Blog - Patterns for Pirates

Easy Bear Jogger Hacks

November 11, 2016

The Mama Bear Joggers were just released and are packed with options. I have already made myself a few pairs so I was browsing Pinterest for styling ideas (don’t we all?). I came across a cute pair of joggers that had a tuxedo stripe on the side so I just had to make myself a pair like that. In today’s blog I’ll show you how I did the tuxedo stripe and an accent slat pocket band.

Start by printing and cutting the pattern in your size. (I grade mine in for the waist that’s why you’ll see two lines instead of one). Don’t cut the fabric just yet. If you’d like to do just the accent pocket band you’ll nee to place the pocket lining over your front piece and remove 1 inch from the curve. That can be done easily if using a French Curve.

Now take your measuring tape and measure the new pocket opening. You will be cutting your accent band to be 2″ by 95% of the opening.

Fold the band wrong sides together and give it a good press. Sandwich the folded band between the right side of the front of the pants and the right side of the pocket lining. You will be stretching JUST the band slightly. Sew the 4 layers together.

Turn the pocket over so its wrong side is on the wrong side of the front leg. You can now top stitch along the curve. Tadah! You’ve added a decorative band to the slat pocket. If you do not add the side strip proceed with sewing the joggers according to the pattern tutorial.

If you add the stripe, we will be making some pattern alteration prior to cutting the fabric. Place your pocket lining and back on top of the front of the pants matching the top and side lines. We will be removing 1.5 inches from the side of the front of the pants. Following the side curve draw a line parallel to the side, 1.5″ away.

Cut along the new line. Now grab the back of your pants and repeat the process on the side. You now have 4 new pattern pieces, front and back, pocket and pocket lining. We will measure the new side length with a measuring tape because it’s flexible. The tuxedo stripe will be 3″ by the new measured side. See? That wasn’t so bad.

Add the pocket according to the tutorial. We will now sew RST the front piece with one side of the strip. Then attach the other side of the strip to the back of the leg, right sides together. Repeat with the the other leg.

That’s it! Those are the only changes we made to the pattern. You can now finish your joggers according to the tutorial. You can add the strip to either one of the leg options, cuffs, elastic or rolled.

Get creative with all these joggers hacks and as always post your pretties in the group.

Alex

Let’s face it- everyone loves a jogger and the Patterns for Pirates Joggers are perfect! One of the things that I love about joggers is that there are so many different ways to style them. One of my favorite looks is the addition of a moto patch. This simple detail can add an extra bit of edge and flair to your joggers and help take an already awesome look to the next level! So let’s get started…

Creating Patch Piece

To start with, you will need to determine how far down to attach the patch. You will want to measure from your inseam to the top of where you want to attach the patch. As you can see in the picture below, mine measured 9.5″. Draw a line across your pattern piece at this measurement. Next, you will draw the bottom line for your patch- your next line should be 7″ down from this line (your finished patch will be at total of 6″). Using tracing paper, copy this section of your pattern to create your moto-patch.

Quilting the Patch
You will need to cut out two mirror image pieces. Next, you will trace your quilting lines on each piece (make sure to do mirror images!). Begin by marking both the horizontal and vertical centers of your piece (if you don’t have a quilters ruler- this mod is a GREAT excuse to go purchase one!!). After marking centers, draw lines every 2 inches in both directions. The final markings will be on the diagonals- connecting your squares. Repeat on the other patch.

After completing your markings, stitch across all of the diagonal marks only. Then, take a few minutes and admire all of the hard work you just did— Ok! Moment over, because now you get to repeat all of that beautiful stitching on the other patch!

Finishing and Attaching Patch
Press both the top and bottom of your patch, using a 0.5″ allowance to create a finished edge. Taking your front leg piece, place patch piece 0.5″ lower than original line (to account for your pressed seam… ex. Mine was at 9.5″ and I placed the patch at 10″ down) and pin in place.
Using a 0.25″ seam allowance, stitch the top and bottom into place. Then stitch over the horizontal lines only to finish creating your quilted look. You can now complete your Joggers by following the pattern directions.

