industry : setting up your dream workroom
Setting Up Your Dream Workroom Photos courtesy of Susan Woodcock at Workroom Tech
BY KATHRYN DILLON
I love the ability to use textiles to create something beautiful as well as functional for our homes, and many of us stumble into starting a workroom for this very reason. Entering the workroom industry with a fashion design and textiles background, I was familiar with many of the nuances of fabrics and many of the tools necessary to create clothing. While there are many similarities between the clothing and home textile industries, many of the tools needed in the workspace are different. One of my first drapery projects was for a neighbor’s family room. There were two large windows, probably 135 inches wide each, and she wanted functional drapery panels and swags out of mauve tone-on-tone 1-inch striped cotton fabric. (I know, I know, mauve, but it was the early ’90s in the Boston area, so we were actually right on trend!) After cutting out and “tabling” these multiple-width panels for each window on my living room floor, I knew there had to be a better way. Let’s look at some of the favorite tools used by industry professionals to create a dream workroom. Like many other workroom professionals, I love tools and always recommend that those new to the industry buy the best they can afford. Each machine or tool is an investment in the success of your business.
The Worktable
By far, the No. 1 piece of equipment! Build your table as large as your space will allow while leaving room for the growing number of machines and other supplies you will use daily. My table is 5 feet by 8 feet and is the smallest I would recommend. Careful planning before building your table will ensure you create plenty of storage underneath the table for fabrics and often used instruction manuals, rulers and fabrication supplies.
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MARCH + APRIL 2021 | wf-vision.com
Resources:
Instructions for how to build a table can be purchased from the online store at The Workroom Marketplace, as can a printed table grid. The grid comes in several sizes to best fit the finished size of your table. On episode 18 of “The Sew Much More Podcast: 30 Minutes with Workroom Tech,” Ceil DiGuglielmo discusses the method Rodger Walker uses to build the tables at Workroom Tech. Along with the podcast, Susan Woodcock has written a blog with step-by-step photos and instructions.
Ironing Systems
Many workrooms prefer using a boiler ironing system rather than a home iron. The difference is that a boiler iron has a tank that heats the water, producing dry, pressurized steam as it comes through the iron. Using pressurized steam instead of the heated iron plate found in a home iron is the most efficient way to iron. The beauty of a boiler iron is even though they produce a lot of steam, they operate at a relatively low temperature, so they can be used on delicate and synthetic fabrics.
Resources:
döfix and Reliable are companies that manufacture and sell boiler iron systems. Both companies offer different sizes of boilers depending on how much ironing your workroom does each day. The döfix D50 maxi with a water capacity of 3.8 quarts will produce steam for about fourand-a-half to six hours. A comparable size of Reliable iron is the 6000IS with a water capacity of 4.7 quarts. döfix has a ceiling-mount system to keep the iron close by but off the table.
