Thread: Costumers, how do you set up your work space?

Hubby and I are in the process of turning our seldom-used breakfast nook into my costume-making corner.

We're keeping the extendable table and benches with built-in storage under the seats as well as the cleared-out hutch. It's a round space, so I don't have many options for using wall space to hang additional cabinetry, but I'm thinking about using something like what hair stylists use to keep often-used supplies close at hand... those rolling drawer/organizer things. I have space for my sewing machine and serger (when I get one) above the hutch so that they're not always on the table, but still easy to get to when I need them.

What else do I need? I'm sure I'll learn as I continue making costumes and collecting more and more work materials, but I'd like to know what all of you use to keep your space organized.

I'd appreciate any tips/tricks as to how to best utilize my space :)

I have an old kitchen hutch that I use to store most of my sewing "tools". Things like scissors, thread, needles, patterns, etc.

I have a small table set up that I have both my conventional sewing machine and my serger set up on. Now I don't have to move them every time I need them.

I have a folding cutting table that just sits against the wall when I'm not using it.

I have a dress dummy I use for basic fittings/display purposes.

Finally, I have a wardrobe rack to hang things on while I'm working on them.

Oh, and a TV with a DVD player so I can put in movies or watch tv as I sew.

There isn't any room for storage of materials. I have that in the eves in the next room over. I do have a few large boxes that I keep stacked up that have my current projects in them. Not very attractive, but functional.

I am blessed to have a sewing room with large closets. I have shelves built into one side the closet and plastic organizing drawers in the other part. I keep things like zippers, pattern weights, fasteners, needles, chalk, etc. in the drawers. My cutting table is a gateleg folding table and when it is not in use I fold it up and roll it against the wall.

I have an old dresser in the room where I keep costume accessories and jewelry and my dance class duds. And there is a drawer to put projects in progress in to keep them safe and out of the way.

On the walls I have thread racks and organize the thread spools by color. I leave the bottom row of the thread rack open and then hang my measuring tape, scissors, rotary cutter, cutting templates and rulers from the bottom row pegs. Bobbins are in a plastic bobbin case by my sewing machine. The other thing I hang right by my machine is a plastic bag to stick scraps and threads into. Makes cleaning up easier and less chance for stuff to get into the machine.

I also have a bulletin board on the wall near my machine and a wall mounted light right over the machine. The machine is on a folding picnic table. Under the table I have plastic boxes with patterns and other stuff.

Dress dummy and full length mirror and small bookcase. Its not a big room and when the cutting table is open it takes up a lot of floor space. But when it is folded way there is plenty of room to try things on.

heh. I'm not sure I'm the model costumer you want to be asking
I have a nice work table where all my machines are lined up at the back & pulled forward when I am working with a particular one. I seriously don't want to be hauling it out of a cupboard every time I want to use it! dust cloth over all of them when not in use. I have more of those stackable, rolling, supposed to go under the bed oraganizers than I care to admit under & around said table. I do most of my cutting downstairs on the kitchen table, and I'm still trying to figure out how to store my beads/beading projects so the 2year old won't get into them. She is very good at opening child-proof locking plastic bins.

I have a card table set up in the corner of our 2nd bedroom. Underneath I have milk crates stacked and full of fabric and patterns. Next to the table, I have a small garbage can for trimmings and a big garbage bag full of usable scraps. I have another garbage bag next to the table for projects in progress. On the top of my table I have a sewing machine set just where I'd use it; a small plastic set of drawers filled with sequin, bead, and trim packs; 3 divided containers with beads; a small basket for random items (pliers, glue, wire, elastic, etc.); and a small cd shelf that I use to put my box of thread, bobbins, needles, pins, scissors, and other notions on. I use a comfortable swivel office chair while sewing. I don't have one of those nice rotary cutters and boards, so I do all of my cutting on the floor of the same room (it's the cat and dog free room, so I don't have to worry about hair in the carpet getting all over the fabric). When I bead and embellish, I typically take the bead trays that I need and the notions I need into my living room where I can watch a movie or listen to music while I bead on the couch.

