What a pattern room can do that a counter cannot

Most alterations shops are a counter and a back room with a domestic machine. That is entirely fine for a hem or a waistband. It is not enough when a garment has to be taken apart and put back together.

The difference is patterns

We are a pattern cutting and sample studio. The day job is making garments for fashion labels from a drawing — so when your coat needs its shoulder rebuilt, we are not improvising. We pattern the piece, cut a replacement and set it in properly.

What that makes possible

A jacket taken apart at the shoulder and reconstructed. A dress re-cut two sizes down with the darts, pockets and seam positions moved so the proportions still read correctly. A lining replaced completely, cut to the garment's own pattern rather than patched. A zip set into leather. A badly made garment re-shaped so it hangs the way it should have from the start.

And when it genuinely cannot be done

Sometimes the cloth has gone, or there is not enough seam allowance left to let something out, or the repair would cost more than the garment is worth. We tell you that when you bring it in, before you have spent anything. Saying no honestly is part of the job.

So if something has been turned away elsewhere, it is worth one more opinion. Bring it to Burch Rd — free parking outside, and no appointment needed for a quote.