Planning a Sewing Unit

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 84, Issue 5, 15 May 1952, Page 421

Planning a Sewing Unit

SEWING is a household activity that is often carried out with much irritation and wasted energy. It is usually done a little at a time to fit in with other household tasks, so much effort is spent in getting out and putting away the essential pieces of equipment. When these are scattered and disorganised the task is often made disagreeable, though it should be a source of great satisfaction as well as a successful economy. Suggestions for making sewing a simpler and more pleasant task are given in this article by Helen Paine, Rural Sociologist, Department of Agriculture, Wellington. .

MOST WOMEN will agree that if a special place could be planned where all or most of the equipment used in sewing could be kept, many of the burdens of sewing for a family would be done away with. Sewing could be left out ready to be done between regular duties, odd jobs could be attended to easily in emergencies, and big sewing projects would be attempted more readily as part of the normal routine if the sewing centre was part of the household and did not have to be fitted up each time any work was to be done. Only a few people are fortunate enough to have a separate room set aside for sewing, and the

Sewing Centre

Plan of a sewing centre in a special room, but which could also be organised at the end of a room or in an alcove. A— cupboard for hanging part-made garments and storing a dress form, with a shelf above for storing bulk materials and perhaps a drawer at the bottom for patterns, iron, and other bulky pieces of equipment; there could be hooks for scissors and a scrap-bag or cloth pockets on the back of the door and a mirror on the front. B—An ironing board, which could fold up against the wall or be stored in the cupboard. C—A drop-head sewing machine or a cabinet with storage drawers for a portable machine. D —A gate-leg table, preferably with drawers in the centre piece to add to the storage space; such a table is ideal for a sewing room, as it can be stored close to the wall when not in use and opened partly or fully to give a large cutting-out area. With a fourth wall alongside the table the unit would become a separate sewing room, but if the unit were in an alcove, it could be closed off from the main room by curtains in the positions shown, leaving the table in the main room and shutting off the sewing alcove.

design of many houses makes centralisation of equipment difficult, but it is worth making some effort to organise a sewing unit that is as satisfactory as possible. Saving Steps Before any sort of plan for a sewing unit is made it is a good idea to list all the articles used m sewing and mending. Some people will have only the bare necessities of needles, cottons, fastenings, and perhaps a machine; others who make even their own coats will. have larger items of equipment, a dress form, many patterns, a sleeve board, or other items which present a difficult storage problem. The main items of equipment will probably include a sewing machine, an ironing board and blanket, pressing cloths, ■ a cutting-out table, a mirror, storage space for materials, patterns, and small items, and a wardrobe for hanging part-finished garments. Other equipment such as velvet boards and sleeve boards may be included, and many other items will differ from list to list. Most persons will probably find that these pieces of equipment are scattered around the house as in the large house plan on the opposite page, which shows the distances travelled to get out and put away the equipment necessary for making an apron. The worker collected materials from the bedroom, .the small equipment and the ironing blanket were kept in the linen cupboard in the hall, ironing was done in the kitchen, cutting out in the dining room, and sewing in the living room because it was the only room with a convenient electric point. The smaller plan shows portion of the same house with the equipment rearranged so that most of the sewing can be done in the dining room and only ironing is carried out in the kitchen. The distance travelled to make the apron was reduced from 483 ft. to 108 ft. This result was achieved without any structural alteration except changing

the plug of the sewing machine cord to one that would fit into a light socket. The storage space was found with better arrangement of the dining room cupboard, where machine, sewing box, patterns, ironing blankets, and materials were kept. . . With the sewing equipment in the house listed and the location of the major items taken stock of, possible places where a sewing unit could be planned may be listed. Then the best possible situation for sewing activities can be decided. This decision will be influenced by many factors. A few people will have a special room, but others may find a seldom-used corner of a bedroom, a place in the kitchen, laundry, or dining room, or an alcove off the living room; even the hall is a possibility. Next best to the special room set aside for sewing is a sunporch, often the centre of many activities, including a childrens playroom. With that decision made, the available space and the pieces of equipment that must be fitted into it should be measured and an attempt made to work out on paper the best arrangement. Lighting and Power The availability of lighting and, for an electric machine, power must be considered. The machine should be run from a 3-prong plug where possible; it may safely be connected to a light socket in some rooms, but care should be taken that a 3-prong plug is used in the kitchen. When sewing is done during daylight the machine is best placed in front of a window where direct light will fall on the working area. If the sewing unit is to be enclosed in a cupboard or storage wall, good artificial light

must be provided. A strip of fluorescent lighting at the back of a cupboard provides good illumination for the restricted area. Most electric machines have a small light attached to them, but a good general light is also necessary in a sewing room. If most sewing is done at night, some direct light must be provided above the sewing machine; a light • in the middle of the room is never adequate, as the person sewing will always throw a shadow on the work unless the machine is directly under the light. If artificial light is used, the space above a machine can be occupied by storage shelves and is close at hand for small pieces of equipment, but this is achieved at the expense of the window, which would provide good natural illumination; The Ideal The ideal sewing room contains a sewing machine and cabinet with drawers, and possibly high cupboards above the cabinet for bulk storage; a wardrobe with mirror, shelves, hooks, and a large drawer at the bottom; a cuttingout table, preferably collapsible, and an iron and ironing board. All sewing processes could be carried out m such a centre. These items could be fitted into a minimum space of Bft. 6in. x 7ft. 6in. and leave adequate room for all activities. The same basic items for sewing could easily be fitted into an alcove off the end of a room, especially if the table were part of the main room, for then the amount of space taken up by the other sewing equipment would' be

Sewing Cabinet

Dressmaking Screen

cabinet that can be shut up completely is illustrated on this page. Cutting out is not done in the unit, which is designed for either a treadle or electric machine, but all other processes are, including ironing on the hinged flap. A mirror could be . built on the inside of one cupboard door. Organising Equipment Without reorganisation of the large pieces of equipment the smaller items can sometimes be arranged so that they are more conveniently stored. A good idea is to store pins, shears, tape measures, and all other materials used in .cutting out on a tray or in an old knife box; they can then all be carried to the cutting-out table at once. A scrap-bag suspended from a hook in a cupboard hides many untidy pieces. A filing drawer is very suitable for storing patterns, but one can be improvised from an old shoe box, which is just the right size to allow the patterns to stand upright, so that any one can be sorted out easily when it is required. A tray, a narrow shelf, or a shallow drawer is a good container for cotton reels. A piece of wood with wooden pegs or nails hammered into it holds cotton reels conveniently; smaller nails can be hammered into the board in front of the big ones to take bobbins that are filled with the same-coloured cotton. Shallow drawers or cloth pockets are good hold-alls for needle cases, pin boxes or cushions, thimbles, domes, hooks and eyes, and other oddments. Strong hooks for scissors and a rail for tape measures are also useful. Organising big pieces of equipment and smaller items to reduce to the minimum the effort required to collect and put away sewing materials should result in a great increase in the amount of sewing that can be done, partly because of greater convenience, but mostly because of lessened annoyance.