For the past two months, my partner and I have been slowly plugging away on moving things around in our house. One of the projects that we’ve been doing is setting up my wheelchair friendly sewing room! What exactly makes my room wheelchair friendly? Aside from being on the first floor of our house, my room has some pretty special things in it!
My Sewing Room Table
The major thing to highlight is the custom table that one of my dear friends so kindly built for me. This table was made at a special height. While I can comfortably use it at my chair’s regular height, I can also utilize my power wheelchair’s tilt function while still being under the table! I am also able to fit under it while slightly elevated at iLevel®. For instance, if I need to go over to my pegboard to grab a tool that is higher up, I don’t have to adjust my seat elevation when I return to my table.
This table is built at the perfect height to accommodate my power wheelchair’s many different positions. It also allows me to sew comfortably from a normal seated position!
Operating My Sewing Machine
Some people have asked if I use a foot pedal on my sewing machines or how I work around that. At first, I could use a foot pedal just fine, but between my weakness and tics/spasms, using a foot pedal to operate a sewing machine was becoming difficult. I used to operate the foot pedal with one hand, which was alright, but that took a hand away which I really needed to help guide the fabric through the machine.
I reached out to the Singer sewing company and inquired about accessible machines or parts that would help make sewing easier for people like me. Very kindly, they pointed me towards my current sewing machine! This machine can be operated fully by buttons on the machine, cutting out the need for a foot pedal!
Lighting in My Accessible Sewing Room
Another helpful feature of my room are the lamps on my wall. Instead of having buttons or on/off switches on the wall mounted base, these lamps have power cords hanging down that I can easily reach!
A Work in Progress
My room is still a work in progress, as I need to set up my storage area and finish painting my tool/pegboard. Still, I have been utilizing it and I must say that it’s been so amazing to comfortably engage in my favorite hobby again! I spent a long time sewing in an unorganized mess in my kitchen and I ended up not sewing for a while because of how stressful that was for me. Now that I have a dedicated space that is tailored to my needs, I can’t wait until we get the whole room set up. I know it will help fuel my drive to make more costumes and dresses!
About Chrysanthemum: Chrysanthemum is an award-winning cosplayer and Quantum brand ambassador. She enjoys fashion, cosplay and music and has a TikTok channel with over 380,000 followers. Click here to learn more about Chrysanthemum.
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