And if you needed a few other ideas for you patches, you could also…

Cut your patches at angles
Place patches on thighs
Mix and match fabric patterns
Use fabrics that are already quilted (Yes- They exist and would be a huge time saver for this!)

I can’t wait to see how your patches (and joggers!) turn out. Make sure to share all of your creations on the P4P Facebook page!

~Erinn

I have been eying up all the adorable woven joggers that seem to be everywear this season and as soon as I saw the new P4P joggers I thought hmm, I wonder if then could be done in woven and guess what, they work great in woven for the baby bear joggers! I sewed up this pair for my daughter in a rayon challis remenant that I found and they are just too cute on her and super trendy right now! I didn’t alter anything while sewing but if your child has thicker calfs or ankles you may want to grade out one size to give a bit more room or take a smaller seam allowance from the calf down. These have the elastic waistband but as I had some 1 1/4 elastic in my stash Idecided to use it instead of doing the 3 rows of elastic. I inserted my elastic into the waistband and then basted the seam allowance before attaching the waistband to the pants. I did the elastic casing cuff which worked great the rolled cuff may be a touch to tight thou for wovens. No other changes to these and my girl has adorable woven joggers! I can’t wait till spring to make her a pile more!

I love the little shorties or bloomers look for my Baby Girl. Show off those rolls on her legs that I love so much! It’s very simple to use the new Baby Bear Joggers to create this cute, trendy look!

I determined the inseam by estimating how wide I would need it to cover her diaper. I made hers about 1″ before bands…they could’ve used another 1/2″ really though. I marked this on the inseam of back and front pieces. The side seam length I determined by thinking about how long I needed it to cover the diaper. I curved the bottom hem up towards the outer leg seam by about 2″ on both the back and front pieces.

I sewed the pattern up per the directions. To finish the bottom hem I added thick bands. I made them finish 1.5″ matching the waistband thickness. So, I cut 4″ by slightly shorter than my leg opening. You want to stretch the bands to fit the leg openings so that your bands are snug to their thighs.

Fold the bands in half width wise with right sides together (I wanted the “wrong side” to show on my bands.

Fold the band in half lengthwise with wrong sides together.

Align raw edges with raw edges of shorts and stitch, stretching band only as you sew all three layers together. Then flip band down with seam inside shorts.

I think they’re so precious! My Baby Girl has been sick and wasn’t really up for pictures, but we snapped just a couple to show them a bit.

Papa, Mama + Baby Bear Joggers! :: New Pattern Release

November 10, 2016

We are officially announcing the release of, not just one, but THREE patterns: Papa, Mama and Baby Bear Joggers!! (I’ll wait while you do a little happy dance.)

Maybe you feel like you’ve been waiting forever since Judy first teased with you with jogger images, and maybe it took a little longer to get it “just right”, but that means you’ll be more than happy with what we’ve got for you guys. You can clothe the entire family in joggers this fall, winter and beyond. And you’ll want to, because they’re just that comfy and perfectly in style.

We’d like to thank Raspberry Creek for being our fabulous sponsors on this set.

As usual, you will not be shorted on options.

The Papa Bear Joggers have two lengths (shorts and pants), three hem types (cuffed, rolled and elastic), two waistbands (elastic only or drawstring), and two pocket types (slat and patch).
The Mama Bear Joggers and Baby Bear Joggers have all the same options as the men’s pants, with a yoga waistband option included…however the Baby Bear sizes do not have a shorts length.

For all sizes of joggers, we recommend only using stable knits with a 20% stretch. Think: cotton lycra, liverpool, french terry, ponte de roma, etc. You can mix up your fabric picks by adding waistbands and cuffs that have a little more stretch, coming in with a minimum of 50% stretch horizontally.

