Clarence is a real gem. Not only is he proficient in his trade, but very honest and professional. I would highly recommend him as true honesty is hard to find and he will only do what he thinks is correct, even if it doesn't profit him financially. He is a keeper! read more

I went here to get my prom dress altered (day of, so of course it was expensive) and for having only a couple hours to work with, they did an awesome job! It fit perfectly and the left shoulder was slightly off, but again, it was a rushed job. The interior is off-putting, but their work is very nice. One other thing, it's preferable to know Spanish because the lady can't speak English. However, the manager can be your go-between if needed. Would come here again. read more

This place is the "WORST PLACE" to have an alteration done. 1. The price information was so misleading he said on the phone to put holes on the belt it cost me $5.00 when we arrived there he said &25.00??? 2. He's a very dishonest person. Who gives misleading information to his Customers. 3. A pair of pants just to cut and sew it he said over the phone $25.00 when I went in to his shop he said $169.00?? How can someone like this person will have a marked up so high? It doesn't make sense. So pls, DON'T give your business to this place ESP. he likes to cheat people who works hard for their money. One lies after the other, don't drop a penny to this Scambag. read more

I love love love these guys!!! VERY friendly the minute I walked through the door. I had my pants hemmed with the original hem and they turned out great :-) they have a customer for life. Thanks so much, Patti Christensen read more

How in the world this place say, almost free?! It will cost you arm and a leg... don't bother.

What a great little sweat shop...Very friendly and fast. I was happy with the alterations on my sleeves and they were done in plenty of time before the event I was attending. $25 seems like too much but they did a good job so I will use them again soon. Have payment ready when you drop off your items (they collect up front) and don't pay for the expedited service. They try to charge extra for fast service, but they had my work done in less than 3 days anyway. They guarantee it will be done in a week but it took them way less than that. read more

Lol this place is laughable considering the companies name is you want a hem for your bridal gown they charge $100.00 per hour and $50 per pin for a bustle. FORGET IT! It was also not very clean looking didn't trust my $2000.00 dress there. read more

Had an amazing experience! He was really nice and helpful, i got two pants hemmed and they both came out great. The price was also very reasonable. Really satisfied, 10/10 recommend. read more

Don't let the name fool you! I went in to request a simple alteration on my $48.00 dress, and the owner wanted to charge me $50.00 for the work, and it was going to take 5 days! I told him I was going somewhere else. I ended up finding a place shortly after that was only going to charge me 15.00 and it was going to be ready in 3 days. Please don't waste your time in coming here. read more

Have had many alterations at Almost Free Alterations. Always very pleased with the quality and service performed! Very friendly staff! Will always go back when I need their services. read more

I like this conveniently located alteration shop. Very friendly and timely service. I have had hems on my pants done and thats about it. Nothing too difficult and the price is fair. Rates are negotiable and he will offer a discount if you ask for one. Repeat business is key :) Highly recommended. read more

Eh, just so so. I had sleeves shortened on a sport jacket. It was not nearly as nicely done as the jacket sleeves I had shortened at DXL when I bought my suit. Also the fitting experience was pretty annoying. I have this weird expectation that I should be treated like a valued customer. read more

Almost free my ass. Joys alterations on niles is just as good at like a third of what almost free wants. Totally worth the drive to the east side! read more

Spent $48 for rushed hemming, and it looks low it was done by my 8 year old sister. Very upsetting.

I remember the last time I went i had a dress fitted. the man there is very clear on his what the time and price is and he is very kind!! i couldnt see anything visibly wrong with the stitching and the pricing was perfect! i didnt have a single complaint and i will definitely be coming back again! read more

Expensive prices .the owner is a crook with a great professional liar . We called the place asking about a price for the pants hemming the pants . On the phone he told me yes it's 15 plus 15 to shorten the bottom 3 inches so the price was $30 so we drove from the NW of the 7oak area . I walk in to his crooked place. then he is like oh NO ON the phone I didn't see the pants but know I see what you want. So the price is $60 and it's going to take 2 weeks if you want the pants in a week it will be $100 F dollar .if you don't like the price go some were els .?! I was shocked Unbelievable service his a great crook in Bakersfield everybody watch out his place is 200 SQ Feet & his asking price more then Beverly Hills. I had my pants done in Orange County for $10 Please go visit other places better then that trash area read more

First off, zero stars for customer service. I'm a seamstress and my twin needle broke while hemming. I'm in a time crunch so I called to see how much it would cost to simply hem a pair of leggings. HEM. They're already pressed and even pinned! He told me 7.50. Nothing else. So I drive all the way over there. He's sitting at a table doing nothing. I hand him the leggings and repeat what I had said on the phone. He then asked as he's HOLDING them, "is this a blouse?" Then asked, "what kind of material is this?" Then he asked when they need to be finished by. I asked why not now? He pulls out this binder and says it'll be $40 to hem now. Unlike the previous price of 7.50. Save your time and money. read more

This place did some alteration's on my two pairs of cargo pants. They even did a elastic hemming on my pants very pleased with the outcome. I have never been here before I came here a few weeks ago. They did a great job. I was really impressed great service & very friendly customer service. read more

