Quite a few of the sew along reels that I film for you are done in my home, and I get questions from y’all all the time about how I organize my personal sewing studio. So, today I’m taking you on a tour, answering some of your most frequently asked questions, and giving you a peek behind the scenes. Keep reading for some organizational inspiration that you can bring into your own sewing space!
Fabric Storage
When it comes to organizing fabric, there are so many options for how to sort and keep track of everything. The best way for me to organize is by designer, so I give each designer’s fabric their own bin! If there is too much fabric to fit in just one, they get another! I make this system work by using detachable labels that can move from bin to bin. New collections are always being added to my stash, and stash fabric is getting used in quilts, so having that flexibility is key!
Fabric Storage Supplies
- Storage Bins: I originally bought my bins at the Container Store, but these are the same size!
- Clip-On Bin Labels: These clip on nice and secure, but are easy to move around.
- Printable Labels: Instead of using a dry-erase marker for the basket labels, I like to print off the designer names onto clear labels.
My collection of Lori Holt Fabrics quickly outgrew their bins, so now I have this adorable aqua hutch where I keep all of her fabric! It brings me sew much joy every time I open it up!
Cross Stitch Storage
I like to keep all of my DMC floss in these cute jars, out where I can see them. All the different floss and bobbin colors are too cute to hide away in a drawer! I got these specific jars so long ago that I can’t remember, but similar ones are easy to find at your local craft and home decor stores.
Cross Stitch Storage Supplies
- Floss Flower Thread Bobbins, a Fat Quarter Shop Exclusive
- Decorative jars from your local craft and home decor stores
Book, Pattern, Magazine, and Design Board Storage
My library of quilty books, patterns, and magazines lives on one bookshelf in my sewing room. With so many different sizes and binding styles, they really benefit from being organized into these magazine holders. I got these white metal ones a while ago from Ikea, and they always have something cute like this in stock! I also like these magazine racks from Amazon.
A big question I get is where I store my Lori Holt Design Boards, and the answer is, on top of my bookshelf! As you can see in the first photo, I organize them into stacks by size and keep them on top of my bookshelf, ready at a moment’s notice.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
What sewing machine do you use?
I recently upgraded the sewing machine in my sewing room to the JUKI DDL-9000C Series Industrial Machine. It’s an industrial sewing machine, which means I can sew super fast and make even more quilts!
What iron do you use?
Pressing is one of my favorite parts of quilting, and the Laurastar Smart U System is awesome. Since I starch my fabric, I like to use steam when I press, and this iron means fewer water refills!
Do you use all of that thread on your thread wall?
The thread wall is mainly there for decoration, mostly because I love Aurifil 2000! I typically just buy a cone of Aurifil 2000 to do my piecing with, and I’ll pick up a new one when I run out.
How do you organize your notions and papers?
Caddies, bins, boxes, and any other cute storage that I’ve collected over the years! Basically, if it’s cute, I have the space for it, and it fits some notions, it’s going to find a home in my sewing room. I love using a caddy to organize my Triangles On A Roll Paper, and this aqua caddy from Amazon is a great option.
Share your favorite organizational hacks
I hope you had fun looking around my personal sewing studio and that you got some ideas for your own sewing space! Now, it’s time for you to share! Tell us in the comments below what your favorite sewing organization tip is, or share your own sewing space with us on social media. Be sure to tag @FatQuarterShop in your photos so I can see them and get inspiration from you as well!
Happy quilting,
Stay connected to Fat Quarter Shop!
25 comments
It appears you have a lot of room in your sewing room. Love all your ideas. How big is your sewing room?
Thank you for sharing. The labels for bins are perfect. I recently purged and reorganized my room. I wrapped all fabric on comic book boards that was 1/4 yard or greater. I am a visual person and seeing all my yardage in front of me helps me to really take inventory. I organize season/holiday/ theme/ color. I used the bins for scraps organized the same way. The tables on my bins will really help!
I made a pressing station by placing a batting and duck wrapped board on top of horizontal Walmart 8-cube shelf. The board is made to fit snugly on the shelf and the shelf sits on small moving dollies from Harbor Freight so I can move it away from the wall if I need to. The shelf provides great storage! I love it!
I love the caddy idea for the triangles on a roll. I just saw a rotating caddy at TJ Maxx I might have to grab now!
Thanks for sharing. Your ideas are always wonderful. Love, love your thread wall. My husband said he thought you and I should see who has the most thread! LO
YOU ARE ALWAYS GIVING US GREAT IDEAS.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
My sewing space is a mess. I’m holding out for a room exchange!!!
My sewing room is small but I don’t have near the inventory you do. After starching my FQ bundles I place them in a clear plastic shoe box and label them accordingly, most of my storage is done with shelving that my husband built. I have flat square plastic boxes bought from Dollar store which keeps a completely cut out project with label and printed pattern inside. One size of my sewing room is dedicated to bag making with leathers and vinyls when I’m ready for a new purse including a heavy duty sewing machine for those projects. You and Donna Jordan inspired me many years ago and started quilting and never looked back.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas! I have a challenging issue with scraps, and I like your bins so I think I may order those. The labels are a great idea, too! Now I just have to figure out how to organize the scraps! Love your sewing room!!