Cuffed Bottoms:

Rolled Hem Bottoms:

Elastic Hemmed Bottoms:

Shorts Length (Mens and Womens Sizes only):

Yoga Waistband (Women and Youth sizes only):

Elastic / Drawstring Waistband:

Patch Front Pockets:

Slat Front Pockets:

You can find the Joggers patterns bundle HERE.
Or snag them as individuals: Papa Bear Joggers | Mama Bear Joggers | Baby Bear Joggers

They will be on sale through Monday 11/14/2016 with no code needed.

Be sure to head over to the Patterns for Pirates Facebook Group to see more tester images and pull inspiration from the amazing creations they made during our multiple rounds of testing!

P4P Halloween Costume Contest: The Winners!

November 3, 2016

Halloween costume sewing is basically my (Katy) favorite type of sewing. It’s allowed to be over-the-top, silly, and super creative. And I feel like it pushes sewists out of their usual comfort zones. We held a costume contest in a thread on the Patterns for Pirates Facebook group! If you were curious about all of the costumes shared, head HERE to find all of the amazing sews.

I have a hard time choosing just one winner. So I decided to let my husband and son pick their favorites too this time around! Here are our picks!

Louis’ Favorite (in the least surprising choice…from my Pokemon obsessed 6-year old): Jennifer Rowe with her Pikachu, made from the P4P Jolly Roger Raglan + Add-Ons, and the Pirate Playground Pants!

Bennett’s Favorite (another non-surprise from my Star Wars nerdy husband): Jennifer Richardson with her Darth Vader / Rebel Pilot dresses using the Me Hearties Peplum/Dress pattern.

Katy’s Favorite (I couldn’t help but die a little bit over this unicorn. I think the hooves sold me.): Jamie Grey with her Unicorn made from the Sweet Tee and Peg Legs.

Congratulations to the winners! I’ll be contacting you about your winnings!

And thank you so much to everyone who shared their amazing creations. I’ve now got a lot of new ideas for next year’s costume sewing extravaganza!

Flannel Kimono with pockets

October 28, 2016

It is officially fall! The crisp morning air should make its appearance soon and what better way to embrace it than by treating ourselves with a cozy flannel top. For my blog today I’ll show you how you can take the Summer Kimono into fall and I’ll also give you some tips for working with flannel.

You will need your printed and cut kimono pattern pieces. You can chose any of the styles, I went with the curved hem because it’s my favorite. 🙂 Now grab your Grandpa Cardi pattern and print just the pocket piece. It’s on page 22-23.

Sew your pockets according to the instructions. I opted for the band pocket but you can certainly use the non banded option too. Remember to press the bottom of the pocket too! You’ll now stitch them on to your two front pieces. Placement it’s a matter of personal preference so I’ll show you where I stitched mine on but you can certainly move them higher or lower. I placed the pocket about 4 inches from the center and about 2 inches from the bottom (remember the bottom is not hemmed yet). Sew the pockets on the front pieces.

You will now start assembling your kimono according to the instructions. Something very important to keep in mind, especially if you are sewing sizes L and up is that most flannel fabrics are 42-44 inches wide. Your fabric may not be wide enough to cut the entire length of the sleeve so in this case you have a few options. You can either do what I did and just shortened the sleeves length by 2.5 inches or so and either add the sleeve band (as per the pattern) or just hem it. The other option would be to attach additional fabric to the selvage and cut the pattern pieces as they are. You could use the same fabric as the main one or even coordinating/contrasting fabric for a colorblock look. Get creative!

TIP: When sewing a curved hem on woven fabrics I like to first serge the raw edge, making sure I don’t cut any of it with my serger knife. This will basically give me the 1/4 inch mark and make the fabric more stable. Press the 1/4 inch hem, and then press again another 1/4 inches and sew in place. Wasn’t that easy? That’s the magic of serging the raw edge first.

I know a lot of you have asked in the Facebook group is the Summer Kimono can be made with flannel fabric so now you know it can…and it’s pretty cozy on top of that! As always, don’t forget to show off your creations and tag me if you have any questions!

