How to Organize Sewing Room Storage

Although this section is to tell about sewing room substitutes, that is, what to do when one has no special room set aside exclusively for that kind of work, as so often happens in small apartments - it is going to begin by telling how one woman substituted another room, or rather turned it into a sewing room.

Up to the time of the transformation each spring and fall brought with its seasonable sewing a period of chaos for the household, not because the work to be done was an extra that had to be fitted into the usual domestic routine, but because of the confusion through having to do the work either in one of the two bedrooms or in a corner of the dining room. In either case it meant putting everything away at the close of the trying day and getting it all out again next morning, which was a loss of time and not infrequently the loss of carefully adjusted pins, requiring another fitting and extra labor for their replacing. This housekeeper had always found it more practical to sacrifice her dining-room to the siege of sewing, because from there she could conveniently manage activities in the kitchen.

Keeping the latter necessity in mind, she started at the rear of the house in her mental readjustment of its arrangement, with the hope of releasing a part of it from present service for a permanent sewing room. No scrap of space presented itself except the pantry, not the butler's pantry, but one off the kitchen under the rear stairs that must have been planned by the architect for the storage of canned goods and quantities of things which one could never hope to use often, or at least not easily, because, barring the two lower shelves, all the rest were beyond any reach except that of a giant. It had more room in it than was needed for cooking utensils and not enough light to find them quickly. Besides, like most modern housekeepers, this woman stocked her kitchen with equipment that answered many instead of individual purposes. This reduced the quantity. And she preferred to have it hang from hooks and stand in neat rows on shelves conveniently near the range and sink. Also, like many housekeepers today, she found it better economy to buy canned fruits as they were needed rather than to prepare these at home.

It really seemed quite possible to get on comfortably without a pantry, but not at all possible without a sewing room. And so a carpenter was engaged to put a window into the outside wall of the pantry and to take out all the shelves. One of them he turned into a drop-shelf. He also made three drawers that slid into the openings of three stairs conveniently high in the flight. Remember the pantry was under the rear stairway, the soffit of which was not incased. In these drawers were kept patterns, cut-out material, and small sewing equipment. The machine stood under the window, a gown form behind the door, and after the entrance of the seamstress there was, to be sure, not much room to spare, but as an improvement over the old way it was a complete success, and far better than no sewing room at all.

However, when there is no other way but to use a part of another room as a sewing-corner, one can prepare the necessary equipment so that it may be assembled quickly and cleared away easily. Though the initial outlay entails a slight expenditure of effort and money, the eventual saving in time and labor will amply repay one.

About the floor first: the threads that gather there and cling to the rug may be prevented from ever reaching it by spreading a piece of enamel cloth over the portion of the room where the sewing is to be done. One end should be fastened to a stick as long as the width of the cloth, so that it may be rolled up into a slim package which will occupy little room in a closet when not in service. The corners opposite those attached to the stick must be weighted with small leads to keep their end flat while stretched on the floor. One variety of this material comes extra wide, is non-cracking, and may be had in dark colors, unfigured.

The sewing-machine, that most necessary yet unsightly piece of equipment, is another trying feature in making a temporary sewing-place of another room. It is so heavy that even though there may be a closet large enough to store one when not being used, the difficulty in wheeling it in and out for every bit of stitching makes that way of concealing the machine very impracticable. Then, too, the floor soon becomes grooved and worn by the casters. A better plan is to let it remain out, but hide its unsightliness with a fitted cover - a protection against dust as well.

Drop-head machines are better adapted to this treatment. They can, too, be used as a stand for other things when covered. The top of the cover should be fitted smooth and brought down the sides for three inches, taking out the extra fullness of the corners with a seam. Then, to the edge of the fitted part gather or pleat a deep valance that will come to within an inch of the floor. Pleating, either straight or box pleats, make the work look more professional. Plain-colored linen, dyed unbleached muslin, Japanese crepe or chintz, are suitable materials for a cover.

In city apartments, where it is frequently necessary to use couches in place of beds, the cover for the machine, the couch, and the over-curtains at the windows might all be made of the same patterned chintz with good effect. A cover of the material for the gown form would make that piece of equipment less conspicuous in case there was no closet room for storing it. The cover should be made long, and wide enough to easily and completely envelop the form when it is draped with a partially made gown.

Small sewing equipment may be kept together and ready for use in several ways. The chintz-covered folding sewing-screens, that contain all the required utensils either on hooks in neat rows or tucked away in their special pockets, every woman has seen even if she does not own one. But does she know that they may be recovered when the original chintz wears out or becomes too soiled? Originally the screens have their wooden foundation frames covered with material as well as backed with it. This should air be taken off when recovering, and the wood stained and waxed. It will not be necessary to take out the little brass hooks. Stain and wax can be got in any paint-shop or paint department of the large stores. The small sample-size bottle and can will be enough of each for a screen. Some stain comes mixed in varnish, but this kind is not so easy to apply nor does the wood look so well glossed in that way as with wax. If the wood is rough it should be sandpapered before staining. Begin with No. 1 paper and use No. 00 for final finishing. After staining, the screen is ready to be rebacked with new material. This requires only stretching tight and tacking around the edges. The smallest brass-head gimp tacks make the neatest finish.

A large suitcase is also a compact and convenient way to keep small sewing equipment. The straw-covered cases are the best for this purpose. Frequently they come lined and have their covers supplied with pockets. Then all that is necessary is to stretch a half-inch-wide linen tape across the cover above the pockets, tacking it to the lining at intervals to form places into which scissors, a folded tape-measure, and the supply paper of pins may be slipped. Of course, a pin-eushion must be added, and a good way to make this is with a small tape loop by which it may be fastened on a button sewed to the suitcase lining, or when in use fastened in the same way to the sewing-apron. A suitcase of this kind is also a place to keep the partially finished work. Both screen and suitcase require little storage space, making them practical where the economy of room is a factor.

The woman who does a little carpentry will be able to make a sewing-stand out of the large wooden boxes in which cheese is packed. Some of these are eighteen inches in diameter and from seven to nine inches deep. The box part forms the upper portion of the stand, and the cover be-eomes a tray that is fastened to the legs about ten inches above the floor. The carpenter's work comes in fastening on the legs. These need not be round. Four strips of wood each three-quarters of an inch thick, two and a half inches wide and of a length to make the stand the necessary height are quite satisfactory for the purpose and are more easily fastened to the box and cover. A completed stand would require either painting or staining as a finish. The box may be lined and fitted with pockets for the sewing utensils, and there will be ample room for the sewing as well. If one has two boxes, or rather a box and two covers, the cover for the box of the stand will be useful if kept for that purpose, It would protect the contents from dust while not in use.

By planning a place for all the small fittings and harmonizing the large pieces of equipment to their surroundings it is thus possible to fit an inconspicuous and convenient sewing room into one of the other rooms of the small house or apartment.

Continue: Buying Household Linen.