Sewing cabinet

[Mike G]

I vaguely recollect someone posting a photo or two of a sewing cabinet they'd made.....but I can't remember whether that was here or on UKW. I've tried the search function at both and come up with nothing. Can anyone remember what I might be talking about, or does anyone have any photos of such a thing they may have made themselves?

 

[PAC1]

Try Finewoodworking they will have some designs

 

[Mike G]

Thanks Peter.

 

[AndyT]

Do you mean the old sort with layers of trays that fold out?

I think I have a drawing somewhere.

 

[AndyT]

Here's a quick snap of four designs from the 1950s - if any is close to what you want I can do a clearer scan.

 

[AJB Temple]

I remember it too. Pretty sure it was on UKW.

 

[Mike G]

Do you mean the old sort with layers of trays that fold out?.....

No, Andy. Something more like this:



We want a cabinet and a removable/ foldable worktop for the smallest bedroom. It will be at least a year in gestation.

 

[Mike G]

I remember it too. Pretty sure it was on UKW.

I searched, but it is likely on one of those "last thing I made" -type threads which seem designed to thwart the search engine.

 

[Dr.Al]

I searched, but it is likely on one of those "last thing I made" -type threads which seem designed to thwart the search engine.

I can't help with the sewing cabinet design, but for what it's worth I find searching forum sites is a lot easier if you just use google and search for (e.g.) "sewing cabinet site:ukworkshop.co.uk".

 

[Mike G]

Google? Really, come on guys. Search without the malign world of google extracting your data. Duckduckgo......

(When Duckduckgo becomes a verb in the way google has, will people say "I Duckduckgo'd it" or "I Duckduckwent it"? :lol: )

Anyway, thanks Al. Searching through threads was going to be my second line of attack. My first was to hope that someone here either posted it themselves, or remembered who had.

 

[AJB Temple]

Before you start designing....my sister in law is very keen on sewing, to the extent that she worked in a sewing shop after leaving her building society career. She said that many sewers gravitate to knitting machines as well. From looking briefly at her set up, these things take up horizontal space and also yarns / wool are bulky. She also has to have a pressing station (glorified ironing board it seemed to me) nearby.
Worth thinking ahead?

 

[Mike G]

My wife is a lifelong seamstress. She made her own wedding dress, and our daughters. She makes all the curtains, cushions, duvet covers, and other upholstery around here, as well as churning out jackets, blouses, trousers, dresses, baby-clothes etc. She has even made a couple of tents. So she's pretty confident of what she wants and where she wants it. Yes, a pressing board will be included, but wool storage isn't a priority as she rarely knits these days. Stuffing balls of wool in one of the drawers seems the likeliest......

 

[Woodbloke]

My wife is a lifelong seamstress. She made her own wedding dress, and our daughters. She makes all the curtains, cushions, duvet covers, and other upholstery around here, as well as churning out jackets, blouses, trousers, dresses, baby-clothes etc. She has even made a couple of tents. So she's pretty confident of what she wants and where she wants it. Yes, a pressing board will be included, but wool storage isn't a priority as she rarely knits these days. Stuffing balls of wool in one of the drawers seems the likeliest......

I don't know if Krenov made one Mike :lol: - Rob...fast exit grabbing coat on the way :lol: :lol:

 

[Mike G]

I was tempted, Rob, to do a spoof drawing of a Krenov-style thing "floating" above a little frame-with-legs. Given my well known views on that sort of design, though, I realise it would likely have been seen as a dig rather than attempt at humour. So I didn't.

On a serious note, though, what I might take from your Krenovs is the use of little accents in bog oak.

 

[Woodbloke]

On a serious note, though, what I might take from your Krenovs is the use of little accents in bog oak.

The 'accent' details look very effective in a very dark wood so some Bog Oak would be ideal - Rob

 

[AJB Temple]

Ah She is an expert. Anyone who can make wedding dresses has to be top notch. Kudos.

I wonder if she watches the Sewing Bee programme? It always amazes me how they produce their designs so quickly and how well they fit the models. That and the pottery throw down with Keith are both pretty good.

 

[Mike G]

....I wonder if she watches the Sewing Bee programme? It always amazes me how they produce their designs so quickly and how well they fit the models....

She's an obvious candidate for the Sewing Bee, and we've joked about it many times. However, time pressure and having a camera constantly looking over her shoulder are two things she would not cope well with. My view is that the artificial deadlines of these types of programmes are what spoil them (and why I'd never even consider going on that woodworking one). I'd rather see someone produce something as good as they possibly can, rather than as quickly as they possibly can.

 

[AJB Temple]

Well, I agree with that. All reality TV formats seem to have time or budget jeopardy at the expense of a quality outcome. The pottery one is not too bad as they all seem to get the job done within the time allowed. I suppose TV cannot have a limitless schedule.

