I have been a longtime client of Sophia's ever since I brought my black hemp silk dress to her for alterations. My previous seamstress had moved out of the GVRD and I was a bit cautious about trusting my "Audrey Hepburn Special" to just anyone. After all, I had sourced designer quality, eco-friendly materials for it back when you couldn't just run down to your local fabric store to get them. Her website was well laid out and pictures detailed. She has a long history working in different sectors of the sewing industry prior to freelancing (Danier Leather, the bridal industry, etc.), so I figured she was my best lead. I left a brief message and my contact info on her website; she called me within 48hours, which was pretty good! I told her I needed my dress altered for a Christmas party. And that there was one more issue: I don't drive, so fittings would have to be done either after my DH got off work, or someplace easily accessible by transit. In those days, we met out at her mom's apartment, which is about 30 minutes away from me via bus. I found both ladies warm and hospitable. In the great Humphrey Bogart's words, "it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Now I hear you saying, "So what about the friendship, how does she sew?" Well, I've worked with many a seamstress, but Sophia's work surpasses theirs. She's an artist, the real deal. Audrey Hepburn and I could never wear the same size dress: you could fit four of her into one of mine! When I brought Sophia my LBD -- actually more of a BBD, since I'm plus sized -- it had been competently sewn from designer fabrics but I had no idea it could be better. After a few fittings, she had taken it in along the sides and in the back and whaddayaknow, I had curves again! It was a revelation. Next she sewed a black silk tap and cami set to coordinate with an existing pair of long bottoms, so I could switch to the tap pants in hot weather. It was a more complicated project as the top had a Battenberg lace applique where the back and shoulders should be. The finished set is a marvel: an invisible zipper in a fitted cami that's a zip to get in and out of, and graduated taps that accentuated my long legs. Supah! Then I had her design a swim skirt to match a retro top I had purchased from a popular retail brand. The top was a red bra with boning and I wanted a black skirt with a red stripe on the hem. What I hadn't counted on was that the bottom cleverly disguises my pot belly! Wahoo! Now she's getting an embroidered vest ready for another Christmas party -- a gorgeous midnight vest with white cherry blossoms with red centres, and a red silk duchesse satin lining to match. And again, Sophia has worked her magic fitting, so I have a waist and butt and defined bust. I can't wait to wear it! I'm sold on Sophia. If you have a special outfit that needs a real professional's touch, looking for a seamstress for some "investment dressing", or if you're have trouble finding off-the-rack that fits, go see Sophia. She keeps all your patterns and measurements on file for future projects. She's friendly, flexible and professional. Her rates (cash or e-transfer) are surprisingly reasonable, given her experience and expertise. Why go anywhere else? She's the best. read more

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Great service and fast work. Always very helpful. Very friendly person to work on a project with.

Sophia was amazing! She adjusted my daughters Grad dress ( which was layers upon layers of material) shortening it and adding a bustle. Her work was flawless, and her recommendations about how it should be sewed were so helpful. Sophia also was very kind and patient. I have, and will recommend her for any and all alterations. :) read more

Sophia does amazing work! Myself and my two fellow bridesmaids brought our very baggy dresses to her last week, and this week we received beautiful, well fitted dresses in return. Not surprising considering all the experience she has in the garment industry, the bridal industry in particular. The real magic in her work is that all three of us bridesmaids are all wearing the same dress, but all have completely different body shapes. Sophia was able to alter each dress in just the right way to make them perfect for each of us. For me personally, I hate wearing strapless dresses because I always feel like my top is going to fall down. Sophia replaced the original flimsy, too short boning with something more substantial and a proper length -- I was shocked with how comfortable the dress was because in the past, I've always had the boning digging into my sides. She also sewed in padded cups, which look great and offer awesome support. Plus just the fitting overall is so well done, the dress looks so much better and actually feels like it's supporting me instead of me having to hold it up! All this, and for a reasonable price too! I would recommend Sophia's work to anyone! Her prices are great, she's very personable and friendly, her service was excellent, I could go on and on, truly. She responds properly by email, though she encourages phone calls as well. read more

Sew It All - Three bridesmaid dresses, with three very differently shaped bridesmaids, all altered to look awesome by Sophia! - Sewing & Alterations Near Me

We had three bridesmaid dresses in DESPERATE need of alterations but we were really nervous about trying to find someone great who wouldn't butcher the dresses. Sophia came highly recommended through a fellow bridesmaid's sewing teacher and in the end we couldn't have asked for a better person to help out! Sophia while obviously very busy took the time to address each of our concerns as we all have very different body types and different issues with how the dress needed to fit. In the end she managed to take three dresses that looked like shapeless sacks and make them look like they were fit perfectly for our bodies. For my dress she took out the boning that was already in the dress and replaced it with something sturdier. She also sewed in cups so that I didn't have to wear a strapless bra with the dress. She managed to take my "meh" feelings about the dress to an "I love it" feeling just with a few simple adjustments. My dress was comfortable throughout the entire wedding day and for that I can thank Sophia. My recommendation to any future clients of hers: don't buy any undergarments until you have had a chance to talk to Sophia. She can work magic and might be able to make it so you don't need to spend extra money on things you probably will never wear again! All in all Sophia was wonderful, friendly to deal with and we all felt very at ease with her. I will definitely return to her for any future alterations that I need! read more

I have known Sophia for about 3 years now ... she did both my daughter's grad dresses. My experience with her has been excellent. I think that KAREN A was way too harsh with her review .,.. maybe it was an accidental hangup, and Karen should have called back? Sophia has been very professional and goes out of her way to make sure her clients are well communicated with, and well taken care of. Both my daughters had unusual challenges to make their dresses fit right. Sophia explained everything she would do, explained why it needed to be done a certain way, and made us feel comfortable with the alterations that were needed. With the older daughter's dress 3 years ago, we had talked to two other people before someone referred us to her, and they did not have the inventive ideas that Sophia had. We reviewed a book with other dresses she had done, both prom and wedding dresses. Clearly she knows her job ... there were some challenges I doubt anyone else could have handled. I would recommend Sophia in a hearbeat. read more

Sophia does fantastic work! She took in me and 2 of my friends dresses just weeks before graduation, and she got them all done perfectly- and more! She even went in a second time to fix the boning in my dress. It fit perfectly! Would recommend her to anyone :) read more

I originally found Sophia on this site. I decided to contact her after reading all of the reviews. She absolutely lived up to all of them. From the second my Mom, my Aunt & I met her, we all knew that she was going to do a wonderful job on my wedding dress. She is extremely thorough, going over every inch of your dress and explaining what she plans on doing and takes the time to triple check everything. I think I had a total of 4 visits (the last one being for the bustle) and everything she said she would do was done. She outlined her plan at our first appointment, broke down the pricing and everything was exactly followed. She did quote the bustle separately once the other alterations had been paid for & completed. She is incredibly honest. She did have to take in a couple of inches from the sides of my wedding dress and the end result is absolutely mind blowing. boning was removed & put back in, bust was altered (I don't even have to wear a strapless bra it fits so nicely!), hemmed several inches and you would not even guess that the dress was altered as much as it was. She even taught my Aunt & Mom how to lace up the corset back & how to bustle the train. She is a wealth of knowledge and we all learned so much about the alterations process. I would now hesitate to recommend her to anyone needing alterations. She also does custom work, which I can only imagine how great her designs would look! I will definitely be returning to Sophia in the near future! I cannot wait to wear my dress on my wedding day. Make sure you contact her with plenty of time before your event as she does get busy and bring your shoes to the first appointment! read more