Sewing Masters Alterations

Back in Aug ’14, I bought a suit online but didn’t realize the pants would have to be tailored. I had a week until heading to Toronto for a friends wedding so I started looking around for tailors in the area. Unilocal,you are a lifesaver! I found Sewing Masters and headed right over. I parked in the lot behind the building and saw a door but it was unmarked and I didn’t know if that was a back entrance or not so I walked back to the front. Once you enter the building and up a few stairs, you’re met with two doors, Sewing Master is the one on the right. I opened the door and was greeted by a nice, older Korean woman asking me what she could help me with. I told her what I needed done and she asked me to go to the changing room and put on my suit so she could see how it fit. After changing, she led me to the mirrors and then took all my measurements. She showed me different lengths and made sure I was happy with the final decision (trim pants to my inseam, take in coat) before making it official. I told her I needed the suit in a few days at the latest and she said that wouldn’t be a problem. Fast forward a couple days later, I get a call saying it is ready to be picked up. When I arrive, the same woman asks me to try on the suit again to make sure I was satisfied with the work. Everything fit like a glove and the stitching was very well done. When it came time to pay, it only came out to $ 25! I was shocked! She originally gave me an estimate of $ 35-​$ 40. Sometimes speaking Korean has it advantages! If you need work done, I highly recommend taking your clothes here for a job done right.

Stopped by… Door was closed… I knocked. They woman asked «Who’s there?» (Without opening the door. I announced myself and told her I was a customer. The entire following conversation takes place with the door closed:
SM: «What would you like?»
Me: «To have something sewn together»
SM: «What?»
Me: «A patch onto a bag»
SM: «What kind of bag»
Me: «Are you going to open the door? This is weird to be talking through a closed door.»
SM: «It’s weird to open doors for strangers.»
Me: «I’m a customer… What defines a stranger…»
After this I left and went to the alterations place next door…
That’s it, draw your own conclusions.

Most people walking in to see a seamstress are there about a pair of khakis, get a suite or dress altered. I took in a pair of motorcycle over-​pants. She didn’t pause for a second or throw me out… I like that! Everything looked great when I picked them up and for the amount of work being done, I felt like it was too cheap. I may have to go back and pay her some more, seriously.
I love service with a smile and I got that from all their employees. Just doesn’t happen as often anymore. So next time I need «normal» clothes done, I’m headed back to Sewing Masters!

The owner is very friendly, and I’ve been pleased with the results on everything that I have brought in to Sewing Masters. I have brought repairs here and had pants/​skirts taken in, and the quality of the work has been excellent.

Wow… They are pin whispers and can do complex alterations or simple button replacements. I have taken many items to be altered and have been impressed with every alteration. They altered a cashmere coat I purchased which was a bit too large and made me look larger than I am. They took it in and you can’t even tell it was ever changed but it fits perfectly now and looks slimming. The prices are very reasonable too.

Young is an expert at her craft as are her helpers. She is warm and friendly and remembers little details that enable her clientele to be appreciated. I have been going there for years.

I had several articles of clothes and a decent job was done. I had drapes altered and they did a horrible job and they charged a lot for the terrible job they did.

We shopped and shopped for a dress for my daughter’s eighth grade dinner dance. Wanted young and fun. Found it on the clearance rack at JCPenney. It was on clearance and probably left over from Christmas (we bought in May). Anyway, it was cheaply made, had a zipper that was pulling away from the dress and was ill-​fitting, but still super cute. We paid $ 23 for it. On a friend’s referral, we took it to Sewing Masters. They rebuilt the dress by taking it in (evenly all around), shortened the straps, resewed the zipper, etc. We picked it up and it was perfect, pressed and ready to wear. For $ 35! A steal! We will be back and will recommend Sewing Masters.

She did a nice job but $ 17 to hem a pair of brand new mens pants is way to high. The prices here are high. Check before you commit.

There are many things I miss about living in Glenview, now that I am in the pacific northwest, and Young at Sewing Masters is one of them! Young has been hemming pants, fixing buttons, etc for years a couple of years for our family.
Young is super nice and friendly and she and her team of seamstresses do really nice work. They can handle tricky jobs as well as basic ones. Last summer I brought a maxi dress to her to remove the straps –the dress was beautiful but the straps looked kind of lame. The fabric was a really nice heavy rayon-​type material — not the easiest fabric to make a strapless dress out of — but Young was able to remove the straps, re-​sew the neckline and add a bit of stiffness to the fabric so it wasn’t falling down. It was exactlly what I wanted.
Also, one bonus of going to a stand-​alone tailor is that you won’t be standing at the cleaners getting pinned up in your clothes while customers waiting to pick up their drycleaning are watching you :)
If you are looking for a good, friendly tailor, try Sewing Masters.