Sewing space rethink

A quick trip to Ikea over half term turned up this handy little trolley which I thought might help me make more efficient use of my new sewing location in the dining room.

It's called the Bygel trolley and was on offer at £18 when I bought it.  (Normal price is £25.)  This one is a bit functional in appearance, certainly not as pretty as the turquoise trolley they also sell, but it looked like it might suit my needs a little better.  I'm quite happy with my purchase and thought I'd show you its merits in case you are interested yourself.  (You'll find it in the kitchen section of Ikea.)

It's taller than you might think from the photo, about kitchen counter height, with two shelves and a partitioned drawer.  As you can see there's a top tray above the drawer and it's big enough to take a sewing machine if you wanted.  The top tray is a sturdy plastic while the two lower shelves are metal.

Although the top is big enough to house a sewing machine, I will probably just keep useful tools handy on it.  There's decent space on the two lower shelves.  I have several project boxes stored on mine and some pretty tins which will have bits and bobs in when I get myself better organised.  Hope you can see that there is a little rail about 6" above the bottom shelf which helps keep everything on there when you tilt the trolley to move it.  No rail around the top shelf but, really you don't need to tip the trolley at a very great angle to get it to move, so there's not as much slide on the higher shelf.

The little drawer slides out either end of the trolley which I've actually found really handy when I move between the different sides of my table.  There's a partition in the drawer which allows you to separate things how you want, but I thought I'd show you just what you can get in there.  On the larger side of the partition I have a craft book (standard size) and some large pouches.  My little 6.5" square ruler fits in there too.   Best of all, my 12.5" square ruler sits nicely across the very top of the drawer partition with no problem.

Finally, the Bygel comes with two different types of hook which fit into any of those three little holes on either side of the top of the drawer metal work.  Can you see?  I have hung a tote bag of fabric off mine for now, but the hooks are fittings which work with other storage baskets and little buckets in the Bygel range.  If I wasn't going to have a toddler in the house again in due course, I'd buy a basket to hang on there to hold my scissors and rotary cutters.  Handy dandy.

So far so good.  I am genuinely happy with this inexpensive little storage unit.  It's helping me to do what I want just now, keeping my immediate supplies handy but with the ability to be wheeled out of the way when I'm done.  I have just two small drawbacks to point out.  I would prefer if the trolley had four wheels instead of two, I think. Although maybe only having two keeps it more stable when it's stationary.  Most of all, I wish the wheels were swivel wheels rather than fixed which would really improve it's manoeuvrability.  Really though, for £18 I can't complain too much and I think my Bygel and I will rub along nicely!

Hope I didn't bore you, but maybe someone will find it helpful to know what you might be able to squeeze into this little unit.