Alex

And the Winner is…. P4P Sew it, Win it, Build it Giveaway!

October 24, 2016

I truly enjoyed this past couple weeks with my newsfeed on the P4P Facebook Group, Pinterest and Instagram all filled with the P4P Sew it, Win it, Build it Giveaway entries! I loved seeing your sewing spaces big and small, messy and tidy, and sparse or packed full! It’s so fun to see how everyone sews! But, lets get to it, because I know everyone is ready to see who won the biggest giveaway we’ve ever done!

Who will get this amazing grand prize???

Okay okay…without anymore suspense… the random lottery winner from ALL the entries (there were a lot ladies!!)

From our Instagram feed! I will be sending you, livingyoungfitness a private message on Instagram!

Thank you all for participated and cheering each other on! I love to see the friendship and camaraderie the P4P Facebook Group is filled with! <3 We’re all just a bunch of ladies and gentlemen who have a love for sewing!

Thank you so much for letting me share the love of sewing with such a lovely group and I hope livingyoungfitness can build the sewing space she’s been dreaming of since the start of the giveaway! If you weren’t the lucky winner I hope you got some great sewing done with the motivation and have some ideas for your holiday wishlist for your sewing space too! 😉 I know I do!!

Last Call for Entries- Sew it, Win it, Build it Giveaway by P4P

October 23, 2016

I hope you’ve read and entered into our biggest giveaway ever!

The Sew it, Win it, Build it Giveaway- the chance to win a sewing room make-over!

We wrote a week full of posts all about planning, filling, organizing a great sewing space- rather you’re in the dining room, bedroom, or lucky enough to have a sewing shack we hope they helped you find the perfect storage solution, find the best tools, and plan a great layout that works for you!

We are also having our LAST sale of the year with a huge 30% site wide sale through tonight, use this code below for the discount at check out:

Today is the LAST day to enter or grab patterns with the sale code!

Contest and sale will end tonight at midnight. So last entries can be posted until 11:59PM Sunday October 23rd US Central Time Zone. (So you have about 8 hours to get somethings sewn up and post from now!)

Good Luck! Winner will be a random lottery winner- so everyone has a chance!

We will announce the winner tomorrow 🙂

Make sure to read through those entry rules here!

One last THANK YOU for all your support and giving me the pleasure of helping 30k members of our Facebook Group sewing up P4P patterns!

Sewing and Craft Room Storage Idea- Sew it, Win it, Build it- from P4P

October 23, 2016

We’ve been talking this week about building a better sewing space. We’ve talked about how to plan one, what our favorite tools are to have it one, how to store our fabric and patterns and now we’ll get into storing all the other sewing supplies that most of us have or want in our craft rooms.

We’ll start out with general organizing and move into specific areas.

I love to have little “station boxes” in my craft room. I have a storage box at my cutting table with my pattern prepping and fabric cutting tools. I used to have a mismatch collections until I got this matching little set from Hancocks while they were all going through their “going out of business sale”.

Another storage box next to my machines with those tools I need while I’m sewing like my tube turner, seam ripper, snippers, ect.

And again on my ironing board with my tools I use there like starch, hem tape, scissors, ect.

I love them because they’re convenient and I can close it up quickly when I’m done (or frantically tidying up because someone is coming 😉 )

If you are in a small space something like Roberta uses on the back of a door is a great space saver and you can keep a lot of smaller tools and supplies within an easy reach.

Thread storage!

I keep mine on a boring thread peg organizer. It works pretty well, it’s a little unstable since I just have it sitting on my desk rather that hanging. I also quickly filled it up! I plan on using a peg system, but much larger and on the wall on the new sewing space. I like that I don’t have to open anything, I can easily see all the colors I have instantly.

My sister and mom both keep their thread in a drawer container sorted by rainbow colors. They both love their system as well, easy in and out, and easy to compare the different shade when color matching.

I currently keep my serger thread in my desk drawers. It is convenient to grab at my machines and the shallow drawer works great.

