Tackling the crafting space - share your tips

stitchfairy

I am tackling the basement craft space.

Share with me your best hobby craft space tips and hacks.

I quilt, cross stitch and felt craft. I also have a tote bag for art things (watercolor, coloring pencils, etc.)

TinyArtist

I recently did this, still have a bit to go as I also have a fair amount of art supplies. What I did was purchase 27 gallon totes, like 20 of them, and store each item in a specific tote. I labeled them and also created an inventory list of everything so I know what is where. It took some time to do inventory, but I found it helpful. I just made a generic sheet using a program like Excel and printed out a ton of them.

I also have an art room so anything that might be impacted by any dampness or I use often is kept there. We do have a dehumidifier in the basement though. Sometimes I think I spent more on storage solutions than on some of the supplies. I also bought several 4 tier large plastic shelving for some of the supplies I might want to access more often.
It was a ton of work and I still have a small amount left to do as mentioned but I felt it was pretty rewarding to get it all organized.

In my art room I keep my artist colored pencils, pastels, paper, watercolors, wool and inks as well as books.

- For artist grade colored pencils storage I use wood pastel drawers and keep them in my art room. A bit costly for the cheaper China made pencils. For cheaper pencils I use binders or just have them in their original container. I put those in bags as well but are stored in the basement. I rarely use the cheap pencils.
- For watercolors and inks I have a large train case, 4 tiers, that I keep those in and several smaller ones.
- I bought large zip lock style bags to put almost all items in to prevent any odor or dampness, etc. They are 14 inches by 20 inches and came in packs of 200. I bought 2 packs but still have a ton left.
- For yarn I bought those huge vacuum bags and put fabric softener sheets in them.
- For materials like felt, cotton, etc, I also put those in a vacuum bag and lay flat. I organized them by type of material.
- For small items I used cheap plastic shoe boxes that stack together that I bought on Amazon. They have a little door in the front instead of a lid on top so it's easier to access them and they were relatively cheap.
- I set up a special area for my sewing machines and for painting. I used old tables I had down there for some time that were no longer used.

It's quite satisfying to actually have the majority of supplies in one spot. Now the hard part is returning items to where they belong when I am done doing a project. I'm terrible at that sometimes.

TestKnit

Honestly, depending on the space, my biggest advice is a big table. Yes, bigger than what you're thinking! If the space is too small, you can make a table that folds onto the wall. But, seeing that you quilt and perhaps sew, you are gonna appreciate that space to work. Also, modular shelving or storage! That way, if you dont have many supplies, you can go and expand as you go.

paryjeja

Don't be afraid to get rid of things you aren't going to use.  I just donated 10 boxes of sewing patterns (I had such dreams!!!), unwanted fabric and other crafting items to a church.  They have a big sale every year for just crafting supplies.  The money they make is used to buy batting and backing fabric for their Quilt of Valor program.

Zahra1994

Thank you for sharing🙏🏻💕

Coralinaamiguru

Its my yarn is to close to me i trow it away :

dheekdhr

my crafting space is a pretty narrow hallway and still a work in progress!!! i keep yarn in bins and in an ikea billy narrow shelf. i recently bought the ikea billy sliding table with 3 shelves, this will become my main sewing space. i have the ironing board in a separate corner since it takes so much space. knitting and crocheting i usually do in bed, for me they are low effort low planning crafts, compared to sewing which takes A TON of planning. I’ve been wanting to get into quilting lately.
Does anybody else have tips for fabric storage? i stored one of my fabrics folded and i think the fibers broke on the fold line, it left a crease that couldn’t be ironed out no matter how much i tried

dheekdhr

TinyArtist replied at 2025-08-31 21:54
I recently did this, still have a bit to go as I also have a fair amount of art supplies. What I did ...

wow! you seem like such a master of all crafts. the literal crafting avatar!!

TinyArtist

dheekdhr replied at 2025-09-24 03:58
my crafting space is a pretty narrow hallway and still a work in progress!!! i keep yarn in bins and ...

You could try rolling them up. You will always have creases, no way to avoid on big pieces. If the crease doesn't come out I end up either washing the material. If it's prone to fraying like cotton, I will do a quick hem around it about 1/4 of an inch before washing. It's usually the sizing they put on most materials that cause creases to tend to stay If you don't pre-wash