Replies

1. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Nov 11, 2006 07:24pm | #1

   You might ask your wife what she wants, or watch her work.   I built sewing desk for an experienced sewer who insisted that the desk top must be substantially larger than the top shown in that photo.   She says that workpieces try to slide off the edge of a small surface, and pull away from the line she's trying to sew.

1. 
   PatchogPhil | Nov 11, 2006 09:16pm | #2

   So did you build it deeper or wider?  Or both?  How large did you make the surface?

    

1. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Nov 12, 2006 03:53am | #4

   It came out about 60" wide by 30" deep.   The front edge of the sewing machine is about 10" from the front edge of the desk.   The serger is on an appliance pop-up shelf in the right pedestal.  The sewing machine is a free-arm one, so it has two working heights.   There's a fold-out ironing board in the left pedestal.  

2. 
   Ray | Nov 11, 2006 10:28pm | #3

   My wife definitely has her own ideas about a sewing table.  The best comprimise I could come up with was a couple of drawer units from the local cabinet shop with a top from melamine-coated MDF.  After installing the edge banding, I trimmed about 1/8 imch off the corner with a 45 deg. router bit so there wouldn't be any 'ragged' edges to catch fabric.  She loves it :-)

3. 
   ctsjr | Nov 12, 2006 04:05am | #5

   I am working on a sewing table for my mother in law right now.  We consulted together about what she wanted, the size, etc.  We settled on a table top that is 8' long and 30" deep and 30" high--she wants to put her surger, sewing machine and embroidery machine on the top.  I made her two storage "cubes" that are on casters and will slide in and out as she needs them.  The table top is oak veneer plywood, and the legs and apron rails are solid white oak.  The legs are tapered on the inside edges and the rails are attached with mortice and tenon joints.  The rails have a bead detail at the bottom.  The top is edged with 1" x 3/4" solid stock with a chamfor on the edge.  The top will be attached with pocket screws and will be supported by the apron rails and four cross braces between the two long rails.  I'll post some photos when I'm finished, but that should give you an idea of one design.  Much of my mother in law's design decision was based on her limited budget--around $250 in materials and my abilities so far.  Hope that helps you in some way.  Tom

   "Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
1. 
   starnan | Nov 13, 2006 01:11am | #6

   Do check with your wife about her preferences. I am an avid sewer of 50+ years and a beginning woodworker doing very simple projects. The Rockler sewing cabinet would be useful if your wife sews in a room that serves other purposes and needs to store her sewing machine and serger out of sight. If she has a room dedicated to sewing, she might not need or want to be able to put the machines away. For me, the Rockler cabinet would be a waste, because I don't need to put my machines away and wouldn't ever go to the bother of doing so. Plus, the amount of desktop space would be way too small for me. I have two trestle tables, one 21" x 60" and the other 21" x 45", arranged in a L-shape, so I can swivel from the sewing machine to the serger and back again. Then I have 2 sets of drawers on casters underneath. For me, a 30" deep surface would be a waste of space, because what I sew doesn't need that much output space. If your wife sews large pieces (like quilts), she might want a 30" deep work surface. While the ironing board that pops out of a drawer sounds like a great idea, in practice it would bother me -- a hot iron on a board right at my left elbow would get knocked over all too easily. Also, the boards that pop out of a drawer are too short to be used for most of the things I need to press while sewing. For sewing, what I wanted was a lot of desktop space plus lots of shallow drawers (in which to store accessories and supplies, like presser feet and machine needles and Velcro, etc.), plus a few deeper drawers to store current projects. I also added a 21"-deep two-drawer filing cabinet: the top drawer holds my stash of interfacing in hanging files and the lower drawer holds sewing booklets, instructions, etc. Before I built my trestle tables, I checked out all of the sewing cabinet plans that I could find on the Internet. They all were pretty much along the lines of the Rockler cabinet, which wasn't at all what I needed. But I know those kinds of sewing cabinets work for a lot of sewers. So the best advice is to ask your wife what her dream sewing space would be like!