My deeper drawer is more difficult to use this method and I end up digging a lot to find the set of colors I’m looking for (I keep the stretch thread inside the bucket within the deep drawer). So I will be planning on some kind of bigger peg board in the new sewing space!

Here is how my sister Nicole stores her serger threads in bins that look like the perfect height! PS- One day I’ll have all those color of serger thread 😉 #goals

I keep my bobbins in a little container like this. I love that I can close it and keep it from getting caught on anything as I’m reaching or sewing and pulling out a thread and trailing it!

Roberta loves the open circle bobbin holders like these:

Pin and Clip Storage!

My sister Nicole made this awesome pin cushion and basket for me last year and I LOVE it! It is meant to be a pin cushion on top and trash/thread scrap basket on bottom. But, I use the bottom basket for my wonder clips! That way I have both pins and clips right next to me at my desk easy and quick in and out while sewing.

I also have one of these classic pin cushions in my ironing station and in my cutting station as well!

A lot of ladies love to use a magnetic bowl of sorts to store pins. The magnetic helps grab and hold onto the pins.

Sewing Machine Pieces/Tools!

I am super boring here ladies. I keep all my parts/tools in the little ziplock bag that comes with the machine! Lazy? My sister Nicole has made an adorable zipper pouch for each of her machines to hold their extra parts, feet, tools, ect..

Buttons!

I feel like buttons are one of the sewing supplies that most are able to organize fairly easily. You can find so many little organizers with smaller compartments that work great for rainbow sorting. The only thing you have to worry about is little fingers coming along and “helping” you reorganize them… my Little Guy LOVES doing that!!

Stuffing!

If you have a big bag of stuffing laying around you can make a big, simple drawstring bag to keep looking tidy and easy to get in and out when you’re using it.

I’m sure I left some supplies out, some we didn’t have a great way we were happy with! But, I hope this helps you find the right storage for your craft and sewing supplies in your sewing space!

Don’t forget to enter into our Sew it, Win it, Build it Giveaway! Today is the last day for entries- until tonight (Sunday October 23rd) before midnight- 11:59pm US Central Time Zone.

Pattern Storage- Sew it, Win it, Build it- from P4P

October 22, 2016

We see the question, “How do you store your printed patterns?” all the time in the P4P FB Group! So, as we’re celebrating hitting 30k members in the group with our “Sew it, Win it, Build it” Giveaway we’re hoping to answer that question today!

We’ve been discussing all about planning, building and organizing your sewing room this week as one lucky member will win a Sewing Room Make-Over Grand Prize! Pattern storage is one that has been really tricky for me as I am planning my new sewing room! I’ve changed my mind a few times and I’m still not 100% certain with what I’ll have in there!

Currently, I use a file folder and standard filing cabinet. It works very well for youth size patterns. I usually only have to fold them a bit to fit nicely into a file folder and I have each drawer labeled as boys, girls, ladies, mens, ect. So, they’re very easy to find, throw back in, and keep fairly tidy. My only complaint is that my adult patterns do get folded quite a bit and I often have to re-tape and work at flattening them back out when I pull out and go to cut.

It’s currently in our garage since we packed up our house to show/sale, so excuse the packing tape and packed garage behind it 😉

So, I was wanting something that I didn’t need to fold- at least not as much- on my bigger adult patterns. Kelly hangs her with a little hole punch and ring:

This is a good solution for not having to fold, but I don’t have any closet space in the new room. So, I’d have to either do a curtain rod, wardrobe or something like this to use this method. I’ve been on the hunt for a beautiful antique wardrobe to hang them in, but they’re hard to come by! And I don’t have too much time to spend hunting, but maybe one will fall into my lap! I can hope, right? Patty hangs hers with clips onto a mobile wardrobe hanger.

Another option is big shallow drawers. I’ve found a few horizontal file cabinets for engineers or photographers that are pretty big that would work pretty well. The only pull back to this is how many drawers can it have? Not enough for each pattern to have a drawer that’s for sure 😉 So, I would have to think of a way to keep them organized even within the shallow drawers, which could be difficult! Plus, the couple I have found have been very high priced!

