I went to Home Depot and bought a set of heavy plastic adjustable saw horses as well as an unfinished wooden door 36" wide. I coated the door with a clear finish and placed it on top of the saw horses. It is a great size, sturdy, easy to store, adjustable in height, easy to move and there is room to place boards on the cross supports for lots of extra storage. It is the best one I have ever had. Arrie Jo

Or you can get the one at Joann's fabrics that folds up to about 12" wide for storing.Go to her website and print out the coupon for 40 to 50% off.
Kathi

I have a cardboard one I bought *years* ago that's a nice height, and it folds into the box.

My mom bought a 4x8 piece of masonite, and laid it on her large dining-room table. (she slid it behind the piano to store it)

I also use Dritz's folding cardboard Superboard --I used to lay it on my bed (which was really too low, but it was all I had back when i lived in a studio); now I lay it on my DR table.

I just bought the folding craft table from Joann's as well as a cutting mat to fit. They had both on sale (for the price of the table regularly) and today was the last day I believe. Space is at a premium in my tiny little office :) I was thrilled to find this bargain.

Oh! Something else I thought of. Check craigslist - there are always people on there giving away ping pong tables. Most of those will fold in half too and you can't get much cheaper than free :)

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas and information. You guys are the best. :)

Leona

I have a door tabletop too, but I used 2 small(2 drawer) filing cabinets as a base.

I made a cutting table with a 4X8 sheet of plywood. I then placed a piece of that blue foam insulation board on the plywood, then a piece of thin foam (like on an ironing board) then covered with large piece of sheeting. I now have a cutting/pinning/ironing board all in one. Have used for 7 years and still love it.

Tshirk took the words right out of my mouth! Years ago I had a sewing business and my father made me a cutting table of plywood with adjustable legs that could fold flat with the wood for storage.

I added an old blanket, stapled a sheet tightly over the whole things and voila! A cutting/pinning/big measuring area/ironing board all in one. Bonus--it was the perfect height for me and my back never hurt when I used it. My kids played fort underneath it while I worked.

It's gone now (this was 28 years ago). I have an outside world job now and my infrequent cutting is done on my kitchen table with my Fiskars self-healing mat.

Sure do miss that cutting table sometimes . . .

there are ots of creative people here. Cutting tables are important and especially if you have back problems. My husband built one for me, using a door, added an "apron" and bought a set of 4 legs (used for porch railings) and made it counter height. It is great for cutting quilt pieces as well other projects. . I rarely sew garments anymore but it is one of my favorite work spaces. I have a corner desk built the same way to fit a single file cabinet and 2 legs on the other end. Custom made things are often the things we like best. I have a friend who has a custom-made ironing board extension for pressing large pieces of fabrics. That sounds like a great idea. Does anyone have one or a pattern for making one? She said it came from a quilt magazine.

I made my work table out of a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood, covered with cotton quilt bat and then covered the batting with cotton duck - stapled to the back. I keep the cotton duck covered with a piece of fairly heavy white cotton because I have cats and because it's easier to wash the white cotton than replace the duck.

I set this arrangement on a group of bureaus and bookcases but left about 3 feet open. I covered that side of the table with cotton duck and decorated this piece to look like the front of a cottage. My three year old granddaughter, Grace, played in her 'cottage' for years and years - she's now 19 and leaves tomorrow for college in Italy. Gracie told me recently that, when she builds her house, there will be a craft room right off her kitchen for her worktable.

My worktable is, of course, nothing but a huge ironing board. And, everyone in my household uses it for something! To lay out architectural drawings for design meetings, the center for wrapping Christmas packages, projects of all kinds, covered with plastic and then a table cloth it's my buffet table and, of course, my church sewing projects.

It is inconceivable to me that my house could exist without my worktable right in the middle of everything. Were I to build another house, the room for my worktable would be as important to me as the dining room!