The Sewing Place
Tools of the Trade => Sewing Spaces and Furniture => Topic started by: Diane on December 26, 2020, 14:19:46 PM
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Good afternoon all and Merry Christmas
I'm hoping you can help as i'm looking to get a "sewing she shed" erected in the garden and wanted to know if anyone has one. I wanted to know if you do have one, what type do you have and if it gets damp at all as i will be wanting to store all my fabric etc
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I don’t have one but a friend has... hers is not insulated. I wouldn’t want to keep my stash and machines without it being well insulated and heating of some kind.
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My other half has been building a garden room. It isn't finished yet but he has been insulating it well as he goes along. We dry lined it this summer and so far it is dry inside - no condensation or damp. We will be fitting a flat panel electric heater inside but have tried it with a small freestanding heater and it warms up very quickly. I won't be using it as a sewing room but I think it would work for that very well.
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My other half has been building a garden room. It isn't finished yet but he has been insulating it well as he goes along. We dry lined it this summer and so far it is dry inside - no condensation or damp. We will be fitting a flat panel electric heater inside but have tried it with a small freestanding heater and it warms up very quickly. I won't be using it as a sewing room but I think it would work for that very well.
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That's a lovey garden room :loveit: love the colour as well. I want to fully move all my sewing to the new location so it definitely needs some heating and insulation for sure.
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The garden room is nice. I guess this is so you can be outside but warm? In Arizona we'd need AC instead.
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Yes @mudcat - although it's not finished we did use it, with the doors open, this year in September and October when it wasn't really warm enough to sit outside. It's prime function, however, has been to give him something to do. He hasn't got enough "puff" these days for a full day's work but loves to be able to go out and do 2 -3 hours pottering on it.
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My neighbour has a fabulous sewing shed which was originally a playroom for her grandchildren. Insulation and heat are essential. Condensation is the killer with any outside space.
One thing she has done which is an excellent use of space is use a long (4m probably) , narrow length of kitchen worktop along one complete side. It is supported on three 3 drawer units and is heavy enough to sit on top of them without shifting. Her machine, overlocker and coverstitch are all out permanently with 9 drawers that she can access without even getting off her wheeled chair.
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My neighbour has a fabulous sewing shed which was originally a playroom for her grandchildren. Insulation and heat are essential. Condensation is the killer with any outside space.
One thing she has done which is an excellent use of space is use a long (4m probably) , narrow length of kitchen worktop along one complete side. It is supported on three 3 drawer units and is heavy enough to sit on top of them without shifting. Her machine, overlocker and coverstitch are all out permanently with 9 drawers that she can access without even getting off her wheeled chair.
That's a good idea using kitchen worktop, i would like to have my sewing machine and overlocker out all of the time. I do currently have a horn gemini cabinet which enables me to convert it to a flatbed if needed and i was thinking of getting another cabinet for the overlocker but the worktop would probably be better and i could always sell the horn cabinet.
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I think @snoozi soozi has a garden sewing room??
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In Cornwall I used the converted garage. It was dry lined and insulated.I had kitchen worktop down one side and it worked well
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I’ve also got kitchen worktop along one wall. It’s fixed to a framework of wooden battens and supported by table legs. It always has a sewing/embroidery machine, overlocker and Coverstitch machine out. They aren’t very deep so if you need to work on something large that will need to go behind the machine that’s something to think about. But works well for me. I do dressmaking but not into quilting.
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You could also cut a length of worktop in half and place them side by side for a large cutting table. It would need sturdy support, however.
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In Cornwall I used the converted garage. It was dry lined and insulated.I had kitchen worktop down one side and it worked well
I almost got my hands on our garage, it's a detached brick built one 18x9, hubby said i could convert it, then changed his mind the following day :\ he did however suggest i could get a sewing room erected at the bottom of the garden. Just working out what size i would need etc
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I think @snoozi soozi has a garden sewing room??
I do, it's a log cabin, 4 x 3 metres but just at the mo it's a wee bit chilly, I haven't done any sewing for about a month now :|
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I do, it's a log cabin, 4 x 3 metres but just at the mo it's a wee bit chilly, I haven't done any sewing for about a month now :|
Do you find you have plenty of room with the 4 x 3 metres?
