11 Jaw-Dropping Sewing Sheds You Must See

There was a day when portable storage buildings were just that, storage buildings! But times have changed and so have the uses of outdoor buildings. From she sheds to man caves and tiny houses in a shed, the use of backyard buildings has expanded significantly in the past decade.

Read on to see eleven backyard buildings that have been transformed into small sewing studios. They are amazing! Make sure you don’t miss the very tiny 4’x6’ garden sewing studio in the Isle of Wight. It is super tiny! After seeing that, you will not be able to say there’s no space for a sewing studio in the backyard!

1. Alicia’s Storage Building becomes a Sewing Room Shed

Alicia’s sewing room in an outdoor building was born out of frustration. Her love for sewing began years ago in her home. But Alicia was surprised at how difficult it was to follow the sewing patterns she had collected here and there.​

One day she had an idea to change that frustration for herself and many others. It was her background in graphic design which came in handy during this time. She started creating patterns for hand-sewn bags and discovered, in her own words “It’s not so much about what I can do, but what I can help other people do.”

When her husband tried to convince her it was time to move, she agreed, with one caveat. She needed an OUTDOOR BUILDING to turn into a sewing and design studio. They ended up at Sheds Unlimited and picked a two-story outdoor building. Within weeks, it was delivered and ready for finishing on the inside.

It turned out fabulous! (don’t miss the soap making shop on the second floor).

2. Mary Jane’s Sewing Room in an Outdoor Building

While not as roomy as Alicia’s sewing room, Mary Jane McCarty also wanted a backyard sewing room where she could create unique textile pillows and custom lampshades to grace the homes of her elite clientele.​

Take a look at her creative designs which have been offered by esteemed retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman and Gracious Home and featured in Country Living, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Bobvila, and more.

Mary Jane was looking to move out of her home sewing studio and into a small outdoor building. Her story on BobVilla says she “wanted a bright and inspired place to create.” If you take a look inside, she got what she was aiming for.

After visiting an outdoor building manufacturer in Lancaster County, PA she found a Classic 12×30 Backyard Storage Building and had it customized for her sewing studio! The building was delivered in one piece and then she and her husband set out to finish the interior and get it ready for sewing.

Mary Jane McCarty has taken the idea of a portable storage building to a new level! Her space is a bright and inviting place where a sewing enthusiast would enjoy spending many hours!

3. Leah Day’s Storage Building turned Craft Room

Leah was also sewing in an indoor studio in the family home which she also used for shooting weekly sewing and quilting videos for her 86,000+ YouTube subscribers. 

But Leah had a problem. Having her sewing studio in the house meant that there were interruptions and the videos were too often ruined by someone making extra noises or jumping in front of the camera.

Sewing was not always in Leah’s blood. She says “I started quilting in 2005, when I was only 21 years old because I was getting married and wanted a Double Wedding Ring quilt for my bed.” That started a love for quilting and eventually turned into a business which supports her entire family!

So, Leah also decided an outdoor storage shed would be the solution to her interruptions. She chose a simple 8×12 portable outdoor building for her new backyard sewing room/craft room. It is a tiny space that only cost her around $5,000 till all was said and done.

Her website gives a detailed outline of every step in the process including videos to show how it all went down. From picking the outdoor building to delivery, electrical, painting, and much more, her story can be found here. Now she can quilt, sew and create her weekly videos without interruptions and help people around the world learn to sew.

4. Michelle’s Garage becomes a Sewing Shack

Michelle is a talented slipcover maker and former blog writer. From the outside, Michelle’s sewing shack in a backyard building looks unique.

With stucco on the outside, a lovely front overhang, and rustic lumber accents on the edges, this small outdoor building was designed with a hint of modern blending with her 1927 Spanish style house.​

Surrounding the old and heavy duty industrial sewing machine you will find a potting bench which became a project table, metal buckets from a hardware store to organize various notions around the outdoor sewing studio and an idea board to help keep ideas organized that is made from an Industrial kitchen shelf. Even the corner shelving has an industrial look to compliment the overall feel of the studio.

The floor is a painted acid with rust spots due to using the wrong tools to spray the floor! But Michelle loves the spots on the floor since it only adds to the industrial touch that would be missing otherwise.

Best of all, it also works as a photography studio when Michelle’s husband photographs her work, or the dog wants her picture taken! The décor inside her backyard building is one where any sewing fanatic would love to spend plenty of time. See more photos below.

5. Glenna Lowe’s Sewing Shed in the Backyard

Glenna Lowe and her husband inherited her outdoor building turned sewing shed when they bought a 1950’s house in Wichita, KS.

“We downsized when we moved to this house, so I lost my sewing room,” says Glenna, explaining her surprise at discovering that an outdoor building could serve as a sewing studio!

The backyard building had been used as a garden shed and needed plenty of work. The Lowes chose aqua Linoleum for the floor, installed new wiring and old cabinets freshly painted helped make it the outdoor sewing room she began dreaming of.

