$5 DIY Sewing Machine Extension Table

Guess what this is?

I am so stoked!

At the same time, I want to smack myself upside the head for not having pursued this sooner.

I don't think I've ever shown the little extension table that came with my Kenmore sewing machine, but it's just a small piece of plastic that doesn't seem to match the functionality of the machine itself. In its defense — and I've probably said this before — it's likely because it was meant to be sunk into a sewing table.

For me, however, I've always used it on top of a regular table while the machine sits in the bottom half of its carrying case. Which means that I have often been hampered by not having a level surface when sewing larger items, resulting in that dreaded "fabric drag" that seems to require three hands to control.

My original Kenmore extension "table"...

I've hopefully curtailed any future difficulties with my latest DIY, which I am sharing with you today. It turned out to be almost entirely a recycling project for me, but as you can assume from the title of this post, it's a cheap project even if you have to buy supplies. Certainly cheaper than buying a ready-made extension table. (Not to mention that that's often only an option for those with popular, late model sewing machines or machines with a free arm; i.e., the tables are U-shaped.)

Here's what you'll need: foam core board (or two, depending on your preference for thickness), something out of your household recycling bin for the legs (pill bottles, cardboard tubes, cardboard box corners, styrofoam packing pieces, empty thread spools, or whatever you can think of that's the right height or can be made into the right height), hot glue gun, adhesive hook and loop "dots" (optional), and a roll of adhesive shelf liner paper or decorative tape.

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Last spring, I came across some old foam core mounted photos from hubby's and my first business venture together. It occurred to me then that they could be used to create a lightweight extension table for my Kenmore, as long as I could find some "legs" for them. It turned out that a couple of pill bottles that I found in our blue box were more or less the right height.

Three old photo panels being recycled...

I asked hubby if he had any more of the same bottles and that got us started on a conversation of what I was planning to do. At the time, we had just finished off a roll of tin foil and he volunteered to cut the rather stiff cardboard tube into additional legs for my table.

You may need these for your table: pill bottles, cardboard tubes, adhesive velcro dots...

Then at Christmas — after gifts had been opened — he presented me with an "extra" gift: a moving dolly with casters that he thought could be converted into what I need. I loved that he remembered my extension table project, but what he thought might work wasn't going to be practical at all. (The dolly was returned.)

A week later, he handed me the five cardboard tube pieces shown above. I headed upstairs to measure the required cuts and joins on my 11" x 14" photo panels. The project was officially underway!

Pieces cut and joined with hot glue...

Several minutes later, I had two panels and one smaller piece hot glued together. Of course, you would just start off with a (typical) 20" x 30" piece of foam core board and won't need to make any joins at all, just a couple of cuts.

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Once the foam board is cut into the desired shape, you'll want to beautify it. For me — since the thing didn't look good "as is" — I went to my nearest dollar store and picked up a roll of adhesive shelf paper with a gray, beige and white leafy print. (For my Canadian readers, opt for a Dollar Tree over a Dollarama if you can, as everything there will be cheaper.)

If you want to keep your extension table the same colour as your foam board, just wrap the edges with some decorative tape.

At the corners, fold the tip in first, then wrap the two sides in on top...

If you do use shelf paper, remember that it's paper and can rip. (Unless you use a more expensive vinyl version.) Also, the foam board is not a shelf so you'll have minimal luck repositioning the paper without causing damage to the board. Be careful and go slowly, but don't worry too much about inevitable small creases if you go this route.

I managed to pattern match the seams, but because I didn't want to be too wasteful in my fussy cutting, I ended up using a total of four pieces to cover the board. (One of them was a 2" x 1" piece that didn't match, but I would challenge anyone to find where it is!)

Can you tell where the seams are?

I decided that I was going to work with the pill bottles rather than the cardboard tube pieces, given another idea that popped into my head. Because I won't always want this table sitting out there in the open, the less space that it takes to store, the better.

Velcro dots attached to the top of the pill bottles ensure legs are removeable...

So my thought was to put some adhesive velcro dots on the top of the pill bottles so that the legs can be removed. The top of the table is then just something flat that can slide out of sight behind virtually anything.

Positioning of the legs...

I put each of the legs about 2" in from the sides. If you opt not to make use of hook and loop adhesive dots, hot glue will secure your extension table legs permanently.

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Before you do that, however, wrap the legs in some of the shelf liner paper or decorative tape. It makes for a polished look, don't you think?

Ta da!

Finished size of my extension table is 27.75" wide and 20" deep. It ended up with five legs. (The table that my sewing machine sits on slopes towards the middle — it's a portable folding table — so the surface is not level. Putting more legs on the extension table won't help in this situation.)

I find it sturdy enough for sewing purposes, but you can definitely make this with two pieces of foam board for additional strength if desired.

An extension table for a non-free arm sewing machine...

The title of this post states that you can make this for five dollars, but the cost will depend on what stores you have access to and what you can harvest from your own household. (You might already have adhesive hook and loop tape and/or shelf liner paper, for instance.) In my case, it was less than five dollars.

Ideally, you can find a piece of foam core board for $1.50 or less, spend $1.50 or less for a package of adhesive velcro (if you want removeable legs), and no more than $3.50 for a roll of shelf liner paper (vinyl will likely cost more). All in all, it's an incredibly inexpensive project. Since writing up this post, I've thought of other potential items that could be recycled for the legs: individual yogurt cups, spray can tops, tomato paste tin cans... all things that will cost you nothing.

Like I said, with it being so easy to do, I truly wonder why it has taken me so long to get around to solving this problem. (And if it weren't for my hubby, it probably still wouldn't be done, so hurray for him.)

'Til next...