A lot of ladies use big envelopes to store their patterns. Patty has them with the pattern cover on the front and fabric requirements on the back. Then she has them sorted by categories in magazine holders.

Erinn stores her traced pattern pieces in binders. She has the pieces in a clear paper protector with the pattern and size labeled. She also keeps the bigger master copy just on the very top of her bookshelf if she needs to retrace a new size.

We’ve heard members rolling their patterns and slipping them into toilet paper/paper towel cardboard to store! Some use milk crates to keep slip each pattern into and hold it in place too, seems like a great way to keep the big master copies!

My sister only keeps her very favorite patterns she uses over and over. For those she makes a giant “file folder” from poster boards and labels them, slips the pattern pieces inside! And if you’re super cute like my sister you can even decorate them with hearts <3!

We saw a great share in the P4P Facebook Group that she likes to roll her big printed copies up and labels them with paper towel or toilet paper rolls!

I hope seeing all these option for storing your sewing patterns helps you find the perfect solution for your craft room! Don’t miss out on the rest of our posts this week and to enter into our “Sew it, Win it, Build it” Giveaway!

Fabric Storage Ideas – “Sew it, Win it, Build it” from P4P

October 21, 2016

We’re talking all about Sewing Rooms this week with our awesome “Sew it, Win it, Build it” giveaway! Today we’re going to continue talking about sewing rooms and how you can store all those supplies you need/stock/hoard? 😉

We hear a lot of questions in the P4P Facebook Group asking how to store things in sewing spaces. So, here is a little list to help you see the options you have out there. Today we’ll just be doing fabric storage, but we will also cover pattern storage as well as other sewing supplies later this week! *(This post contains affiliate links)*

The big one right? How in the world do you store all your fabric so that you can see and get to it easily when you’re trying to find that perfect coordinate, where it takes up minimal space, and where you can fit a lot? Or is that just something I worry about?

I store my fabric in open shelving. I like to be able to see my fabrics really easily so that I don’t end up pulling them ALL out to color match or see my options. (Although sometimes I still do this a bit!) I use cube shelving. I like that each cube isn’t too wide that the fabric gets lost under others. I’ve folded mine and rolled mine. I like the idea of rolling better, I can see it more clearly when that shelf is getting really packed full, but I’ll be honest and say I didn’t have much success getting myself to keep up the rolling! When I would get it out to color match or decide between a few choices I would find myself not wanting to roll it back up! So, back to folding I went 😉 I also will use the little bins for scraps as well, I have one for knit and one for woven scraps. (Yes, one… I’m not a scrap hoarder! When I get too full I go through it very quickly and give my nieces any that I take out for them to practice with.)

Maybe you happen to be a scrap lover…hoarder…like my dear sister Nicole 😉 She keeps everything! She sorts her scraps by color into bins:

There is the “ruler folding method” for storing on bookshelves. Which just helps you keep each cut folded at the same width so it fits nice and tidy on the shelves. I’m just always in too much of a rush to be this neat and tidy! Maybe one day 🙂 The jist is to use your quilters ruler as a guide to fold your fabric cuts. Here is a helpful blog post from my sister’s blog explaining how in detail.

Another way I’ve seen is to use comic book boards to fold your fabric around. It’s like having tiny bolt of fabric on your shelves! Roberta uses this method and it gives you such a nice and tidy look as well. She has done it for a while and can count the number of layers around the board to get a good estimate on yardage without unwrapping and measuring! Great little trick!

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You can also buy these fabric organizers made exactly for this use too. They have little grips to slide/tuck your fabric into.

Another way I’ve seen around is to use filing cabinets. You can hang your fabrics on the file folders and sift through them. Again, I think this really only works for smaller cuts of fabric. You could fill up a cabinet way too quick with adult size cuts of french terry! I’ve never stored my fabric this way, but here is a blog post I found explaining how she does it.

