A Home Sewing Corner: How to Save Square Footage

The vast majority of those who sew for themselves or for clients eventually find that their hobby hungrily "eats up" their living space 🙁 How can you set up your workspace so you don't lose comfort while still saving space? 😕

I've identified 3 problem areas that take up a lot of space: the cutting table, storage for materials, and the ironing surface.

1. The cutting table.

As it turns out, it can also serve as storage. There are two options here: keep the table open but add at least one extra shelf underneath.

Or, tuck mobile carts underneath it to hold all the things you need for your creative work.

You can also make the open shelves narrower (compared to the cutting surface) and put the base on casters so you can move the table around the room if needed, for example, closer to a window.

The second option is to enclose the workbench by making one or two "solid" sides and fitting the rest with hidden drawers.

Personally, I prefer the option that has both open space and deep drawers under the table.

2. Choosing a convertible table.

This is an art form in itself :sneaky: There are many options for these tables—from entire mobile "stations" to very, very compact models.

For example, here is an entire sewing "island": each part is on casters and can be moved, folded, and combined with the other blocks.

And here is a much more compact version with two drop-leaf surfaces:

And this table, with one drop-leaf surface, is suitable even for a very small room.

3. The ironing area.

By the way, just like the cutting table, this can also be combined with a storage area—for example, by using the surface of one of your sewing cabinets.

Or, make a mini-board and combine it with a mobile cart.

There are, of course, ironing boards built directly into a drawer, but I must admit, I've only ever seen such a miracle online 🙃

Ladies, if any of you have used similar ideas, let us know—how do you save your square footage?