Virtual Studio Tour

Cloth Paper Scissors is sponsoring a Spooky Studios Virtual Tour October 15-17. Since I haven't posted any studio pictures in a while and the Blue Gardenia hasn't contacted me (yet), I thought I'd participate with this post.

What I do: I've been sewing since I was in 7th grade and have tried a lot of different types of projects over the years. However, I keep coming back to garment sewing. Mostly I sew for myself.

Why I chose this space: My studio (aka the Sewing Cave) is located in one of the extra bedrooms in my 3 bedroom home. I had a sewing room set up in my last house too, and it got relocated here when I moved in the fall of 2004. It's right next to the master bedroom, which I felt was a little too close for a guest room. Interestingly, the previous owner also used this space as his studio.

You can see a sliver of the master bedroom from the Cave door in the next photo:


This space allows me to contain my equipment, tools, books and materials in one place. In theory, I can also close the door and hide all the clutter away, although that never happens. I used to use the third bedroom as overflow storage for fabric, but I was forced to consolidate it all in one room when my husband moved in last summer and wanted a room of his own for this things. So the third bedroom became his Man Cave and the fabrics moved into the Sewing Cave. Actually, that's been a good thing for me, as I became more organized in my storage and purchasing habits. Without getting rid of all that much, I now have it all in one room.

I have many, many portable plastic drawers that hold much of my fabric collection. This photo shows the Wall of Sterlite as I call it:


Of course, the closet is packed to the gills, but that's part of the challenge we all have, isn't it? More plastic in there:


Why it works for me: It's great to have a space where I can work on a project without having to put it away. I can be a lot more productive when I don't have to worry about setting up and taking down. No space is perfect, and my "someday" room includes a lounging area, more storage, and a larger cutting table.

Some of my favorite things in it or about it: I like having my machines set up so that I can look out the window.



This corner features a metal file cabinet that's used for storage of articles on sewing techniques, vintage patterns, and binders used to organize my pattern collection. A mini stereo sits on top. I keep my iPod docked there and listen to Pandora while I sew.


I like having the large bookcase for my reference materials--I enjoy having my books, patterns and magazines within easy reach. I'm gradually moving fabrics out of the bookcase. Because it's located directly across from the windows, there is a potential of fading. Eventually, I'd like almost everything to fit into the closet.


Most patterns are stored in the light blue boxes. The pink zebra striped bins are recent acquisitions from Hancock Fabrics that I use to store pattern overflow and other supplies.


The ones on top of the Wall of Sterlite are used for work in process. There's a separate project in each bin. The cutting table has leaves, one I leave up all the time for a work space. The other side comes up when cutting out projects, giving more than 5 running feet to work with.


A lot in a small space! My room is something like 10x11. I'm looking forward to transforming the raw elements into clothing that I'll enjoy wearing.