the BESTA storage

I mentioned to my husband that I needed another shelf in the sewing room. He said, "no." I frowned. He said "You don't need another shelf." Overly dramatic pause "You need a whole new storage system."

So armed with a cardboard fabric bolt inner and some measurements, I set off to IKEA. After three hours, I'd tested my bolt insert in every possible shelf they had. I looked at bookcases, bedroom storage, kitchen cupboards. PAX, BILLY, MALM. BENNO, IVAR, HEMNES. I was the crazy woman at IKEA carrying around fabric bolts and patterns.

I would have been embarrassed, but my IKEA forays are already well-known in Sydney sewing circles. Kathy of Material Obsession even commented on it once at a craft show.

Three trips, $1200 and several hours of assembly later. We were in BESTA heaven.


2.4 meters of shelves with room to grow. Doors to cover every ounce of fabric from the morning light. No more need to constantly adjust the shades!


Every shelf moves. It can adjusted every which way. I can stack up to three rows of vertical bolt storage.


I can easily get to my patterns and it's the perfect way to display the canisters which are chock full of notions.


And my favourite part is that we've added a clothes rack to hang up the handful of garments that I make for the markets. The front one is new. It was made during the Jumprope Sewalong using Early Bird flowers and hatches and the jump rope dress pattern.

I still have piles of fabric and scraps to sort, but it's all coming together so well! We may even buy more shelves for the opposite wall. I'm a big fan of IKEA. This storage system is well... the BESTA.