Donna Bates

My solution to affordable recessed machine table: 30 yrs ago I found a Sauder desk at a big box store. Mine with the drawer stack on the left allows more surface for fabric.
DH removed the metal tray from my folding sewing table, cut a hole in the top of the desk following the measurements from the folding table top and reattached the tray to the desk. I’ve been sewing comfortably ever since. My Bernina 930 bobbin access is no problem as the tray width allows me to slide the machine a few inches forward to access. Oh, DH cut out a hole in the side of the tray to accommodate the knee lifter. Both ends are open so any pins or little tools that drop onto it are easily retrieved.
You can see the 4 screws attaching it to the underside of the desk top.[ATTACH=CONFIG]583775[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]583774[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]583773[/ATTACH]

rryder

I'm also short so I built myself a short person's table by taking a set of inexpensive adjustable legs and screwing them to a board I got from Lowes. I have that set low enough that my elbows are bent at a right angle when I'm FMQ. That has made a world of difference for me. No more tight shoulders. Here's a pic. The table is just deep enough to hold my PQ1500s and I've got it set in the ell between two of those inexpensive folding tables that Sam's club sells. I use my cutting mat to bridge the gap between the table behind my machine and my machine's table and a couple of old Supreme Sliders that I cut up and taped down over the areas between the two tables and the extension table on my machine so there's nothing for a quilt to get hung up on while I'm quilting. I had to use an old cutting board to raise my machine to just the right height to be level with the two tables, but it's sturdy enough that I don't have any problems with vibration. I also made myself a suspension system which eliminates any quilt drag and has also helped. Part of the suspension system is visible to the left (the PVC pipe).

I still have to raise my chair some, but not so much that my feet don't touch the ground.

Rob

Becky's Crafts

I find that when that happens to me is when I'm quilting from my recliner with a pillow at my back. If I turn my Gidget sewing machine table around and I sit up to it in a dining room chair which is higher. They say the perfect height to sit & sew is when your elbows can just rest comfortably on the sewing table when you're sitting normally. If you need to, put a stool in front of your sewing chair and put your foot pedal on some rubberized shelf liner so it doesn't move & put that on the stool as well. That way, you have a place to rest your feet & still use the foot pedal.

Sewgood

Is your machine sitting flush with the table you're sewing on? That could make a big difference. I was doing the same thing with my Sashiko machine until I set it down in a table so it's flush.

GramE

I saw a commercial yesterday where someone was sitting on one of those large exercise balls. I wondered for myself if that would help or if I would just be constantly falling off?

joe'smom

I found that having the machine recessed doesn't help if the table is too high, because it's the table surface height that determines how far up the shoulders go. We recently bought and DH spent a lot of time assembling a recessed cabinet, only to find that I couldn't use it because of shoulder and wrist issues. I think sewing tables these days are made to a standard height of between 29 and 30 inches, whereas my Handi-Quilter Sweet 16 table is significantly lower (no shoulder hunching there). It's a real dilemma for the shorter quilter.

Sewnoma

I love sitting on an exercise ball. I don't use one at my sewing station because it's too big to fit in the space, but I have one upstairs at my computer and another one downstairs for watching TV. It really helps my back - I find myself doing all sorts of stretches on it without even thinking about it, while watching TV. Plus it's fun - at the computer I often catch myself bouncing along to my music.

osewfast

Thanks for all the suggestions & replies. I have my machine inside a cabinet - so the sewing area is level. I use a slider mat when FMQ - and love it. I guess the issues maybe the whole cabinet is a little too high for my personal comfort. I currently sew in my kitchen therefore, I open the cabinet as needed, then reclose it & stack my project(s) back on it afterwards. As soon as my boys move out I'm claiming their room as my sewing sanctuary. Then I can set the cabinet up without having to open/close it constantly AND I think I'll remove the casters in order to lower it. THEN maybe it will be the perfect height for this sewing-munchkin.

The big question is When will the boys move out!?! One is 24 & working. The other is 19 & away at college. So there is light at the end of the tunnel!
Thanks again!
Donna Mc

QuiltE

.............. or you could move into their rooms before they leave!!!
...... oh what subtle hints





Meanwhile, try it without the casters and see if it is the height you want.
If so, then you could cut the legs off a little, and re-install the casters.