Do you have an image of that dream dress in your head, and want a dressmaker to turn it in the real garment?

It is certainly possible to do, but you might not like the price.  So my advice to you, try to buy a dress online, and resort to dressmaking only when nothing else work.

Why?

A professional tailor in Canada will charge you  hourly rate, which is definetely over minimum wage. You should expect that making anything from scratch in Canada would be 5- 10 times more expensive than buying ready made items in retail, or online. Seamstresses in China, India, Bangladesh, and other developing countries work for as little as $2/DAY and in Canada only minimum wage is about $14/HOUR, and no professional works for minimum wage here.

More than a half of the world is working for us , making beautiful clothing that cost peanuts, and taking advantage of that is only reasonable.

So, using common sense, I see only 3 reasons to make custom made clothes:

  1. You want to replicate something that is no longer in production
  2. You figure is so non-standard that alterations of ready made items are impossible or too expensive
  3. You want to make a unique item and ready to pay for it.

I am a professional dressmaker with focus on perfect fit to your figure. These days, I mostly do alterations, and occasionally accept a dressmaking project.

Dressmaking Process

The process starts with fashion consultation. You bring your ideas, samples, pictures, etc. and I will add mine. When we settle on some design, I will take your measurements and calculate the amount of fabric/lining/trims/embellishments etc. needed for this design.

Then you go shopping to places you know or directed by my advice. At the same time, I am making your personal patterns. I do not cut by patterns that clients occasionally bring, as they are not precise. I use the elements from those patterns, and build my own.

When the fabric is in my hands, I will cut it, and assemble the dress for the first fitting. We might need several fittings before the dress is finished. The whole process might take months, depending on the season.

I hope I persuaded you, that based on sheer cost factor, you should consider buying and altering your garment. I will be happy to help you choose the right dress, as I do for many of my clients.

Dressmaking is becoming the thing of the past, but looking good in that dress is always in fashion. That’s what a professional dressmaker can assist you with.