Craft room essentials

My craft room, oh how I love it! In essence it’s a couple of long white tables, some sewing equipment and some beautiful wall paper. But it’s my creative space and here’s why it works for me…

 

Light – as much as possible…

To sew I need light. This room has big south facing windows so it’s got loads of natural light coming in. For the evenings I have a 100 watt ceiling light as well as three lamps. It might sound a bit much but for fine detail work and little stitches it’s completely necessary.

 

Space for each activity

I have these 2 big white tables from Ikea. So one is for my sewing machine and tools like scissors and cottons. The other end has my computer and enough space to lay out my current project. If I’m making rag dolls, I need room to lay out fabrics and pattern pieces. When I am making memory bears I use the space to lay out the client’s baby clothes to choose the best way to showcase the designs of the clothes on the bear.

 

Labelled supplies

Each time I start a new project I lay out the elements needed. So as I start a cloth mermaid doll I lay out the fabrics I need, the buttons, the embroidery thread for the mouth, the fleece for the hair, the eyes and all the fabrics. And everything else I put away. So there’s no clutter, and no time wasting looking for stuff!

I have a young daughter and a three day a week shift job which together need a lot of my waking hours. So when it is time to sew I need to be able to immediately start work wherever I left off. With no faffing!

At the end of each sewing session I lay everything out ready for my next session. I am a note writer. So if it would not be instantly obvious to me what I need to do next I leave myself a little note. On top of my project so I can’t miss it! It might sound silly but for me it works…

Storage solutions

I have a compartmentalised plastic tray to hold my cottons and the labels, safety eyes etc that I need for my current work. I have a badge my daughter gave me on Mother’s Day too. Not because it is essential but because it  makes me smile every time I see it…

I have a pot to hold my fabric scissors, my pinking shears, my paper scissors (for pattern cutting), and little sharp embroidery scissors. Also a pencil and ruler for pattern adjustments.

Under the desk I have lots of big plastic boxes all labeled so I can find stuff quickly and easily. It looks a mess and one day will be tidied into new boxes and become beautiful, but for now it’s practical.

Everything I need is in reach

I have all the tools of my trade here in my craft room within easy reach. My sewing machine on the desk, and my ironing board (a sewist’s essential item) next to it. Then after my laying-projects-out space I have my computer and my radio. I find that if I am not concentrating very well, shutting the door and putting Radio 2 on helps immensely. I make myself a quiet cocoon so I can focus.

Lastly; that wallpaper

Oh I love it! It is Laura Ashley’s Oriental Garden natural/ charcoal floral wallpaper, sadly no discontinued. It is a pale gold when the sun is shining and a more sultry darker shade of gold in lamp light. It inspires me. Sadly it is a bit too busy to show in most product shots but still a lovely thing to see when I look up from my work.

So that’s what I need for my craft room, what essentials do you need in yours (or just really, really want)?