what would be in your dream sewing room
This may seem ridiculously premature, but I have a question for anyone who sews for a next-Christmas project.
In our little city, a hospice program holds a festival of trees every year for which people decorate trees in various themes to be auctioned off. Some are utterly fantastic, and this has become a huge annual event.
My friends and I are going to make a sewing room for this event in 2006 and I am gathering ideas. The sewing room will have a sewing machine on a stand with a chair, a lamp, a tree, and an armoire with various fabrics and notions in it. Under the tree we will place some homesewn gifts such as a quilt, a doll with extra clothes, and a piece of art wear. On the tree, we will hang more homesewn decorations.
My question is: what do you imagine as being the best, most charming and delightful stuff a little sewing room could have in it if YOU were considering bidding? A pair of gold-plated embroidery scissors? Three yards of silk velvet? A book on millinery? whatever occurs to you…looking forward to input!
Replies
A nice iron (not a Rowenta), ironing board, clock/radio/cd player, cans of sizing/starch, another lamp, a decorative hook and hangar (to hang a garment on while it is a work in progress), dressmaker shears, thread clip...
(edited to add: a subscription to Threads magazine!)
Meg
Edited 1/3/2006 5:45 am ET by Meg
A dress form!
What a fun project this sounds like!
A pretty pin cushion with lots of pins, a Threads magazine, a rack with spools of thread, a box full of patterns, a basket with ribbons, trim, buttons - an old fashioned item would be a mason jar full of buttons - and maybe an embroidery hoop with a partially completed needlework design. Maybe a rocking chair for doing hand-work in, with the sewing books and magazine nearby.
My own dream sewing room would focus on practicality rather than beauty - a tall cutting table, lots of drawers and shelves, a good daylight lamp, etc -- not very decorative, I'm afraid.
I agree, a beautiful Wolf dressform perhaps. Also that tree should be decorated with hand smocked Christmas balls. There should be designer shears on the sewing table and drawers everywhere. A great cutting surface, AT THE PROPER HEIGHT, should be in there as well, with, once again, loads of drawers. Throw in a state of the art embroidery machine doing its thing and you are good to go------oh,---personally I would need a beautiful picture window directly behind my sewing machine with lots of birds and birdfeeders, lichen encrusted rocks, and little red squirrels scampering around. Ahhhhh------
Since I don't know what era you are trying to evoke, a couple of suggestions: Victoriana; some vintage patterns, maybe framed, or pinned up on a "work board"? Kerosene lanterns? A milliners area could be lovely, lots of feathers and lace dripping from hat forms, with beaded gloves below. I'd also consider sewing boxes, some were quite beautifully worked in handsome woods(set some old time spectacles beside it?), and lots of "dressed up" thimbles hanging from the tree. American farm or prairie; a spinning wheel, balls of yarn with knitting needles, quilting rack with quilt in progress, bonnets under construction on forms, a rug hooker set up with a long length of braid leading from it, candles? What fun!!!
My dream sewing room is everything on wheels, a huge design board, and a cutting table that one does not dine on! A view of the mountains would be nice too.
Carole
I have a fondness for the old metal bobbins and old wooden spools!
I am lucky to have a great sewing space that I have recently done a storage reno on. My daughter is a 19 year old organizational genius. to earn extra money for a trip she spent a week of her school break working on my space, also my studio as they are an l shaped loft open to each other. I added 2 wheeled storage multi drawer carts and a stationary 4 drawer pedestel and labeled everything. I have 2 large bins for projects so that I can fold them and put away easily at days end also all notions for the project can go into these. I have a long counter for pinning and a large walk around table for cutting out. Also, good lighting is a must. I have great bookshelves for all my sewing books and shelves for tailoring items used in pressing. Everything is near where I use it and has a place so that I don't have to think about where it goes.
A pleasure to work in.
Nancy
WOW, these messages are great. I am going to bring the replies to our January meeting. We are not settled on the theme, but we were thinking of recreating a room from the thirties or forties. I am so glad to hear from others on this, and will be sure to post pictures of projects for it as well as the finished room once it is set up next December. Thank you. I hope more people continue the posts!
For the 30's and 40's, you'd also need some embroidery threads and pillow cases or dishtowels. And a darning egg and some yarns.
A hanging rack for spools and bobbins of thread is a great thing to have over top of your sewing machine.
Since you're also selling items, you may want to add a fireplace mantle, with a beautiful Christmas-theme mantle cloth which may drape over, to a 'V', add tassels, etc. Those sell very well.
Timely objects: a 'bird' (clamp), pretty mirror, with a decorated hat hanging from it, ribbons & flowers, a bird cage w/ or w/o bird or plant hanging. Drape matching material over an object, like a manequin, as if designing a dress, etc. Don't forget to add nice rugs too, and a cozy footstool near the rocker. Old gooseneck lamp nearby with stenciled or beaded shade (easy to make). Eye-popping ironing board cover!
Hang various scissors from spool rack or use imagination. And several tailor's tape measures - even on the TREE. Use a picnic basket as a sewing basket - cheap at garage sales, and fun to dress up! And how about a CAT??? Have it hiding in the basket, or on the rocker (not real, of course - they don't stay still that long). Oh, this sounds like so much FUN! Where do you live? I'd love to help! If anyone crochets, it's easy to make starched 'candy canes' with red or green ribbon running through the rows.
Knitting is becoming more popular, and you could hang balls of knitting yarn as decorations on the tree - and metal knitting needles as "tinsel". Also, there are some very cool magnifying spectacles these days - those would also make neat "ornaments"....
these ideas are all so great! i love the knitting ball and needle ornament trims...thanks!
What fun! I have so many things on my list. Sewing machine and serger tables, both for flatbed sewing, more shelves, more cupbord space, rolls for interfacing and those sorts of notions. And for the more expensive wants: a coverstich machine and the new Janome 6600P sewing machine.
Cera
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