Organise Your Sewing Room: 9 Tips For A Tidy Workspace

April 19, 2023

Are you overwhelmed with all your sewing notions and tools? You are not alone because as we get more and more into this wonderful craft, the amount of stuff tends to grow exceptionally. Honestly, it’s an ongoing struggle for most of us, but here are some methods I’ve found very helpful for organising my sewing space and keeping it pretty clutter-free.

1. Use small drawer inserts and bins

The number one secret to great organising is to have a dedicated spot for everything. The more specific each container is, the better. This is why most of my sewing notions and tools are placed in small plastic bins and similar inserts.

I use the Ikea Kallax shelf system drawers to store my stuff. And as you can see, I’m pretty specific here, using really small bins so that everything is easy to see and access.

I also recently added plastic spool bins to my Kallax drawers. I got boxes similar to these (Amazon affiliate link) and just removed the lid. They fit well into the drawers, and I finally have a good organisation system for my small thread spools.

2. Use pretty baskets

Sewing organisation doesn’t have to be ugly just because they are functional. To give my sewing space more warmth and a natural feeling, I use storage boxes made with natural fibres, such as rattan and wood.

This pleated wood box from Ikea is where I store all my work-in-progress pieces. If I have more than one project going on simultaneously, I separate them into plastic bags.

Don’t throw away all your scraps! Instead, I like to place them in this lovely box from Ikea. Having a variety of fabric scraps is super helpful for testing things and practising new techniques.

3. Get a peg board

The Skådis pegboard from Ikea has been such a game-changer for my organisation. I love all the accessories you can get for it, and these days companies are making special attachments just for sewing stuff, such as thread racks. How awesome is that!

4. Use multifunctional storage solutions

This cutting board is made from three Ikea Kallax shelves. I added wheels and a wooden worktop, and then a cutting mat. This nifty table also has room for so much storage. It holds six boxes, four drawers and four bookshelves.

I have a lot of sewing books, and they all fit into my Kallax cutting table. Curious about how to make this cutting table? Check out how I built the table from scratch.

5. Utilise height

If your floor space is limited (isn’t it always?), explore vertical storage instead. Here I stacked a 2X2 Kallax shelf on top of a 2X4 shelf. They are joined together in the back with plate brackets, and if you can, I strongly recommend securing the shelf to the wall as well.

Another option is wall-mounted hangs and brackets, like the Swedish Elfa system. Mine is a cheaper knock-off, but it works the same way. You can add wire drawers, coat racks and other cool features.

6. Organise fabric after type, not colour

While it might look cute with a cute colour-coordinated fabric collection, I find it more helpful to organise my fabrics after material type and uses. For instance, denim fabrics in one container, lining fabrics in another, sweater knits in a third, silk and wool in another (closed container) and so forth.

My activewear fabric collection. This is my old storage; right now, I’m back to using plastic boxes for everything, but the fabrics are still organised after type.

7. Colour group your threads

I do find it very helpful to organise each thread type after colour. Here are my serger threads, and I try to keep them organised after colour. It also looks really pretty! I’m using this thread rack from Amazon (Amazon affiliate link), and it works so well.

Some will have a good argument for why storing thread out in the open isn’t a great idea (sunlight erodes the thread, and dust is also an issue). If you want to avoid this, use bins instead.

Here, I organised some serger threads in bins instead of using the Kallax drawers. Do what works best for you.

8. Put pattern magazines in binders

If you are like me and have a lot of pattern magazines, I strongly recommend using binders and envelopes to store them. You can, of course, also use regular magazine filers, and I use them for one-off magazines. But for Burdastyle, I’ve created this really great system that makes it easy to find each issue.

I sort the magazines by year, and if you are curious, check out my post on How I organised all my pattern magazines.

So there you have it, 8 tips for organising your sewing stuff. Now this list could be even longer, but I hope it gave you fresh ideas on how to declutter your sewing space and make everything easy to access.