My dining room table. I know it is a disgrace, but I no longer care!! I have always cut out on my dining room table. I know it is a disaster!!!

My sewing table is an old soild wood door, frame and all. Just nailed it shut and filled in the hole where the knob goes and put folding legs on it. I cover it with plastic, the kind that comes by the yard at the fabric store (change it as I need to) It gives me a big space for cutting and sewing large projects. It has lots of room for totes underneth and small drawers along the back for lots of the little stuff.
I also have one for other crafts that I put a thin layer of batting and covered with fabric, I don't need to drag out the ironing board for little jobs.

My dinning table gets used for fixing sewing machines,printers and laptops etc. cos my sons can fix anything even the inner roof of his car has been on the table.At the moment the eldest is building an amplifier (they are into mobile disco).
See also pics of my cutting table the boxes under keep fabric and knitting yarn, the boxes pull out while the ply wood rests on the others, there are 8 boxes in stacks of 2 . The height is just right. Very convienient because fabric and yarn are kept in perfect condition for a good few years.
From Bev

This was most interesting post and it proves that you can make do with what you have on hand. I really like the idea of stacking the storage crates or boxes to make room. Another idea might be to buy a piece if ply-wood to lay on top and then put the cutting map on top.

Great post! It's so fun to see how others manage their sewing and crafting areas. I used to keep my sewing machine in the living room and had to put a cardboard cutting board on the floor and if I needed to move it. I'd fold it up including the contents and stuff it under the bed. 15 years ago, we bought a bigger house and I had an extra bedroom to use for my sewing and crafts. I was in my glory until I outgrew the room. So I took over part of my hubbie's "work shop" in the basement. He doesn't use it anyway:-D I bought some office furniture at a going out of business sale for my sewing machines. Then I took an old drop leaf table and covered it with a regular cutting mat and my rotary mat goes on top of that. I had my hubby make risers for the table to bring it up to a comfortable hight. I store my fabric in bins under the table and line the walls with the plastic storage drawers for everything else. The walls aren't finished so it's not a pretty area but it's big and functional.

What a brilliant post. The dining table picture at the bottom resembes mine sometimes. My husband has been known to comment over the years about checking for pins before he eats...
I do have a sewing room and there is a table fitted to the wall and under it is all sorts of storage containers FULL of everything one might need. I am sorting and tidying the room as it has even got beyond my standards. I am finding the plugs are at the wrong side of the sewing area. Oh dear, it will all get sorted sometime. Look forward to seeing what you come up with (Then I must tidy the dining table so we can use it to eat at) Incidently my dear husband thought I could use my sewing room for my office as I bring work home with me. No way my sewing room is a place for pleasure not my day job. In the tidying up I have found about 2 large boxes of the day job which have snuck in. They now need a home elsewhere, but not the dining table.

Why don't you get your DH to build you a fold down shelve with a piano hing on it - that you would be able to fold down - when not in use and fold up and out - when you need it - it would serve as a hiding place with your other things under the desk top or out of the way - you could have it at the back of your desk - have your desk on casters - that would allow it to roll out - when you needed to cut thing and then roll back - when you were not using it.

Well - my DH is not as tolerant as some, I guess, for he does not like my sewing on the dining table. And, we don't have a kitchen table, so we do need to have somethings cleared for occasional meal at a table. LOL But, when we were doing my sewing room DH did build an extension to my desk area. It is on the piano hinges, and has a leg that folds out so that it is sturdy when extended. It increases my area 25" x 48".

I use a spare bedroom and my cutting board is a door covered with formica, topping kitchen cabinets having drawers and storage space with doors. Found them at a discount place so very cheap. Works well for me as I have room. I remember the days of using the dining room table and removing everything to eat.

I, too, use a spare bedroom, which is very small for my sewing room. As for hooping and cutting stablilizers, fabrics, etc., I enjoy using a foldup
table approx. 3ft.x5ft. that I purchased from Walmart very cheaply. It's been worth MANY times what I paid for it, just for it's handiness! It sits against a wall and the underneath area is used for storage of my stackable boxes. Love it!
Angel