Welcome to the next stop on our sewing space tour!
Today we’re visiting the sewing room of Lara!
Tell us a little about your sewing space.
I am fortunate to have a dedicated sewing space. When we extended our house upwards a few years ago we included a sewing area in our plans (along with some bedrooms, a bathroom and a linen cupboard). It’s an open area at the top of the stairs, with large windows that look toward the Melbourne city centre. It’s also large enough to fit a couch and tv, along with a cutting table. I had storage cupboards and drawers built in, but it didn’t take long for me to fill them up, so I also have a number of plastic tubs for fabric storage and expanding files for patterns. Some of my stash has now found its way into the linen cupboard as well…
I sew with a Pinnock that was my 21st birthday present back in 1991. I can’t imagine how many kilometres of fabric and thread have passed through that machine. It’s sewn all sorts of garments and bags, and is still going strong. These old mechanical machines are wonderful things! I bought an overlocker ten years ago when we extended the house. It’s a Janome 744D – and I don’t recommend it. A new overlocker is high on my wanted list. My daughter has a little Bernette and it’s permanently set up as well. The machines all sit on a Horn sewing cabinet that is always in full corner mode. My daughters (and the dog) often sit on the couch and watch TV while I sew. The iron and ironing board are also permanently set up beside the machines and cutting table. No excuse not to press as I go!
What is your favourite part/feature of your sewing space?
The best thing about it has to be that I have everything set up and ready to go. It’s easy for me to spend just 15 or 30 minutes on something if that is all the time that I have available, because I can utilise that time really well. I am often asked how I manage to be so productive with my sewing – I think that is one of the main reasons. If I have free time, I sew or prepare something for sewing.
How do you organise your fabrics, patterns and notions?
I do have an extensive sewing stash, but it is surprising how I know where everything is. Printed woven fabrics are folded and kept on shelves in the cupboard. They are sorted roughly by colour and type. Printed and striped knits are all up the top of the adjacent cupboard, also sorted roughly but colour and type. Solids are kept in plastic tubs under the cutting table, pretty much according to fabric type and then colour range. Interfacings are in another cupboard. I have four drawers that store notions, depending on the type of notion, and I know what is in each drawer. Threads are all kept in plastic containers on the sewing cabinet and other frequently used notions are kept nearby in the cabinet as well. The room was built before the advent of pdf patterns, so although the drawers are the right size for all my envelope patterns, I’ve had to store printed pdfs differently. At the moment I mostly keep them in expanding or box files, according to pattern company and type of pattern. Some larger pdf patterns and interfacings are still rolled up.
I usually have two “in progress” piles as well. Often a spare chair has piles of fabric with the corresponding pattern. Once a garment has been cut out I put it into a snap-lock bag with everything needed to complete the garment, and pop that into a plastic tub. You’d be surprised at how many projects can fit into one of those tubs – I am currently working hard to empty it!
What is your favourite thing to sew?
This is a really difficult question, because it changes depending on my mood. I sew almost my entire wardrobe, and most of my daughters’. My husband gets the occasional item as well! I sew both with knits and wovens, and do like variety in my sewing. I also sew bags and quilts. So in summary, I don’t really have a “favourite” thing to sew. I like sewing most things!
Lara has been documenting her sewing adventures on her blog — Thornberry — for ten years now. Check out her blog or catch her on Instagram to see what she sews in her fantastic sewing room!
Wonderful sewing space, Lara! How nice to have a machine set up for your daughter as well!
Wow, so glad to be referred to your blog, Lara! Hadn’t seen it before and just spent ages scrolling through. Love your style & your space!
Ive been reading her blog for literally years. It is a real pleasure, and one I take my time with. What a great sewing space! It must be wonderfully difficult to not get distracted by that view, but best I think is that it is the way family space is incorporated. That is the best idea I’ve seen in a sewing room.
I highly recommend you do visit Lara’s blog – she has a wonderful posting up on the 3 women who design, own and operate StyleArc! It was great to see and read about them in her StyleArc event posting. Lovely sewing space Lara – your organizational skills shine!