Wednesday, August 1, 2012

My beloved sewing table







This post is dedicated to Elizabeth of Don't Call Me Betsey.   She recently had a blog post about the pitfalls of trying to design a sunken sewing machine table and some problems she was having with what she had purchased so far.  I have the amazingly good fortune of having an extremely handy boyfriend who loves to make me things.  This past Christmas he was looking to purchase me a sewing machine table where my machine could be sunken so I would have a flat surface for free motion quilting.  If any of you are into FMQ you know how valuable this is- it is hard enough to move a quilt around on a domestic sewing machine for quilting, but without a totally flat surface it is at least 10x harder.  When looking he saw several options, all very expensive and many that looked cheap.  He decided he could build a nice and sturdy one for much less money that would meet my needs.  He stacked two 3/4" pieces of wood together to form the table top and used a piece of white board material for the very top to have a nice slick surface.  He carefully measured my machine and the slide in sewing table that I already had so he could cut a hole in the surface to fit my machine.  He thought smart and made the insert with a side opening with room for my sewing machine cord and ventilation for the fan.  He knew that me being a shorty girl (5' tall) the most important thing would be for it to be the correct height so my shoulders wouldn't get sore.  So he ordered some heavy duty adjustable table legs off of Rockler.com.  When he presented this to me I was over the moon excited- It was exactly what I wanted from a table- and the fact that he had researched it, built it, and thought of everything all on his own and was able to pull it off as a surprise... well all I can say is back off ladies... he is ALL MINE!  :)  I have been using it since and it has changed my sewing life...  I am so fortunate to own it.  All the materials were purchased at the local hardware store except the table legs.  He spent less then $150.  The best thing about the table is the fact that there is virtually no vibration even on full speed... The double layered wood surface has made it so heavy and sturdy.  He even thought to put a measuring tape on it so I can measure on the fly.  What a guy.  Hope this might help anyone who is thinking of constructing one of their own- it is doable and fairly inexpensive- and can be custom made just to suit your needs.  Feel free to email me or leave a comment with any specific questions!

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