I struggle with that too! Take a look at Gina Tell’s website https://www.thread-graffiti.com/
A while back she showed off her sewing studio and she has a spectacular idea for storing scraps.
My favorite organizing is having everything on wheels. I have my rulers in a grooved wall mount ruler holder right above my cutting table (a k. Island on wheels) and at the back, my little stacked drawers for my 2.5″ and smaller scraps. I have a $1 cloth bin mounted to swip trash into as i go.A drawer has all the cutters and within reach of sewing area and the cutting table I have a desktop pencil sorter that keeps markers in easy reach.
I wish I had that kind of space. I have two rooms, one for quilting and one with an industrial for bagmaking. They’re both a mess cause my house just doesn’t have storage space for anything! Small rooms, small closets etc. I think I need to go rent an office space just to sew in😂
Oh my how I love your “special nook” Kimberly!!
The problem l have found with most shelving units for fabric, books/patterns, and other tools of our trade is the fact the design of these essentials can not bear the weight without bowing. Once bowing happens, the unit starts to give way where fastened and a lean/wobble/ shifting happens.
My fabrics are kept according to color and type, batiks separate from the rest of fabrics. Precuts are organized according to size
Like most of us, we are limited with space!
Sewing has really become a life journey.
I recently saw a stack of bins organized by rainbow for scraps and immediately copied it. Sorted all the fat quarter and smaller scraps by colors and it has really helped me use my stash more and be more creative about about using my scraps instead of buying more. I also have a laundry basket sized bin on wheels in the middle of the room for trash and it has helped because you can toss in the general directions and keep things neat and the kitties like sleeping in it, too.
What a great post! My sewing space is shared with the family office so it’s a juggling act. But I do have all of my fabrics organized by designer like you do – there are just some designers that I absolutely love and their fabric collections are a must to have on hand also stored in labeled bins. Could you please share where you found your Lori Holt Fabric Hutch? It looks like the perfect size for storing fabrics and something like that would work in my tiny corner and I have TONS of her fabrics. Any help/suggestions is very appreciated!
Thank you for sharing your lovely ideas and space. I’ll be adding the hanging bin labels to my bins. I am currently sewing in a small space. I utilize my walls for efficient storage. I’ve made a cute pocket organizer for tools and notions; it even has a space to display my needle minders. Another pocket organizer holds notebooks and patterns. I use a wall mount office file bin to store rulers That I use frequently but not daily. I also store cones of quilting thread in the pockets of an over the door shoe organizer. It’s not perfect but works in a small space.
Love your “Lori” storage❣️
I love the bookcases/cabinets from Ikea for storing fabric. I use the comic boards and they sit beautifully on the 12″ shelves. I’ve had no problem with them bowing. Also they have great white storage boxes which fit perfectly on the shelves for storing your precuts. If using the smaller bins they stack nicely on shelves. You can have the bookcase with/without doors.
This post just made my day. Thanks for sharing links. I have an Amazon list for organizing so I saved everything there.
I have Lori’s fabric saved separately as that is what I have the most of. I like the idea of storing by designer. I don’t have as much fabric, but their fabrics often coordinate, so it’s easy for me to blend and match. Thanks for sharing your space.
I love my U. S General tool carts from Harbor Freight!
They are bright yellow and on wheels so it’s easy to move them around.
26 x 22 with 8 drawers. This style may be discontinued but there are similar available. I waited for a sale.
These are such great organization tips. I did find some metal clip on label holders for chalk. I try to avoid buying any more plastic than I have to. I love that iron, that’s a boss! I have a gravity steam iron that was actually cheaper than the name brand iron from Germany (begins with an R) and I love it.
Thank you for sharing your sewing space.
After moving out of our big old house where we lived for 25 years…. I had my sewing room right on the main level next to the kitchen.
In my new house, I have now moved my sewing upstairs. I arranged the room the same as the old space to keep my head on straight for now. I am not wild about the upstairs, because I used to just do all of the chores on the main level of the old place, and cook and sew at the same time. Now I am up and down the stairs, which is good for exercise of course, but now I am getting to “what did I come down here for again?” or “what is that weird sound? Oh potatoes boiling down stairs, yikes!” So, I might be moving a machine down stairs after all.
I love your organization and your space and adorable helper
Thank you for letting us inside your space! So many wonderful ideas! I was extremely happy to see Puggie. Thank you again😊
Thank you for the storage ideas. I’m new to quilting. Trying to get a small room organized. I will use some of your tips. Appreciate you passing along places the items can be purchased.
I have my comic book boards sorted by color and use these colorful bookends to hold them up: https://www.containerstore.com/s/office/office-supplies/index-bookends/12d?productId=10033126
This one is weird, but I got a free metal locker because the door wouldn’t lock, and I turned it into ruler storage. On the inside, there’s a ruler rack on top of some plastic drawers for scraps or thread or whatever. I also used a combination of magnetic and Command hooks to hold rulers on the inside and outside walls. My most used rulers are on the outside.
Thank you for all of your tutorials!!! LOVE them! I am looking to upgrade my sewing machine. How did you decide on the Juki DDL-9000C? I have researched this machine since seeing that you have this one. There are so many to choose from. Thanks for your input! 🙂