She should audition though. It would be great fun for her. Encourage her because she will forget about the cameras almost immediately. I did Masterchef years ago and everyone was nervous at first, but you get over it very quickly and don't notice the camera and sound crews. The sewing bee presenters don't seem to want to catch people out at all and seem constructive. There is no Greg Wallace!

 

[Woodbloke]

My wife is a lifelong seamstress. She made her own wedding dress, and our daughters. She makes all the curtains, cushions, duvet covers, and other upholstery around here, as well as churning out jackets, blouses, trousers, dresses, baby-clothes etc. She has even made a couple of tents. So she's pretty confident of what she wants and where she wants it. Yes, a pressing board will be included, but wool storage isn't a priority as she rarely knits these days. Stuffing balls of wool in one of the drawers seems the likeliest......

My SiL in Bristol is also a seamstress and has has a sewing room bigger than my workshop, which is 20x12'. She has a very upmarket computer thingie sewing machine, an 'overlocker' (whatever that does...some sort of planer :lol: ) a vast cabinet just for threads etc and countless other stuff which bores my brother to tears. She gets quite irate when he doesn't pay attention to her sewing projects and starts on instead about his golf and golfing buddies :lol: - Rob

 

[MattS]

I watched a QU & A with Patrick from the Sewing Bee once - he does some interesting stuff outside of the programme as well. He did say that apparently if there is a challenge and everyone is struggling they do give them more time. I guess it wouldn't make good telly if no one had finished!

I designed and built my wife's sewing space we have a dedicated room as it's her business so it's always set up, that being said I'm not convinced about the practicality of using a machine in the cupboard. It looks like yours has it to be lifted out to be used which is good. The units which close the machine away put tidiness over functionality I think.

Photo below of her set up, the units below are drawers, it's extra deep to better store fabric and also for cutting out on top. Peg board for flexible storage of tools all to hand.

 

[Cabinetman]

My wife is a lifelong seamstress. She made her own wedding dress, and our daughters. She makes all the curtains, cushions, duvet covers, and other upholstery around here, as well as churning out jackets, blouses, trousers, dresses, baby-clothes etc. She has even made a couple of tents. So she's pretty confident of what she wants and where she wants it. Yes, a pressing board will be included, but wool storage isn't a priority as she rarely knits these days. Stuffing balls of wool in one of the drawers seems the likeliest......

My SiL in Bristol is also a seamstress and has has a sewing room bigger than my workshop, which is 20x12'. She has a very upmarket computer thingie sewing machine, an 'overlocker' (whatever that does...some sort of planer :lol: ) a vast cabinet just for threads etc and countless other stuff which bores my brother to tears. She gets quite irate when he doesn't pay attention to her sewing projects and starts on instead about his golf and golfing buddies :lol: - Rob

Definitely with your sil on that one, men's lunch once with 5 golfers, dear god I thought it would never end!

 

[Cabinetman]

I wonder if the table should come out into the room Mike, or in your design have a gap at the back for material to drop down? There’s only one person who knows of course! This is what made me wonder.

 

[Mike G]

I wonder if the table should come out into the room Mike, or in your design have a gap at the back for material to drop down? There’s only one person who knows of course! This is what made me wonder.

It can't come out into the room (the room is too narrow), but there could be a gap behind. I'll put that to the next design team meeting.

 

[Mike G]

......Photo below of her set up, the units below are drawers........

Did the photo get cropped?, But yes, the plan is to leave the machine out all the time except when the grandchildren are staying when it would get locked away in the cupboard. As an aside, there will be some sort of mechanism which locks all of the drawers and the cupboard doors, so prying toddlers can't start using the stuff for dressing up or drawing on.

 

[Cabinetman]

The locking mechanisms to stop toddlers is so much better than when my children were young, they have magnet activated release thingies on some, they really work well.

 

[AJB Temple]

Some children have Houdini genes. When mine was tiny my partner / his mother made me fit childproof gates at the top and bottom of the stairs. The very day I did this we were downstairs late that evening watching TV, when offspring who was supposed to be asleep, arrived in the room. He had scaled his high sided cot, opened the top gate, slid down the stairs on his bum, opened the bottom gate and slipped into the room silently, looking very innocent.

 

[MattS]

......Photo below of her set up, the units below are drawers........

Did the photo get cropped?, But yes, the plan is to leave the machine out all the time except when the grandchildren are staying when it would get locked away in the cupboard. As an aside, there will be some sort of mechanism which locks all of the drawers and the cupboard doors, so prying toddlers can't start using the stuff for dressing up or drawing on.

It was a cropped photo I took from my wife's website as it looks tidy! Here's the lot in all its messy glory! The cabinets were my first proper project about 18-19 years ago, but for a different house. The fit in this room is pure coincidence!