The 2021 Guide to Organizing Your Craft Space

Happy New Year, folks! 

The new year is always about re-organizing and living a healthier life, and so here's a new and improved guide to craft organization!

Before we dive in, here's a little blast from the past! In 2016 I gave my first craft room tour on the blog. My craft room used to be a 10x10 space, where 5x10 was dedicated to my craft room, and 5x10 was my husband's office space. (Ok, my space was more like 7x10 and he only had a little desk in the corner of the room.) 

2016-2018 craft space

I had a pegboard where I hung all of my nicer yarns like in a yarn shop, and it was quite pretty to look at, and everything was out in front to inspire. However, I had a lot of miscellaneous things and yarn that did not fit that needed to be stored away in the closet and such, and it ended up not working for me in the long run as I added to my stash and crafting endeavors over time. 

Well, that and giving up this room to my son.

Then, when I relocated everything to my master bedroom in 2018, the new shelving units and such got displaced and most other things ended up in my closet. It doesn't look it from the photo, but it was a hot mess behind-the-scenes for the surplus items. My husband was quite a champ for not minding all of the knitting dominating our BEDroom.

2018-2019 craft space

And then we moved into our current house April of 2020 and I claimed the main-level office with the nice bay window for my new craft room. I will be re-painting the unappealing cottage-yellow walls eventually. I am still undecided on the color...

Current craft space

So thus starts the new tour! Please keep in mind that I have been collecting and upgrading since I started knitting in 18 years ago, and this post is 100% UN-SPONSORED. I just hope this post gives you ideas on how to organize your craft space if you have been struggling (like I have) over the years. I think this system works out very well.

YARN & FIBER STORAGE:

 

I highly recommend getting a large enough shelving unit that can store more than your current stash. Whether or not you fill that extra space with yarn in the future, you can use the extra cubbies to place storage baskets or drawers with tools and other crafting items. (I actually re-purposed cheap plastic drawers that I've had for years so I can see the contents inside. One day I might upgrade those drawers, but for now they serve their purpose.)

What you see are actually 6 separate shelving units that I purchased on Walmart.com. The units are from the Better Homes & Garden's 5-Cube Storage line in the color "Rustic Gray." The price is astronomical now, so note that I splurged on them when they were on sale. 6 units may seem excessive, but I didn't want to out-grow them in the distant future and have mis-matching shelving in the same room. 

 

Now, the secret to yarn organization is separating them by YARN WEIGHT SECTIONS. After that, feel free to organize by color (I can't be bothered to do that). Think: lace, sock yarn, sport, worsted, aran, bulky and super bulky.

 

  

If you have a lot of sock yarn cakes, sometimes it's easiest to just place them in a fancy box in the shelving cubby because they have a tendency to roll all over the place. 

For loose fiber, do yourself a favor and place them in gallon-sized ziplock baggies to discourage moths, dust and (god-forbid) rodents from nibbling on your stash. You really can do that with your yarn too, or place the yarn in stackable plastic storage containers that fit inside the shelving unit.

What to do with your leftover sockyarn (that may end up in a memory blanket one day)? Small bits of leftover yarn are together on the TOP of my shelf (therefore not taking up prime real-estate). However, I have seen people place them in big fancy vases for a decorative touch. HomeGoods and other discount places would be the perfect spot to find those.

"FO" STORAGE:

Another discount shop hunt for you: fancy chest boxes. I have this France trunk that I purchased at Ross a number of years ago. It serves as decoration and on a functional level if you do not have a lot of dresser-drawer room left in your bedroom. You'd obviously want a larger trunk or such for hats, shawls, etc. This is an old picture, and since then I have out-grown this chest. I think it will become my hat chest soon.

NEEDLE STORAGE:

Circular Needle Storage:

For a while, I was storing my circular needles in pencil pouches organized by size in a large binder. While it can work for some people, it never worked out in the long-run because I had too many and the binder wouldn't close properly. 

Then one day I saw this item at a store and realized what I have been needing my whole knitting life...a photo storage case!

You can find 4x6 photo cases on Amazon, but I purchased this one at a discount store called "Tuesday Morning" for only $12 bucks! Sold.

