Sewing room work table ("neener neener neeeee" for Other Noelle)

Because I forgot to pre-wash the linen for the next kirtle on deck, I’m going to wax retrospective about one of my favorite sewing tools instead.

A few years ago I started pricing tables for my work room.  Whoa!  $1,000s  for a table?!?!  No thank you, I’ll make one!

When I finally decided to build my sewing room work table, I wanted to be able to use it both as a pressing table, and a cutting table. 

Table:  $120  (IKEA kitchen island on sale from $600)

I already had a 36” x 58.5” cutting mat, so that decided the overall size for the table top.

My husband had a great idea to go to IKEA to see if we could find anything that would work.  Luckily, we found a discontinued and discounted kitchen island for around $120.  (Overall dimensions are 32.5” x 37” x 53”)

Shelves:  2 x $95 (Ikea base cabinet on sale from $150)

I wasn’t planning on putting shelves inside the island/table, but since they were on sale, I thought “hey, why not?!”  (Actually, hubby was the one that pushed the shelving – and I’m really glad he did!!!)

As we were putting everything together, we decided to have one shelf facing each way, making a little space for a stool, and shelving for both sides of the table.  This makes it really convenient to have two separate work stations.  The one facing the fabric stash is my ironing station (second pic), and the one facing the machines is my accessories & embroidery station (first pic)

Pressing board:  MDF $16, batting $29, canvas $16

I bought a sheet of MDF at my local home improvement store, and had them cut it to fit my cutting board.  I bought a couple of yards of “Warm & Natural” cotton batting, and a couple yards of unbleached canvas.  I covered the top with three layers of batting, and one of canvas, stapling the canvas to the underside of the board.  It’s about time I replace the canvas – it’s getting a bit grimy after a years worth of use!

                  

Cutting mat:  FREE  (birthday gift from a friend)

The pressing board top is a few inches bigger all the way around, and makes it easy to slide the cutting board underneath when not in use, and adds to the depth of the knee space for the stools.

Total: $371 (around $400, including the two D.I. stools)