Organizing Your Sewing Workspace - Ribbons & Laces

Surely I'm not the only one that makes a New Years resolution only to groan about it a little later in the year (eg on the 2nd of Jan!).  But I'm a sucker for punishment so I've gone ahead & made another resolution ..."Keep my workspace inspirational".  And if hubby is reading this - no, I'm not going to put money on it!

I have a little while before I have to tackle this, & luckily for me I get to start from scratch again as I'm actually inbetween moving from NZ to Oz.  I have a quite a bit of time up my sleeve to research some great ideas & hopefully be set to put them into action.

I've not been one to hoard fabrics & laces etc up until recently so storage of such items is a new dilemma for me.  I now have 3x 60L plastic tubs of fabric & 3 or 4 big plastic bags full of lace to deal with.  After surfing the net, here's some ideas I have to work with:

Ribbons & Laces

Amazon.com have this cool ribbon storage box that will keep rolls of ribbon tidy & easily accessible. (sold here) I love these because they're clear so you can see exactly what's going on in the boxes! 

Alternatively, you can make your own version of this which could turn out much cheaper if several are needed to control your ribbon stash. Martha Stewart has a tutorial here on how to turn a shoe-sized box into the boxes on the right. I might visit Ikea for some lovely boxes & give this one a go! Here's the tutorial.

Paper towel holders are also a pretty cheap & effective way of storing those ribbon rolls too. 

So this type of storage is great for rolls but all those loose strands of ribbons have to go somewhere too. Up until now I have just flung them over a rail which was effective but unsightly. A better idea I came across is to buy a simple tiered coat hanger for trousers (view one here from Howards Storage World) & drape the ribbons over the rungs.  Keep in place with a pretty peg or big paper clip.

If that is still a little unsightly why not recycle those jam preserve jars & put them on display filled with colourful ribbons. I'm sure we can all find some pretty fabric or paper to make the lids pretty while we're at it ;)   You can buy them in all sorts of place if need be. The ones photographed are from Millys Kitchen.

Well, hopefully this has inspired many a crafter to 'pretty-up' their workspace?  Next blog will be on tackling all the laces lying around.

I would LOVE to see any photos you have of your workspace or hear about other neat little storage solutions you use.  I can't wait to start my sewing room from scratch again!

- Author: Suzan. Co-founder of Little Kiwis Nest & designer of Little Tee Tee Boutique -