Appointment with a new seamstress today

April

I found a tailor/seamstress with a number of very positive reviews online and am scheduled to take some clothes in for a fitting today. She is close to home and work, seems reasonably priced, will make evening and weekend appointments, and does complicated work such as remaking wedding gowns and also creating them from scratch, so I'm sure she can handle my alterations.

I have gotten a little lazy about correct fit, and am hoping that having a good working relationship with a competent seamstress will change that. Stay tuned...

15 years ago

General

11 replies

Latest reply was from Lisa

Debora

Veteran

Good luck, April! She sounds very competent. Keep us posted.

15 years ago

Anonymous

April, she sounds like she could be a gem. I hope so.
I have a dilemma with the seamstress I use. I took several things to be shortened and the work was not good. One dress has a hem that's 3-4 inches longer in the back than the front...perfect for someone with a big bum, but mine's flat. She is going through a lot with a seriously ill husband and is the breadwinner right now. I'd like my things fixed but feel taking them back to her may not be the compassionate thing to do.

15 years ago

Sihaya

Veteran

That's awesome. I am hoping for something like that too. Unfortuantely I have so many piled up that I"m a bit afraid to venture out because of the anticipated expense. I have a friend who's incredible at sewing and I was wondering if there was a swap of some sort I could arrange with her. If anyone has ideas, I'd love to hear. Sorry to post that in your thread April. Depending on responses, I might start a new one on it.

15 years ago

April

Veteran

Sihaya, that sounds like a wonderful idea! Do you have a talent that she could use, or could you provide something like a certain amount of pet-sitting, in exchange for alterations? Are you a good cook -- everyone loves to have dinners prepared for them.

The only thing that might be an issue is, what do you do if you're not happy with the work? That's the sort of thing that's easier dealt with in a business relationship than a friendship.

15 years ago

Sihaya

Veteran

hi April - thank you. These are all great points. I do cook and that's a great idea. I am comfortable establishing satisfaction or not satisfaction outcomes up front. i think we'd need to set that up before we got started. I am an executive coach and she stays home. But maybe she has a goal in her life that she needs help with that I can offer.

15 years ago

Beth

Veteran

Good luck April. I'm in search of a good tailor, too:)

15 years ago

April

Veteran

Well, I had my fitting and left a jacket, two woven shirts, two pairs of pants, a pair of jeans, and my Muse dress for alteration. (Muse dress http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....runch-walk became rather droopy in the bodice when I had worn it for a while. The size was too big after all, at least in the bust.)

I will have my items in a week. It's going to be strange to have everything I own actually fit!

15 years ago

Carole

Veteran

April, what a great find for you. Can't wait to see her handy work. Did you take some before pictures, so we can see the differnce? That would be fun to see.

15 years ago

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Three cheers for this move, April!! For my money a good seamstress is a must in your professional fashion arsenal, right up there with a good hair stylist. Good luck at your first appointment!

15 years ago

April

Veteran

Carole, I do have photos of many of these pieces in Photobucket. I'll put up the "after" shots when I get the items back:

Green woven shirt:

http://i649.photobucket.com/al.....G_0571.jpg

Muse dress – hard to see, but center of bodice is too big and became more so with wear:

http://i649.photobucket.com/al.....uarter.jpg

Gauzy pintucked shirt and gray Esprit pants – both too big:

http://i649.photobucket.com/al.....G_0452.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/al.....G_0454.jpg

Halogen jacket (pinned in photo, but without pinning, quite boxy in the waist):