Full disclaimer: they don't store the bulkiest of needle sizes very well, but I only use them once every 5+ years, so I am fine storing the needle sizes that I actually use, and keep the others in those pencil pouches somewhere else until that blue moon rises.

You can certainly sharpie the size onto the case, but a label maker (I purchased this Dymo label maker at Walgreens a few years back) works wonders, and if you have to re-organize you can just take off the sticker.

DPN Storage:

Now get that label maker out for this too! Behold, a dpn organizer!

It's actually a pencil/marker organizer, but I purchased it for about $15 on Amazon. 

I label both the US and metric sizes on the same label. Another great idea is to store your needle gauges next to organizers like these.

Straight Needle Storage:

Goodness, I bought this decorative wine holder at Michaels back in 2003 or something, and it has survived all this time--childhood room, college, first apartment, first house, our current house... 

I really don't use straight needles anymore, but I still think that this is the prettiest way of storing your straight needles, as you can usually see the size on the metal head tip of the needles.

You can always store them in sewn needle holders, but I don't like to clutter up my wall space anymore. 

 

NOTIONS, TOOLS and all other craft organization STORAGE:

Basically, this entire section of the post is one giant "store as much as you can away in clear plastic cases!" 

Project bags are always nice. Although I am a novice sewer, I have sewn most of my knitting bags to save money. I have a small notions pouch or plastic pencil holders for almost every project bag, so that I don't have to worry about being without something essential (darning needle, cable needle or small scissors) when I am out and about with my project.

 

Separating my stitch markers in a clear case was an idea that I had in 2019.  You can buy inexpensive organizers on Amazon, find them at craft stores and even for a few bucks at Walmart. 

The 750 piece bulb-shaped saftey pin set was a steal on Amazon. I think I paid $8 or $9 bucks for the set, and it came with the case! This listing is no longer available, but you can find plenty of others in the search bar.

 

Why not store your pom-poms in cases too, so they are together and not getting smashed?

 

 

Store you embroidery floss in cases (now this one I would store by color), and then store all of that in a cubbby bin on your shelf!

 

KAM snap storage. Once again, embroidery floss cases work wonders for most items.

 

Beading supplies.

For odds-and-ends sewing supplies, stack-able containers work well.

DESK/TABLE Organization:

 

I don't care what your desk or table looks like, but make sure you keep it clear of things you don't use on a daily basis so that your creative juices can flow. 

 

Also, a big part of my desk and room is about ambience, and lighting is key. The colored string lights are from TJMaxx, when I (might) have purchases a couple of goodies for myself while Christmas shopping.

I am absolutely in love with my dim-able salt lamp. I bring this baby to the bathroom when I take a bath too! :)

A big part of this year was (and still is) dedicated to healing chronic dis-alignment and tendonosis pain, and I find that this lamp can be soothing with quiet music (I've been big on listening to "hang drum" music lately). Do I believe it gives off healing powers from the Himalayan salt? Absolutely NOT. But creating an environment the encourages relaxation is what counts.

Fill your space with things that nurture your creativity and relaxation.  

 

Happy organizing, and Happy New Year!

The Knitting Up a Storm Craft Studio Tour

Welcome to my craft studio, dear friends.

My husband and I built this yarn pegboard organizer to store all of my favorite yarn, to give me the sense of being in a yarnstore and to provide constant inspiration. Underneath is a wooden frame, so that there is space between the board and wall to apply the hooks.

Sometimes I wander in the room and just glance at it, thinking of possibilities for each yarn. I've had some of this yarn for a long time, almost to the point where my project expectations are so lofty because of it's beauty, it's hard for me to use it because it won't be up on the hook anymore. Look at me talk like a crazy person. I get too attached.

In this small nursery-turned spare room, I will give you a wonderful, almost Willy Wonka-like tour of half of this room, which is mine. The other half of the room I will leave up to your wild imagination of what my husband has done to his (small) side for his "office."

This tour is jam-packed with eyecandy goodies--yarn, notion holders, project displays, how I store my supplies...etc. Hopefully this tour will give you some inspiration if you are wondering what to do with your own stash. Pretty yarn shouldn't be crammed in bins and shelves, my friends. It should be out to tempt you to use it.