For finished projects and my personal costumes, I have one of those 3x3 cube shelving things from target. Each cube space is filled with a cloth box. Some of the boxes have my own skirts and costuming items. The rest have finished projects in them that are waiting to be sold. I have a plastic rolling under the bed bin for my bedlah so they can be laid out nicely with a piece of fabric in between each one... this is set underneath of those project and scrap garbage bags next to my work table.

It's not a pretty setup, but it's got everything where I need it, so that I can work on projects without having to dig for something. Ideally, I'd like to have another cube system so that I can store all of my fabric and projects in those... keep them better organized and not just stuffed into some milk crates. I'd also like to get a dummy/dressform eventually. That would help immensely with fitting items for me and for others.

I don't think I have as many on going projects as many of you, so I don't have a dedicated space, per se, but I do have a basic system.

In my room, I have a large picnic basket which is filled with patterns. This sits next to a comfortable oversized chair I sit in when i am beading and doing other hand work.

In my costume / sari closet, I have a 32 galleon bin filled with things I am working on. This includes costumes which need adjustments, supplies and fabric.

I have a cookie tin filled with film canisters which are in turn filled with beads. I glue a bead on the top of the lid so that I can keep track of what is in which canister. Other trim pieces, such as a 2 yard long piece of vintage sweater trim, go into small ziplock backs and then into a larger ziplock. this way I can see them when I pick up the bag.

I also have a cookie tin with spools of thread, hooks and eyes, etc. in it.

I then have a small basket which I keep current projects which I am working on in. This way I have everything I need for that particular project together. It also helps to make it mobile, so that if I choose to take it to a show with me and work on it there, it's all together. I usually have a couple of projects going on at once, utilizing different skills. One I might be beading, another I might be sewing, and other yet I might be simply in the planning stages.

To me, it's this basic organization which then lends itself to making it easy to actually work on the projects. When it is in a mess, that is when I tend to ignore it or become so frustrated that I throw my hands up and go do something else.

{{{HUGS}}}

Living in a small apartment with no sewing room has really taught me organization! I keep my machines in a corner, to be used on the kitchen table at dedicated sewing times :)

For organization, I have several of those tall, thin plastic organizers with various sized drawers - these are all stacked 2 high and propped up in a closet corner. Within each of these drawers I keep clear storage containers that are labeled things like "zippers", "elastic", "binding tape", etc.

The larger drawers hold fabric, which is grouped together by fabric type, then colour. Chiffon in one drawer, velvet in another, satin, saris, etc. One large one has a label I've taped on "In Progress" to tuck things away and grab quickly later to work on.

In the smaller drawers, beads and sequins are organized by colour in small clear containers, and then like colours are grouped together in clear plastic bags, so I can grab a bag of blue decorations and see all the various blue beads and sequins I have at once.

Small tools, scissors and rotary cutter, glue, hooks and eyes etc I actually keep in tool boxes. For years I've found simple tool boxes to be the very best thing to hold my sewing supplies. a) they're waaay cheaper than sewing boxes (I got 2 tool boxes for $10 at Canadian Tire, beat that Michael's!) and b) they have more compartments to hold things than sewing boxes. The little compartments on top are perfect for clasps, pins, etc.

Cutting mat is hidden behind the tv, pulled out when needed.

Body dummies are kept in the bedroom, behind the door.

To look at my apartment, you would actually never know all the stuff hidden away ;p

I work on some massive sewing projects, so I have a dedicated room with enough space to label the small hard plastic storage drawers such as "cutting tools," "measuring tools," "fasteners," "Velcro," "Elastic," "Pins & Needles," etc.

If your space is smaller and you end up having to store multiple types of items in the same drawer, I strongly suggest you invest in some gallon-sized and quart-sized zip-lock plastic bags (both heavy and lighter weight), label them and let them help you keep items separated (you can fit several scissors in a bag, a bag'o'seam rippers (always have extras of these, they run away with the socks!), sewing needles needles in a bag, machine needles in a bag, bobbins in a bag, etc. Then label the drawer so you know everything that's supposed to be in there.