Glenna tried to keep some of the vintage look of her outdoor building by keeping the wood paneling and blue canning jars that now serve as canisters for spools of thread and other notions in her outdoor sewing shed. The pattern used by her mother to make little-girl dresses when she was young, hangs framed on the wall and other keepsakes decorate the sewing studio.

“I liked being able to have a place where they’re out and can be seen,” says Glenna as she describes the various keepsake items around her studio. She even has two sewing machines to create space for friends and relatives to join her in the sewing room.

6. Junkaholique’s Garden Sewing Studio

Artemis Russel’s sewing studio in her outdoor shed certainly does not have the luxury of space for friends and relatives to sew alongside her! She wins for the smallness of her sewing space! Her tiny outdoor building turned sewing room is a mere 4’x6’. That is only 24 square feet!

Russel was born and grew up on the Isle of Wight on the south coast of England and studied art at Camberwell College of Arts in London. During college years she made a friend and soon the two of them were making and designing jewelry. After they married, the work continued and today they sell jewelry online and in their shops in London and the Isle of Wight where they now reside.

When not creating jewelry, Artemis enjoys time in her tiny outdoor sewing studio. It all began when her mother bought her this tiny shed and her brothers come to the Island to erect it in the garden. After installing the tiny shed, it was painted on the inside and made a very attractive space for sewing and creating.

7. Michaela’s Sewing Trailer: An Outdoor Sewing Room on Wheels

Michaela wanted her dining room back! Due to her sewing habit, it had become a busy place. When she first mentioned the idea of adding an outdoor sewing studio, her husband liked the idea.​

She describes the progression from an idea to reality saying, “I saw a lovely vintage caravan as I was browsing Pinterest and I just knew that’s what I wanted.” It was only a few days until a friend mentioned an uncle who had an old caravan in his garden and was using it for storage. It was the perfect fit for her!

Very soon, Michaela had the portable camping caravan for less than $100. Now her husband had a job on his hands. Six weeks of replacing the floor, repairing windows and skylights, painting, electrical work, and Amy had a backyard Sewing studio on wheels!

“Now we have our dining room back,” says Michaela. It’s a lovely space where she loves sewing and drinking tea!

8. An 8×12 Shed converted to Beautiful Sewing Room

Kelli Stradling of Farmington, NM loved crafting and sewing, but having a dedicated space in the house was not something she had the luxury of enjoying.

One day, while rummaging for holiday decorations in the 8×12 outdoor shed in the backyard, she had a bright idea…turn it into a craft room…

Two words from her husband took her on a journey to find out what a she shed was. “Why not,” was his response when she first mentioned the idea of turning the backyard shed into a craft room!

It was simple. Simply paint the inside of the shed and furnish it for her craft room. She found an upcycled desk which she painted the purple theme of her crafty shed and uses as a sewing table. It’s amazing what fits inside an 8×12 shed!

9. A Sewing Shack by Jules Holgate

Jules had been working in marketing and events and wanted a change. She loved to design and was dreaming and studying on “reinterpreting vintage products for entertainment and educational purposes”

She designed a small outdoor garden shed as a craft and sewing studio with repurposed items. The bright colors combined with a simple white created a very delightful place that almost any sewist could call home!

She says “I also wanted to include a lot of practical storage solutions to ensure the space remains uncluttered, with the furnishings providing a comfortable environment in which to spend a day crafting – a little piece of haberdashery heaven at the bottom of the garden!”

Although Julie did not win the Shed Design Competition, we think she did a fantastic job!

10. Jane’s Sewing Space in the UK

Jane was sewing in the cover of the kitchen on a small table. But sewing takes up more than a small corner so she had things spilling out all over the kitchen!

When I’m in full sewing mode my workshop looks like a bombsite! 

Jane’s started a small business sewing cushions, bags and other nick nacks. Her sewing space is often shared by a cat or a few children who stop by and make something from the fabric stored in the studio.

She says “I’m a novice and hopeful dressmaker. I love the discipline of following a pattern and the freedom to choose exactly the right fabric. My family laughed when I said I needed a hobby, as I spend so much time sewing and, more recently, printing. Thankfully, making clothes is fast becoming just that – a hobby that’s just for me, not for selling!”

Jane loves the sofa in her studio which she found for a great price!

11. Sew Delightful’s Small Sewing Shed in Great Britain

Another European sewing shed is quite tiny. This delightful 6×8 sewing shed by Kayleigh Stringer is a crafters paradise. It is fully insulated with electricity installed.

After the sewing shed was installed, the first step was to install a workbench. From that workbench, Kayleigh went on to create the soft furnishing for the sewing studio…by hand! She now finds great pleasure in her new passion for hobby dressmaking. Space even includes a mannequin “to try out the lovely goodies” she is making.

Kayleigh says it could not have been finished without the help of family and friends. She now spends four days a week at her job and one day in her own “Sew Delightful” outdoor sewing shed.

There we go! Eleven amazing backyard buildings that serve as sewing studios. Now it’s your turn! Which building will you choose as a backyard sewing studio?