Please keep in mind that this collection has been over a decade of hoarding years in the making. This doesn't just happen overnight. It's also not for the faint of heart. Oh, I'm not talking about you. I was talking about your husband, room-mate, etc.   :)

On the yarn shelf are three sock forms that I use to display my sock patterns. I try not to keep them on them because it will overstretch the socks out of shape. I have a few stitchionaries that I keep out. I have all of my other books on a narrow bookshelf on the other side of he room.

Below is a plate lazy suzan that you use for little tea sandwiches or desserts. It has a lovely grey bird design on it that I got at Marshall's. While not in use, I store yarn on it.

 

So this is where I keep my dpns. I love the idea of storing these puppies in a tall coffee mug. Seems cozy. I have two necklace stands in this room. This one is for my "Lovely Cords" pattern. The other one is holding my ecclectic bird necklace that I made.

My straight needles have always been stored in a whimsical looking wine case. You can find these at a craft store such as Michaels, Hobby Lobby or Joanne's. Once again, it's the perfect height for most needles so you can see each size. I don't use straights anymore (I'm a huge fan of circular needles for any project), but I feel I should keep them at least for a decorative purpose.

On the right side of the pegboard, I have most of my circular needles (expect for some interchangeable needle tips and such that are in the binders that the set came in) organized by size and length. The top is all of the long cables, and the bottom are the shorter cables.

Psst- the painting is from my mixed media artist friend Gina Lee Kim, who regularly is featured in the Cloth, Paper Scissors magazine. It looks great next to my sunset yarns, but I really need to find a proper frame for it and hang it up.

 

I love Victorian things and anything that reminds me of a garden (one of my favorite childhood books is "The Secret Garden"), and so I like to use something like a teacup to store odds and ends, and also this little plastic twist container for things such as pins, travel sized thread and buttons. 

 

Now, I want you to realize that my organization is NOT perfect or pleasing to the eyes. I do have plenty of closet space crammed in with bins and everything non-yarny. This is the spare bedroom closet, but my own closet has more craft bins and various yarn crammed in shelving spaces. 

In the bins are beading supplies, buttons, glue guns, stamps and endless things that I've collected over the years. I also have all of my leftover sock yarn that I will eventually use to make a memory-keeper's blanket. I have yarn dyes hidden behind, as well as my collapsible yarn swift, ball-winder, sewing supplies and more. 

I don't even have room for my spinning wheel in here anymore. I keep it in my bedroom, along with the roving in a long bin shoved next to our dresser and our wall.

 

However, let's just look at the pretty places. Places filled with inspiration and  wonder. My son is photobombing, weighing some tee-shirt yarn on my little scale. He literally told me "mommy, you're always around this yarn. It's all about the yarn, isn't it?" Yes babe. I think you are starting to understand my ways. :)

 

So this is my desk. It's old, probably from the 90's, but I have matching shelving (a book shelf of knitting books that isn't in this picture tour), and also the yarn shelves next to it. I like lightly colored wood and the fact that it's a corner desk. I don't actually sit here ever though. If I knit, it's usually on the couch or at the kitchen table while watching podcasts. 

I recently bought this project journal. I am filling it with yarn labels, yarn scraps and notes. I also bought this awesome faux-luggage box for my knitted socks. Some pairs are missing from the box when I took this photo. I've seen lots of podcasters talk about this journaling and sock box idea, such as the YarnGasm podcast. I figured I'd go to Ross and see if they have these items for cheap. They did.

My KnitCity bag from NY and the "Winter is Coming" bag that my husband ordered me for Christmas is hanging on the door. Next to the door is "Victoria," my knitwear model that I got from TJMaxx a few years back. Right now, she is wearing my "Forget Me Not" shawl that I designed while my grandpa was in the hospital with a stroke. He's no longer around, so I think of it as a memory shawl for him.

 

In the bins are various weighted yarn that are caked or commercially balled. Most of my sock yarn is in the top two bins. The yarn visible has multiple layers of variegated or striping yarn, and I always look at them and think, how can I learn to knit socks faster so I can get to these? 

 

On the pegbaord, the yarn is also organized by weight. To save on space, I have put about 3-5 skeins per hook on there. 

Well folks, that's about it. If you have any questions, shoot me a message. I hope I have inspired you for your own little crafting nook.