Closet Sewing Room

Bluebird Gardens sewing room is in a closet where I can close the doors and leave projects out.

Closet Sewing Room

As we brainstorm gift ideas, this is one that my mother used to talk about all of the time. She wanted a room - not even a room, just a place - where she could set up her sewing machine and leave it up without having to take it down every time we needed to set the table for dinner.

So when I set up my Bluebird Gardens office, I remembered those conversations and chose to make a closet into my sewing area.

It's about twice the size of a regular closet. I added shelves so I could keep my smaller fabric stashes organized by color. I also added a little light under the lowest shelf to give me more sewing light.

The sewing table is a butcher block top with ceramic legs from my mother's old sewing room. I have plastic bins on the right holding the things I use the most when sewing: different-sized elastics, fabric glue, filled bobbins.

My sewing machine stays out all of the time now with the sewing spool holder my brother made when he was 9 years old hanging on the wall behind it. A small bench that tucks under the sewing table when not in use gives me seating room in front of the machine. When I am finished with using the area, I close the folding doors without having to put the sewing machine away.

I forgot how much of a luxury this is until a friend was renovating an old bedroom and wanted some suggestions on how to make it into her craft room. Wish you could have seen her eyes when she saw my closet!

To turn a closet into a sewing room, you need a sewing table and chair that will fit into the space when not in use; lighting over the sewing machine and doors that can be closed. Shelving is additional and can be added over time.

Charlotte