Sewing Table Build

Hi everyone,

Have I mentioned one of my New Year's Resolutions is to learn how to sew? Until recently, November to be exact. I had absolutely no desire to learn this skill. 7th grade home ec I sewed a nice little dog pillow and I was content with that being my one and only sewing project.

That was until, we bought our Airstream. The lady we bought it from was sewing the most beautiful draperies for her home and showed me her collection of gorgeous fabrics and slipcovers that she had made. It was then and there I knew I had to learn this wonderful craft. I started day dreaming of all of the wonderful design projects that would be open to me. I have searched high and low for overly priced pillows and draperies. Sewing could open up a whole new world.

January 1st, I took the first step...I built a sewing table (I just happen to own an inexpensive sewing machine).

I found the plans on Ana-White furniture blog. It looked easy enough. I thought I would build it while my husband was watching one of the football games....Rosebowl? I didn't think it would take long to build, maybe the afternoon.....boy was I naive and wrong. After 4.5 days of good solid work, it is finished and I love it. Definitely worth the time it took to build....and I have already used it, twice.

Here is the link: DIY Expanding Sewing Table

Two great things about this table are;

1) it can be stored anywhere, when folded it is 18" wide, but opens to 56"
2) it can be built from 1 piece of plywood or mdf.

Need:

1 sheet of plywood or mdf
2 1x3's
4 casterwheels, with 2 1/2" clearance, I bought locking casters
5 sets of hinges
2 1/2" screws

Cut List – all pieces of plywood are 32″ wide (referred to as 1x32s) TIP: Cut the plywood at 31 7/8″ to account for the saw blade.

• 1 – 1×32 @ 15 1/2″ (Top)
• 2 – 1×32 @ 26 3/4″ (Sides)
• 2 – 1×32 @ 12″ (Shelves)
• 2 – - 1×32″ @ 20″ (Leaves)
• 4 – 1x2s @ 29 1/4″ (Legs – Measure these!)

After cutting all of the pieces. It is time to build the box. Presink your screw holes. Then build the box using 2 1/2" screws and wood glue. Be sure you keep a 1" overhang on both sides of the top. This is so you can attach a leaf to each side.

This is me countersinking holes (before tonight I didn't know what that meant). Thank goodness for husbands.

Step 2: Flip the box over and add 2 1/2" caster wheels. Preferably locking, so when you are sewing you don't accidentally move the table. That could be disastrous.

Step 3: Screw the leaves on using three hinges for each side.

Step 4: Add the legs. I used 1x3's in case of heavy load, but the legs are still a little wobbly. (See plans for how to attach legs).

It should now look like this:

Now is the fun part. Finishing it. I decided to paint it. I wanted something fun. I was fortunate to find the perfect, semi-gloss latex at Lowe's on sale. It was a discarded quart on sale for $5. Crocodile Tears is the name, it's a great sagey/apple green. But first, sanding a priming.

I used mdf, which means it soaks up paint like no body's business. Before it could be painted I had to spackle all of the raw edges

Once the spackling has dried, sand down all of the surfaces and prime.


Almost finished...after priming (I used 1 coat of Kilz latex primer). Paint.

It took two coats of Crocodile Tears semi-gloss.


Overall, I am ecstatic! I love building furniture (after it's done of course). The only fault I find with the piece are the legs. I am not sure how to overcome them. They seem a little floppy. However, we only spent about $50.00 for materials. I have found sewing tables on the web for $150-$300. I would say we did alright. What do you think? Have you ever tried building furniture? If so, how did it turn out?