How to Build a Sewing Nook
Creative inspiration may come easier to a seamstress or tailor whose workspace is a quaint sewing nook that has neat and accessible organizational, storage and decor elements incorporated into its design. An easy starting point for building a sewing nook is to designate a closet with ample space, such as a walk-in closet or one with double sliding doors. Add shelving and a work surface to feature storage space for sewing notions, fabrics, sewing machinery and enough space to work on a project in the closet. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Closet
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Level
- 2-by-4s
- 1-by-24-inch, 6 feet long
- 4 heavy-duty 18-inch shelf brackets
- 1-by-12s
- 1-by-10s
- 1-by-6s
- Compound miter saw
- Drill and drill bits
- 3-inch screws
- 1-inch screws
- 1 1/4-inch screws
- Stud finder
- Wall shelf tracking and brackets
- Accessory containers
Instructions
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Design the Layout of the Sewing Nook
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1
Take stock of all the machinery and supplies to determine just how much storage shelving is needed in the sewing nook. Pull out all the sewing essentials – the sewing machines, fabric, notions, books and tools. Sort and arrange them on a tabletop or the floor. Line up like items and use a tape measure to measure across each grouping the length, width and height they need to fit on a shelf. Write these measurements down on a piece of paper.
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2
Select the right closet. A walk-in closet or a wide closet with two sliding or bi-fold doors is ideal for this project. Small, single door closets would feel too claustrophobic to work in.
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3
Measure the desired desk height from the floor up, and mark its location on the back wall of the closet. Marking the location of the desk surface is the starting point to see just how much storage space is available above the desk for shelving to store the supplies and notions. The space below the desk is a good place to store the machines and extra fabric.
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4
Plan the sewing nook's shelving. Use the length, width and height measurements of the sewing essentials recorded in step 1 to calculate how far apart to space the shelves. Measure and divide the height of the closet – between the desk's work surface and the ceiling – by the tallest height measurement from step 1.
The resulting number will tell you how many shelves can fit above the desk. Measure this number from the desk surface up, and make a mark on the wall with a pencil. Keep measuring and marking the same distance upward for each shelf until all of the shelves' positions are marked.
Constructing the Nook
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5
Install the shelf hardware by locating the existing wall studs with a stud finder. The wall studs are the vertical 2-by-4s that frame the wall behind the sheetrock. Mark their positions with a pencil so that they are easy to locate.
Line up the shelf tracking to their positions along the studs, level them vertically, and screw them in using 3-inch screws. The shelf tracking are metal strips with holes that the shelf brackets hook into. They are screwed into the existing wall studs for structural support. -
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Hook on the shelf brackets – 12-inch brackets for the 12-inch boards and 10-inch brackets for the 10 inch boards.
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Install the shelves by measuring the width of the closet space and cut the shelves using the 1-by-12-inch boards for the upper shelves using a compound miter saw. For the lower shelves, cut the 1-by-10-inch boards. Using these narrower boards affords more workable room around the shelves at the lower levels. Lay the shelves horizontally across each row of shelf brackets.
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8
Install the desk support and brackets. Draw a level, horizontal and continuous line across the back and side walls of the closet to mark where the desk will be. Measure the width of the back wall, and cut two pieces of 2-by-4s with this measurement. Locate the wall studs, position one 2-by-4 horizontally aligned to the line on the wall and screw it into the existing wall studs with a drill and 3-inch screws.
Measure the height of the heavy-duty brackets for the desk and mark this measurement on the wall by drawing a parallel line to the 2-by-4 on the wall. Screw in the other 2-by-4 horizontal to the wall. These two 2-by-4s gives the desk surface an extra ledge along the wall and adequate support for the positioning of the brackets.
Evenly space the desk support brackets along the width of the back wall, and screw them into the horizontal 2-by-4s.
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9
Install the side supports for the desk by locating the wall studs in the two side walls of the closet, and mark them with a pencil. Cut two 20-inch-long pieces of 2-by-4. Since the desk surface is 24 inches wide, these two 20-inch pieces will support its sides, while being a little recessed from the desk's edge. Line and level each 20-inch piece to each end of the upper horizontal 2-by-4 support along the back wall. Screw them into the wall studs with 3-inch screws.
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10
The desk is a simple work surface constructed of a 1-by-24-inch board. These usually come in 6 foot lengths, so cut it down to fit into the space if necessary. Place it on top of the bracket supports or screw them into the 2-by-4 supports from underneath, using 1 ¼-inch screws.
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11
Incorporate accessory storage by locating ready-made storage containers made of wood or plastic. Pre-drill holes through one side of the containers, line each one up to one of the closet walls that have open space and screw them into the wall with a drill and 1 ¼-inch screws. These can house scissors, tape measure, thread and supplies using the extra wall space. Securing the small container storage to the wall frees up valuable work surface space.
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12
Install a wall mount ironing board on the closet door or an adjacent wall by marking the screw positions for the ironing board on the door or wall with a pencil. Pre-drill the holes, align the ironing board hardware to these holes and screw it to the wall.
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References
Resources
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