Another one I see often is in tubs. I currently have all my fabric in tubs because we had to pack up my sewing room to show and sell our house. But, I hate it! Personally I sew way too often to have to dig out fabric from tubs every time. I end up making a huge mess pulling it all out trying to find something! But, it would keep it out of eyesight if you don’t want your fabric on display.

When we helped organize my mothers quilting fabric, which is so different than apparel fabrics since it’s a lot of smaller pieces rather than larger cuts. We folded them and stored them into drawers and small bins vertically. That way she could open the drawer or bin, and see all her fabric in that one at once. she could easily pull pieces in and out without disrupting the others. This is a view with drawers open and looking down into the drawers:

The last way I’ve seen is to hang. On curtain rods, a wardrobe system, or if you happen to have a closet in your craft room. You can use a hanger and fold the fabric over the bottom like Patty does here:

Or you can use curtain rings and clip them. Here is an example of this from Crafterholics blog:

Now that you’ve decided what you’ll be storing your fabric with you can move on to thinking about how you organize it within that unit. I like to keep my fabric organized by type. Meaning I have all my french terry together, rayon spandex, sweater knits, ect. Some of my very favorite types I split into more– solids, prints… I also keep most of my “t-shirt weight knits” together and sort my solids, stripes, prints. So– it might looked haphazard to someone just looking at it. But, when I go to look for a certain project it’s perfect for me! I can look for the weight/blend that I’m needing for that project and then move into what print/color/ect. from there.

My mom also organizes her quilting stash in types. But, obviously not fabric type since it’s all quilting cottons. She uses the type of quilt it’s for… meaning- low volume goes together, a quilt set from a certain designer, brights, holiday prints, I spy quilt fabrics, ect. So that when she’s ready to sew up a low volume quilt she can go to that drawer, pull it open and pick from there. We also did her blenders all together in a rainbow sort. So if she needs a blender in a certain color she can quickly get to it as well.

My oldest sister Nicole organizes her fabrics in 2 big categories- she does both apparel and quilting sewing a lot. So, she has… a lot of fabric… a lot… lol… She has all her knits together and then sorted by rainbow colors. Then her cotton wovens together sorted again by rainbow colors. It does look pretty in there all rainbowed out!

My sister Megan organizes by type like me- she also has a separate place for fabric for her son and then for her daughter. It helps when they’re ready to pick something out!

Whew… Well, I hope that helps show you a few ways you can store your fabric!

Stay tuned for some more ways to organize your sewing/craft room this week including pattern storage and other supplies!

How to Plan the Perfect Craft/Sewing Room- Sew it, Win it, Build it- from P4P

October 18, 2016

When my husband was trying to sweet talk me into building a new house his biggest selling point was a bigger sewing space… eventually he won me over and I’ve been planning that sewing room since!! I’ve had a lot of fun researching and planning it, so much, that we’re giving away the chance for someone else to get a new sewing room! If you haven’t read our “Sew it, Win it, Build it” Giveaway post make sure you stop by and read how to enter for your chance to win!

Flooring-

I started with the basics first. I wanted NO carpet. And ladies, this first decision was a biggie, because it’s an expensive choice! But, after years of killing vacuums I was getting some floors that weren’t carpet! It took me months of persuading my husband, but as you can see…. I got my way! 😉 I was so excited to see those floors going in that day!!!

I looked into A LOT of flooring options (besides carpet). There is laminate wood, vinyl, tile, and hardwoods to name the most popular. I even looked into much crazier kinds, but none were very price effective that I found (like rubber, cork, ect.).

Furniture Arrangement-

I really love this little trick to plan a room! I use Adobe Illustrator, but you could use any drawing program, or just a piece of grid paper would work perfectly as well to draw my room out with it all proportioned correctly on a smaller scale. I prefer the digital program since you can easily change and move things around as you plan.