A Almost Free Alterations - Elastic hemming - Sewing & Alterations Near Me - Bakersfield, California

I absolutely loved the work I had done. The owner gave me a statement that I loved. After asking him "Do you think that's possible?" He responded " I like to think we can do anything." Great work. read more

Straight a ripoff don't even go there, especially the owner nothing just full of lies and fake prices. It was my first and only experience with this place. The owner wants to charge twice to fix a T-shirt just to make it looks in the way I want it . read more

Horrible customer service! I had is zipper repaired and picked up this week my daughter wore them once for less than an hour and the zipper broke.. I took them back in and he wanted to charge me another $22 to replace the zipper he said that A zipper is like a baby and you can't be rough with it lol Obviously the zipper was not repaired correctly the 1st time! read more

I was referred to this place by the dry cleaners in the Marketplace, so I called and asked how much it would be to hem 2 pairs of jeans. The guy tells me $7.50 each. Totally cheap! So, I take a drive down there and upon arrival, couldn't find this place! Turns out, (it's on the southeast corner of S. Real and Ming) it was located inside "Pure Water." Yes, odd. Anyway, I go inside and the place is janky as heck. There was a man and a woman sitting at what looked like an old dining table and right behind them was another table and they were all doing alterations. There was no counter or cash register. Just tables, a few chairs, 2 dressing rooms, a fridge and a bunch of junk. Oh, and a water machine...I guess that's where one would buy the "pure water?" I'll admit, I was scared. I don't usually stray out of the west side of town, much less into a janky business. I put on my jeans and the lady who did the measurements was very precise and doubled checked everything. A good sign I thought, until she asked me when I wanted to pick it up. I say "Friday" and she whips out this price chart that tells you the cost of the alterations based on how soon you need it back. She said their normal turnaround time was 5 days; THAT was $7.50. I wanted it in 3 days; $10. Still not bad. So I agree and go to pay. She writes my name, number and alteration details on a scrap of paper (really) and hands it to the guy; her boss, I'm assuming. He then checks the measurements again, asks me to initial by the measurements and sign where he wrote the "x" and drew a line. JAAAANNKKY! He then gives me my "ticket," which really isn't a ticket, it's just my "pick up number" written on the back of a business card. Oh, he also wrote on there that I get 10% off my next visit. Yay. I get a call the next day (today) and am told my jeans are done! GREAT! I head over there to pick them up. The hems are ok, the stitching was kinda uneven, but whatever. I could deal with it. I get home, try them on and both are off! The right side is longer than the left! So I measure it myself and they are indeed uneven. I call and was told to bring them back in. I drive all the way back there and was greeted by a lady who did some measurements and confirmed it was off by 1/2 an inch. She marks it and then comes the (I'm assuming) owner who does his own measurement. He tells her in a very condescending way that she needs to give the measuring tape some slack when measuring. REALLY?! I saw exactly what he was doing. He was giving it slack on the right side, manipulating it so that it read the same as the left side. I then said, let me try it on for you. To make a long story short, I try it on and it is clearly longer on the right side. They then proceed to have me walk down the store with the jeans on to see if my posture is off. What are you? Chiropractors? When they see my posture is fine, they tell me that my left hip is higher than the right. REALLY?!! So rather than manning up, admitting that you effed up and fix my jeans, you tell me its my hip? I took my jeans to another alterations place and they said that the hems on both pairs were definitely off; one by 1/2 an inch (like the lady here measured) and the other by 1/4 of an inch. So, I essentially paid twice to have my pants hemmed. Oh, I forgot to mention they make you pay up front and now I know why! A ALMOST FREE ALTERATIONS CAN SUCK IT. I would rather DIE than to give them my business again. read more

Good prices and friendly service. I got four pants shortened and hemmed. The work done looks very professional. Very happy with the outcome. Will definitely be coming back here for next time. read more

False advertisement! Almost free, more like almost my whole wallet! Wanted to charge $120 to literally cut an inch off a dress strap that I needed for the next day. $120 for a 5 minute job that he could have completed...within the time of mine that he wasted lecturing me about why his price was so high for a quick turn around. I would give zero stars if that was an option. read more

This place is ridiculously expensive. The name is a joke. They tried to charge me 39 dollars to try to do a basic hem on a pants. The african american man who gives the prices whom i assume is the owner, tried to give me a lecture about how i have a problem and he has the ability to fix it. Stupidest thing ever. I would not trust a place like this who profits off of ripping people off. In LA they charge you 5 dollars for a basic hem and they do it in 5 minutes. In Fresno they charge you 10 dollars for the same service. 7 dollars if you pick up the next day. 39 dollars? get out of here. read more

Everyone told me to go to this place. I took in one dress, beaded, that needed a zipper replaced. Clarence, the guy there quoted me $312 just to replace the zipper. Seriously? What a rip off. read more

First time bring pants in and it was a quick and easy process. Came in was greeted with a smile and great pricing. Picked up pants sooner then expected also. They called me 2 days before they said the job would be done, which is AWESOME and everything was perfect!! Very pleased!! read more

