Vintage Rolling Cart:
I’ve had this old vintage cart for years. It is pretty beat up and needs some loving care, as you can tell.
But I still love it. I’ve used it all over my home in the last four homes I’ve lived in; this apartment being the fourth.
I think I paid $35 for it at an antique store that was going out of business back in Texas.
This $10 table I’ve used as a dining table and a side table. And right now it’s serving as my craft space table.
I always like to have my fabric scissors, that I use on nothing but fabric, right where I can find them. The same goes for my pin cushion.
Storing Fabric:
Then I have my fat quarters arranged in a vintage wood box.
There are various sizes of needles inside the glass jar next to the folded fabric, along with other odds and ends.
I like to use vintage sources for storage in a sewing or craft space when I can. I think they are a nice addition to this kind of space.
Using the jars as storage keeps everything neatly organized.
Ivy can’t get to the buttons, which she very much wants to. And I can see at a glance what I need at any given time.
Underneath the bottom shelf is where I store my sewing machine, along with larger sizes of fabric.
As you can see my craft and sewing space is not taking up much room in my office. It is kind of tucked into one corner.
Using Book Shelves & Plastic Containers:
This bookshelf was already in the room, and I use it for books and beads and sheets of wool felt, etc.
Clear plastic boxes hold rolls of ribbon, beads, and all kinds of sewing notions.
I also like to use items from my kitchen for storage. For instance, ramekin bowls.
Think outside of the box. Baskets are great to use as storage and they look pretty. If it’s decorative, then that’s an added bonus.
Do you have other ideas for storing sewing and craft items?
Your craft area came out great, Brenda! The buttons in the jars look terrific!
I have a lot of scrapbooking and art journaling supplies. Most of it is organized in the closet in the guest room/”my” room. Other supplies are in a 3-tier rolling cart next to my desk.
Brenda,
I do not know that I have any ideas that would improve your craft area…..it looks great! I do believe that having my needlework out and ready to pick up encourages me to work on it. You craft nook looks inviting, colorful and will welcome you when you are able to take on a project. I enjoyed this post and I plan to use some time tomorrow to organize my neglected space.
Thank you for the inspiration, Sherry B
You are so good at organizing things! Your craft room looks great! It’s so much easier to work on any project when you are organized.
Everything looks so nice as usual…I had fun looking at the bowl fillers on Etsy…wanted all the heart ones as I love hearts…craft until your heart is content💕
Have always loved your rolling cart. And that yellow table is swoon-worthy. Organizing and re-organizing is my happy place. I’ve got a lot of old sewing machine drawers like your vintage wooden box that I use all over the house. One of our homes had been owned by an antiques dealer and she left the boxes behind.
I like the compression gloves I got at CVS. Think they were around $15 but feel so good on my hands. I just rinse them out well at night in my bathroom sink and then they are dry by morning. I love your table and set up. The fabric looks so sweet in the vintage box. I use a pair of Fiscars snip type scissors that have an easy grip for arthritis for my embroidery . I really like the lap desk you recommended before Christmas and now use that too on my lap for embroidery.
That lap desk is absolutely one of my best buys! I use the Fiskars snip scissors and have them in three different rooms to have them handy.
I have used those snips scissors for years and like you have several pairs. The spring in them eventually breaks so I am always glad to have a backup till I get another pair. I swear by them for cutting threads. Much easier to grip and hang on to. Glad you like the lap desk too.
It is a gem.
It looks great! Your motivation to create new spaces and rearrange things to best advantage in the space you have is contagious, I think you passed that bug to me. Yesterday I cleared out a large box from my prior office/library that has been sitting untouched for 8 years (since I moved in to this, my retirement home) in the smallest bedroom that I use as my office/library/den. 90% of it was trashed, the rest I kept and need to organize and put away where it makes sense (like in photo albums). It felt – liberating!!! I’ve been itching for more than a month to reorganize/redo that room and have been looking at Pinterest. I came across a pin from your website from 2016 about how to do different arrangements of furniture, and it inspired me. I know there has to be a way I can rearrange the furniture in that small room that will work better than what I presently have. I have another big box that is sitting on the bottom shelf of one of my bookcases in that room staring at me. I took a “day off” today, I will tackle that box tomorrow. You are an inspiration, Brenda, just please be careful not to push yourself past what your ankle can do.
Well that sounds promising! It’s always nice to get things done and check it off your list. I am not overdoing it, but I appreciate your concern. I sit in the chair at the table and do most everything. Sifting buttons and arranging. The cart is within a few feet of the table, so I can get a lot done there without even having to get up!
Brenda, you may enjoy the youtube channel “Just Get it Done Quilts”. Karen has a whole playlist about organizing your sewing space and decluttering. She always has great ideas. Even if you don’t implement them she is fun to watch.
I’ll check this out! Thanks!
the arthritis gloves with copper work really well.
I’ll check into those.
Thanks for the tip. I just ordered the copper compression gloves.
Great suggestions
There has been a cutting wheel for years that would be easier on your fingers and hands.
I never could get those to work well for me. The scissors I have I’ve used for years and are easy on arthritic hands.
I’ve always loved your yellow table and it’s perfect to use as a craft table. If you need more space the drop leaf is so handy. The rolling cart is a wonderful companion.
I use some similar things in my sewing space. I have one of the original Raskog carts from Ikea and use it to sort different projects. The top ‘tray’ holds a variety of things.
One of my favorite things in my sewing space is a cutlery container – must be rectangular. I keep notebads in the large opening (normally used for napkins) The small openings hold scissors, rotary cutter, pens, pencils, Frixion marking pens, 6″ rulers, etc. It’s so handy. I actually have two – one near my sewing machine and the other in the top tray of my rolling cart. I use a cupcake baking tin in a drawer to sort needles, pins, etc. I love to use small trays when I’m working on projects to hold things that have a tendency to roll away.
I, too, use jars to hold buttons, small clothes pins, etc. And, I’m crazy about tin containers. LOL
That’s enough from me. LOL Enjoy your new creative space and make it your “Happy Place”.
Love your ideas, Darlene! Several times I’ve started to give that yellow table away. But I find I can’t part with it. And yes, the drop leaf on each side is an added bonus!
I think you’d have major regrets if you got rid of that wonderful yellow table. It has served you well and will continue to. And, the rolling cart must stay, too. LOL
So glad you have space for a sewing nook and organizing your supplies. It all looks so nice. Had a doctors appt this morning and after was able to go into Walmart. I found some small black & white Buffalo check material and bought a yard. I am incorporating Buffalo check around the house. Also got some
small, flat heart buttons in pink, white & red. I am going to make small stuffed heart hanging ornaments for my little silver tree I keep up until spring. Each one will have a colored heart button in the center for Valentine’s Day. I am so excited to be doing something crafty that I can accomplish. Someone mentioned the other day about therapeutic gloves, so I checked them out on Amazon.I ordered the therapeutic arthritis gloves, 1 pair with open finger tips for daytime and a pair with covered fingers. I have had “arthritis gloves in the past that were gray and cloth. While they were a bit snug they didn’t have much compression. I ordered Isotoner brand. I used to always have their gloves for driving and they felt better than the cloth arthritis ones did. I’ll let you know if their arthritis ones work better.
The gloves I have are gray and cloth and aren’t really that snug. I’m checking into the Isotoner brand you mentioned.