I drew the basic shape of my room using one inch as one foot. Then, I added the furniture I was planning on putting in there all to scale. This took time! But, I know the furniture I want will fit in nicely, what size cutting table I can fit in there with enough walking space around it (average is usually about 3 feet between furniture pieces), and where I needed my lighting! In the end it’s so much easier to take the time to create a template than to be measuring the actual room and furniture and trying to imagine if it will fit okay, if it will feel cramped, if you can make if even with this and that across the room, ect. I highly recommend this little step to planning your craft room!

You also want to keep in mind what you use most, as well as what you use together. Meaning, I use my sewing machines, iron/iron board together while I’m constructing. So, I want those two “stations” close together in my room. It’s almost like a kitchen where you typically have a triangle between sink, oven, fridge… but you have sewing machine, ironing board, cutting table!

Lighting-

I only had one window in my sewing space. I tried my best to add windows, but the way the house was set up it just wasn’t possible. If you have the option to have more windows… the more the merrier in my eyes! I love a lot of light when I’m sewing!

I put pot lights all along the U shape desks where my machine are going so I could see well while sewing. I also put a pot light above my computer desk because I read a lot there. Last I placed a hanging fixture above my cutting table in the center of the room. And let me tell you, I had GRAND plans of doing a dramatic lighting fixture like a chandelier, but I”ll save you the heart-ache of planning that because in a craft room you really need good lighting and something fancy like that isn’t great. They’re gorgeous and stunning and I wanted it so bad! But, in the end they gave off terrible light with rainbows and shadows everywhere 🙁 So… after realizing that I needed functional lighting I went with a pendant. Since I had a single fixture in my mind and had it wired for that I choose this one that meant I didn’t need to have it re-wired for another fixture, but still got 2 pendants for better lighting along my big cutting table!

Outlets-

When we did our electrical walk I added quite a few electrical outlets to my sewing room. Why not right? So now instead of having to have a bunch of giant cords running everywhere I’ll have an electrical outlet where I plan on having my machines.

I also added a floor outlet right where I plan on having my desk. You really only need this if you don’t want your desk along a wall. For whatever reason I was dead set on not looking at a wall while I work! I wanted to look towards the window! So, I again used my drawing of my room to scale to plop in my computer desk where I wanted it and then told the builders exactly where so I wouldn’t have to run my computer cords to the wall. (My husband thought this was great and used it in his office too!)

Furniture-

I’m not going to get TOO much into furniture today, because we have a separate post with our favorite sewing storage coming up! But, for my desks I plan on getting very simple desks with nothing under the table tops. I want to be able to move my legs freely and roll from machine to machine as easily and quickly as possible. And even though you want a lot of storage in a craft room function has to be number one! So, I will find storage other placed besides under my machines!

I plan on getting an Ikea “system” so that I can mix and match open desks for under my machines with some desks with storage drawers or shelving under others. So under my silhouette machine and heat press I will use that under storage space. Here are 2 desks systems I’ve been eyeing at Ikea: the Micke and the Linnmon.

If you only have 1 or 2 machines a system isn’t that important. I have enough machines that I really needed that corner unit! I use my sewing machine, serger and coverstitch together on a garment quite often. So I wanted them close enough to swivel between, but not so close I couldn’t fit my arms/garments between while working. I also wanted a little growing room 😉 just in case another machine finds it way into that room down the road… you know what I mean ladies!!

Decor-

This is of course a huge personal preference. But, I will say a sewing/craft room if it is JUST yours go all out! Don’t worry about doing what’s on trend, what your partner likes, what is kid friendly… if it is just for you and your hobbies then making it your little slice of decorating heaven! I plan on going full on GIRLY! Pastels, gold, antiques, lace, florals, you name it! Anything I want that I usually get a, “no way”, “are you kidding me”, “too girly” reaction to… that’s what I”ll be putting in my room! So have fun and celebrate a space that’s just for you!

Next up we’ll be talking about our favorite storage pieces in a craft/sewing room to finish planning it out! Don’t miss out on our other great posts all about sewing craft rooms!

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