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@Diane apologies, it's 5 x 3 metres, not good with measurements, it's a wonder I manage to sew anything :|
It's plenty big enough for me, it contains a cutting table sized 2 x 1 metre, a daybed, a stereo system and gubbins housed in a cupboard, a smallish table for just my sewing machine and a big ironing board. Oh, and Gussie (dressform).
I've been canny with the space, there are high shelves, the big table has a shelf at the bottom full of fabric, books, magazines, patterns etc.
I'm unable to take pics otherwise I could show it you.
But, let's be honest, however big ones rooms are one always manages to fill them up, right? ;)
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How right you are @snoozi soozi. I used to work in a narrow bedroom years ago and thought it was wonderful because I had my own space. My sewing table was an old small gateleg table.
I had a decent sized room when we moved in here and I had an old desk with drawers and my big cutting table and a chest of drawers. But since moving into this room after DS moved out I now have a 12ft long work bench, 3 large sets of drawers, a cupboard full of books, boxes and files and still struggle for space! :rolleyes:
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That's how I started, in a bedroom with a desk, a sewing machine and the dining room table to cut out. Each project had a new reel of thread, fabric and maybe a zip, no extra storage only leftover reels of thread. First bit of proper storage was a box similar to the Singer one bought around 1992 via the Sew Today magazine, which was for the leftover thread.
I couldn't spread out, there was nothing to spread out :laughing:
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@Gernella it didn’t help when I started my C&G. I was hooked on pattern cutting and had to buy all sorts of books for that as well as sewing. And then going to work in a sewing shop just about sealed my fate. So many fabrics and threads available to me right there at discount prices. :scream:
So many machines I could play with whenever I liked. In fact, actively encouraged to! And when I became the one responsible for choosing the dress fabrics, well......
I do miss just being able to pick up a thread or buttons without having to go anywhere special for it.
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@Diane
Any news on your sewing space, I am interested as I am thinking of rehousing my sewing spot, I do have a tiny sewing room but find it really difficult, not sure of the measurements but I can touch the walls both sides :(
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@Diane
Any news on your sewing space, I am interested as I am thinking of rehousing my sewing spot, I do have a tiny sewing room but find it really difficult, not sure of the measurements but I can touch the walls both sides :(
Hi
@Celia I wish i could say yes but after unexpectedly finishing work at 54 (and 3/4s) not my choice, i decided not to proceed with a new sewing space in the garden as the quote was nearing £22,000. I'm at home all day on my own now until DH gets in at 4:30, so i just pull out my horn sewing cabinet by the lounge patio door and i sew here with a lovely view, my lounge is fairly large so i have plenty of space. I converted one of my huge wardrobes into craft storage so everything is now organised nicely. I'd rather save the money for a rainy day and as DH pointed out, we will probably move house in the near future so i can make sure i get my extra sewing space when we do.
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@Diane yes I am thinking the same about using either the extension to my kitchen or part of my living room. I am in the same boat I am a bit older than you but I was self employed at the beginning of the lockdown and work just gave up completely. I am now on early retirement with no pension yet so I need to think a bit carefully about what I do.
A horn cabinet or something like it might be on my radar once I settle to how much and what sort on sewing I am go into do. Filling the days sometimes seems hard and other times they just race away.
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@Celia No point in wasting money if you have a space that you can use. I have 12 years before i get the government pension which has made me think twice about spending all that money on an outside sewing room, now i have the house to myself for most of the day, there seems no point really. I would absolutely love a dedicated sewing space but i must be sensible now i'm not working.
DH bought me a new horn cabinet for my birthday about 3 years ago and i love it, excellent quality and fairly compact but opens out to create quite a lovely sewing space. I have seen them for sale second hand so maybe something to keep an eye out for. I have plenty of crafts to keep me busy but i seem to have trouble focusing at the moment, going from working full time to nothing has had a weird effect but i'm hoping that i'll settle in to a routine soon.
I see you are in the next county to me :D
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That looks like a nice place to sew @Diane yes I am not too far from Sussex years ago I used to go to Midhurst a lot
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That looks like a nice place to sew @Diane yes I am not too far from Sussex years ago I used to go to Midhurst a lot
@Celia It is a lovely place to sew, the sun comes right round by 2pm and i have the door i can tilt to let some air in