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Kathleen Mattea, 46, Owner, Kathleen's Alterations 6954 22nd Ave. N. St. Petersburg
By Times staff
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 2, 2003
How did you get interested in this?
I went to school for two years and took up sewing at a vocational school. I moved here and didn't have a job, so I started working with my uncle, who was a tailor since he was 12 or so, at his shop in the mall.
My uncle, he taught me everything there is to know about tailoring.
16 or 17 years. When my uncle retired, I got my own place and then he started working for me. He worked for me until last year, when he passed away. He was 84.
People come in and they want alterations, for hemming, or taking in dresses. When people lose weight or gain weight, we do their alterations. Or when people buy new things, like wedding dresses, we fit those. We do a lot of men's suits.
It's such a variety. A lot of formal wear. We even mend jeans. We do everything.
Sometimes we do, but very rarely now because it's so time-consuming and very few people want to pay the price for it. Maybe about five people a year will come in and want something made.
Yes, a lot of regular customers come in all the time. Now we're doing Admiral Farragut (Academy). We got their account last year.
Every student gets nine pairs of pants with their uniforms. That involves a lot of marking and hemming and waist work and whatever alterations the kids need.
This is a pair of (women's) pants, and I'm taking the cuff out and I'm going to shorten it. She (the customer) came in with her shoes, and I marked it with the chalk how high she wants it. Then we take this apart and put it back together. After we prepare it, we (sew) it by hand and then iron and press it. Then we'd have to shorten the lining too.
That job right there would take probably 45 minutes from start to finish.
This is a seam ripper. You can't do without it. It's a very important tool. Also scissors, (sewing) machine and ruler.
I think it's when people put their clothes on, and they say it's perfect. That's what I like. When somebody says it's perfect, I love that.
The hardest thing for me is when I want to sew, and I can't sew. I have to pick up the phone or keep getting up to see about customers.
We get pins in our fingers all the time. Oh, and my thumb. When we're constantly cutting, I was just saying how my thumb is killing me from cutting all the time.
I have my own shop, so that's different. I pay by the hour and it all depends on what they know. Like if somebody came in here and only did hand sewing and jeans, you would pay them a certain amount. But if they were more experienced and knew how to do wedding dresses and things like that, then they get paid more. Most can make from $8 to $16 an hour.
Because when you're sewing, you're at peace. You're using your fingers. It's very relaxing.