The snow has finally disappeared, and the urge to spring cleaning hit me hard.  I'm sure that you've felt it before...everything must go!  Or at least, everything must go into the closet where I don't see it.

I decided to take a good long look at my work space and weed out all the little extras that seem to get in the way.  What would my embroidery room look like if I only kept the essentials?  Here's how it turned out:
 

 1 - Spray Adhesive. I can't live without it!  It keeps fabric and stabilizer nice and tight (which eliminates puckering), keeps paper templates in place when I'm marking the fabric for design placement, and keeps those small pieces of fabric nice and steady when I am working with an applique piece. I use Gunold KK, which does not gum up the needle.  After several uses you might notice the hoop has a sticky residue.  No worries - a few drops of Goo Gone will clean it up just fine.

2 - Over-the-door organizer. Roomy pockets are great for storing rolls of stabilizer, fabric scraps, empty bobbins, rolls of ribbon and rick-rack, needle packs and other small items that need to organized for quick retrieval. And, over-the-door means out of the way. Click here for instructions for making and over-the-door shoe organizer, and transform it into a sewing and embroidery room storage system.

3 - Hair clips. The big hair clips sold at Target or Wal-Mart are great for holding fabric out of the way when embroidering. They're lightweight, inexpensive and large enough to use with the bulkiest of projects (sweatshirts, jackets, etc.).

6 - Thread nets. Plastic mesh prevents thread and spool comes from unraveling and getting wrapped around the spool. http://www.allthreads.com/ThreadNet.aspx has them at a good price. Or, visit a local florist. The floral nets are similar to thread the nets, and you can trim the to the right size.

7 - Bins or a rack for thread storage.  You can organize thread in many different ways: by type (rayon, polyester, cotton, metallic); by brand (Robison-Anton, Madeira, Sulky); or by color and shade (green, blue, red). I prefer to arrange thread by color. That way if I run out out of certain color in the middle of a project I can switch to something similar pretty quickly. Plastic storage bins (clear) are great for organizing thread, and the air-tight environment will make thread last longer. I you have a large thread rack for storage, leave the cellophane or wrapping on the thread until ready to use it to avoid the thread drying out or getting dusty.

8 - Big, empty table. Essential for determining design placement, cutting pattern pieces, laying out quilts, and for hooping fabric, too! I have a rule for this table: it must be empty at the end of every day. I love being able to walk into the sewing room and get started right away, I don't like cleaning the table before I begin a project.

9 - Air-erase pen. I used to use masking tape and ball-point pens for marking fabric (and I still do sometimes) but then I "discovered" the air-erase pen. What a fabulous invention! One of my pens has a piece of Velcro around it and I keep it attached to big, empty table (#8). If you are working with a dark fabric, try chalk, bar soap, or a white pencil for marking.

10 - Variety of stabilizers. I keep a lot of medium-weight cutaway on hand, on rolls. I don't use the stabilizer very often, because sometimes it is just a little too small for the hoop or the design I am working with. I also keep a little bit of tear-way for the heavy fabric and light designs...and Sulky ultra Solvy or Vilene for freestanding lace. Air-tight containers are great for storing Solvy, as it can have the tendency to dry out. For cutaway and tear-away, Floriani products are quickly becoming my favorite to use.

11 - Thread snip bag. Anne Campbell made a cute one with a monkey towel topper, and you can find our version by clicking here. Hang it right by your machine and deposit those thread snips as you go. Put the short ones outside so that birds can use them to decorate their nests.  And, keep a lint roller handy: the adhesive tape is great for removing thread snips.

12 - Sturdy table for the embroidery machine.  Machines that are made today are lighter because they have more plastic components than the metal parts of yester-year. A lighter machine means there are more vibrations, especially when embroidering satin stitches, when the hoop moves back a forth rapidly.  A weak or wobbly table will make those vibrations worse, and the stitches will be fuzzy. A solid, sturdy table helps make the stitches look neat and crisp.

13 - Thread stand. One spool and one spool pin might be enough for a sewing project, but not for embroidery. A thread stand not only lets you line up multiple colors of thread it use with a design, but it can also help with thread tension, too, as the thread relaxes before being taken up and through the tension disks. I found one at JoAnn's for less than $5, and it has a base that swivels easily to eliminate thread breaks.

14 - Rubberized shelf liner.  Find this in the kitchen section of Target or Wal-Mart - only a few dollars for a roll of this ingenious  tool! Lay it on the table to hold the bottom hoop in place when you are hooping; cut strips off to line the hoop when you are working with slippery fabrics or when you are working on highly detailed large designs.

15 - Scissors, and "do not touch" stickers. There aren't many things that come between an embroiderer and his or her scissors. I have special scissors for cutting paper, cutting fabric, and cutting stabilizer. I don't have the "do not touch" stickers yet, but I'm working on it.

I could go on and on...white vinegar for removing wrinkles...iron and ironing board...ruler. ..tape measure...colored Sharpie markers to identify your needles.  I'll need rolling filing cabinets (clear) to store extra needles, empty bobbins, seam rippers, pre-wound bobbins, tweezers...and now it looks like my sewing room is getting cluttered again!