I used to be really cheap about buying these bags, but find they have many benefits, including preventing items from gathering dust, from getting tangled, etc. Their slippery quality also makes it easy to move things around and locate them when you are in a hurry. And if you find an empty plastic bag labeled "scissors," oops - stop looking for them in the drawer 'cause you must have left them somewhere else. And if you're in a super rush, you can grab the whole baggie containing what you need, stuff it in your dance bag and do your fixin' in the dressing room.

They are also great for holding special trims and patterns (if you ever use patterns), you can fold the patterns to fit without having to get them back in the original paper envelope and allow the pattern's illustration to be visible.

-Devora

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

To me, it's this basic organization which then lends itself to making it easy to actually work on the projects. When it is in a mess, that is when I tend to ignore it or become so frustrated that I throw my hands up and go do something else.

That's the truth! When my sewing room was tidy and organized, I got a lot of projects done. Unfortunately, it has turned into an all-purpose catch-all junk room over the past few years; I've hardly done any sewing since that happened. Meanwhile, the sewing projects just keep piling up.

Today I had to root through the room to find items to repair a costume that I'm selling--just doing that forced me into a small reorganization project. I starting thinking about better ways to organize the supplies as well as the room, so this is a very timely and helpful thread!

I don't have a sewing room. In our last apartment I had a one in the back, and I always eded up bringing my work to the couch in the living room anyway. I find that it's more likely I'll work on costumes if working on costumes fits comfortably into my life. So I always work in front of the TV in the living room with my husband sitting beside me. We don't have kids though. I imagine if there were constant distractions I'd need more seclusion to get my work done.

I keep fabric in two long plastic boxes designed to go under our queen size bed, more fabric in a large plastic box in a closet, and more in a large drawer in the dining room buffet. I keep my beads and notions in a tackle box that came with three plastic containers with small divided sections in them.



The sewing machine lives on the floor next to the TV in the living room, and when I use it I just clear off the little coffee table. For larger projects like cutting out the panels of a skirt, I use the oriental rug in the living room, or a medium sized folding table I can bring out.

I have a dress form, which lives in my costume closet in the dining room.

I have the wooden seat of a chair, with the cushion on the other side, that I use as a lap desk. Here's a video that's part of my Blue Faux Bella project where I walk people through my work space. Skip to minute 3:24 to get to that part of the video.

thanks to everyone for their input! and thanks, shushanna, for the visual aids, too :)

I don't have much space so organizers are critical. Cutting board, sewing machine I can't figure out go in the broom closet. I use the dining room table to work on, I have one end, W has the other for one of his computers.

After much argument we have agreed on this arrangement.

Most critical is organization for beading projects. Beads get lost and totally out of control.

So, I have those boxes Shushanna showed but also a rolling storage unit with pull out drawers.

I organize those by project. Example, I have a bronze/gold project, a white/silver project, I had two drawers full of stuff for the red costume I finally finished although it still needs armbands; I have green stuff in another drawer; blues, so forth.

Organizing stuff before I start a costume helps me think through the costume too. So, rhinestones, beads, threads, rhinestone chains, laying them all out helps me "see". This includes repair/refurbishing/altering jobs too, not just full costumes.

Otherwise it's just too confusing, you can't find a thing.

I have a drawer just with elastic, interfacing, stuff like that too, that's used for everything.

Fabrics I keep in bags, so they don't get dirty.

Even so, I lose stuff.

would be interested to see the various containers you all used for the hoards of beads and sequins.... those little tackle boxes i see aren't big enough for a whole 1/2 or 1 kilo of beads lol


my stuff is kind of ... in a corner- i sit on the floor and work and shove it into the "project bag" for work- otherwise its in the tiny excuse of a dining room my apartment gives me- card table for the machime and totes for fabric... its sad... and pathetic :( sad panda face