Terrible place!!! When other reviewers call it a sweat shop they aren't kidding! The name of this place is HIGHLY INACCURATE! I can not believe what they wanted to charge. I brought in about 11 little girl dresses (4T-5T) for minor sewing where my daughter had ripped the hem and such. I am talking about something that needs less than 3 minutes on a sewing machine. This place wanted to charge $10 per piece!!!! That's more than I even spent on some of these items! I can't believe this place is in business with outrageous prices like that. Oh, AND they wanted at least 5 days to do the work. The little asian woman working for the guy is hunched over and malnourished looking and the shop is absolutely FILTHY! I did not leave my garments there. Avoid this place at all costs, because it WILL cost you big time if you go here! read more

Don't even think about it, their prices are unreasonable. I took my dress in to get it hemmed and they gave me a price of 100+ to get it done in 2 days where at many other stores they were charging me a max of $50. Wow, really was an eye opener. read more

The place looks like a small sweat shop but the owner/manager is very knowledgeable and my suit alterations looked phenomenal. All stitches and threads were done very well without any loose ends. He also fixed my pants for a second time free of charge becuase it wasn't what I was envisioning the first time around. Treats his customers well. read more

Sweat shop is hitting the nail on the head! Went in, got a price for hemming drapes, then the price was doubled on me. I can't comment on the quality of the work because I didn't leave my drapes. Paying twice what I was quoted was not what I had in mind. read more

I was very nervous trusting anyone to shorten a very fancy dress that I paid a lot for. They did a great job with my wedding dress! Pricing was reasonable as well. I would recommend them for sure. read more

My guy Clarence always takes care of me. I hear some people in there wanting there stuff done the next day but don't want to pay for it. Hilarious. He might not look rich, but his heart is in the right place when he takes care of your clothes. Very fair pricing. I trust him with my suits. He is actually the only person I go to for all my tailoring. read more

I found this place to be great. I went in and was taken care of right away. Clarence fit all my skirts to my liking. He told me to return in 5 days and my things would be ready to go. I returned the day before at about 5pm and my things were ready to go except for being ironed. That did not bother me. I took my skirts home and ironed them myself, no problem for me. The skirts all fit beautifully. Clarence said not to fret at home if something was not right. I was to come back and we could work it out. I have no need to return, until I decide I want something else altered from my closet. I highly recommend Almost Free Altertions to others and I will return when I need such services. read more

I have taken all my tailoring needs to this business for about 20 years. From suits, to formal dresses, to jeans. The staff is always friendly and efficient. You will pay more for expedited service. I strongly recommend them to anyone looking for tailoring and alterations. read more

This place may not look like much from the outside, or let's be real...even from the inside, but I took a chance and I've now found a new go to alterations location in Bakersfield. I recently had a dress made with another tailor prior to a wedding I would be attending out of the area. The design was an exact replica of a dress I already owned - only in another color - so I thought it would be relatively easy to pull off. I picked up the dress on Thursday evening only to realize the job had been seriously botched and I was scheduled to leave town on Saturday morning. I called around to see if anyone in town could handle a same-day job and Almost Free said "Bring it in, we will take care of it." Take care of it they did...they totally saved the dress! The dress no longer looked like a Jr. High home ec project and looked like the dress I was hoping to replicate. The seams were impeccable and the work was very impressive. Better yet, I paid for 24 hour service and it was done in less than 4 hours! They offer a sliding pricing scale based on how soon you need your garment so if you want the lowest price possible, take your garment in 5+ days in advance. However, if you need something done FAST, this place can make it happen! The owner is a character... boisterous and loud, but very friendly and likes to joke around. They did a great job with my sister's uniform skirts as well. Will review again after I take in the ultimate test for most tailors...hemming premium denim. read more

So I took in my $200 Adrianna Papell Jumpsuit (not opened from the bag) to get altered. The person who gave me a consultation and understood what I needed done (which was a simple reduction of length) was giving me compliments on the material and outfit that he didn't seem familiar with. He was mentioning how good the material it was. Well I came back to pick it up and it had 2 stains on each leg. Instead of getting an apology, he mentioned that it was both his and my fault for not inspecting it before he took it in. Do you think he would compliment my jumpsuit with stains on it? Wouldn't he ask to dry clean it to get more business? Terrible customer service. It was a freshly bought item that needed a simple alteration. Well this is the last time I will ever use this company. I will make sure to tell every one of my colleagues, relatives and close friends about this experience so that I can help prevent them from this type of experience. read more

I had a terrific experience! The owner was quick and efficient with my alteration. My item was altered to perfection. I will definitely bring more clothing items to this location. read more

I highly recommend Almost Free Alterations. I've had many pairs of pants hemmed here, and they have all been excellent quality. The owner is a very friendly, funny man. If you need some work done, please come here. You also get a 10% discount each time you return. read more

Took a several year old suit in. Styles change so instead of buying a new suit I took one in and had it recut and now it looks like a completely different suit for $100. I'll take that over buying new. Negative reviews about the shop being small...Who cares? They get the job done. read more