We had to postpone our wedding mere weeks before it was scheduled and I'll admit once we made the decision, I tucked away the dress along with any hope of doing it anytime soon. When we stumbled upon the opportunity to make it official six months later, we jumped on it, but time was tight. When I tried on my dress again, I felt much less excited about it than I was six months ago. I spent days trying to convince myself that it was fine but finally, a week and a half before the big day, I took a chance on ordering an alternative online. It was delivered exactly one week before the big day, and it was definitely BIG. The first place I called to inquire about the possibility of alterations essentially laughed in my face (rightfully so). I almost lost my courage, but gave Margrete a (very nervous) try. I am so glad I did! She was definitely busy but did not write me off and scheduled for me to stop by that evening. When I got there, she got right to work and assured me I had nothing to worry about! She insisted that she was there to take one pre-wedding worry off my plate, and she completely did. I went back a couple of times over the next few days to ensure things were coming out perfectly, and honestly that's exactly what you can expect: perfection. She finds obvious pride and pleasure in her work, and it is so evident in the final product. For the sake of an honest review, I did spend more than I'd expected. But, truly, it was worth the peace of mind and top notch quality work. She also very clearly worked her tail off to meet my deadline!! Absolutely cannot express how thankful I am for how hard she worked, and how well she did. I spent so much time thinking I didn't need the "perfect" dress to really feel like a bride and I was so wrong. At my final fitting it was clear - with enormous gratitude towards Margrete, I had found THE dress. read more

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I worked with Margrete in tailoring my wedding dress. She helped me create my dream wedding look! I found a beautiful Pronovias dress, although it was strapless and I really wanted a one shoulder dress. The photos show the true transformation. Margrete pulled the delicate beaded and lace flower detail from one side of the dress and created one shoulder as I was picturing. The remaining lace was used on my custom matching veil. I recommend working with Margrete on your tailoring needs! read more

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I called to get a quote for wedding gown alterations, and the owner was both friendly and forthcoming that she's not going to be the most affordable but that you get what you pay for. She has incredibly extensive experience doing alterations for David's Bridal and other top-notch boutiques like Kleinfeld's, so I would easily trust her with an irreplaceable dress or a complicated sewing job. You definitely get top-notch service; everything is well thought out, such as her backup plan for any unfinished dresses if anything were to happen to her. She does offer professional wedding dress cleaning (if they're secondhand, they need to be clean before she works on them) and charges what she's charged: a flat rate of $125 but only if you use her services afterwards. My alterations ended up not as extensive as originally planned, and unlike most brides, I have a very low budget for what I'm going to be wearing, so I decided not to get my dress done here. But it was definitely tempting to have one less thing to worry about! read more

Seven days before my daughters wedding, my daughter and I both went back to pick up our dresses that Margarete altered for the 4th time. She first told me I didn't even need to try it on before I took it home but I'm SO happy I followed my own intuition and insisted on trying it on. I was not able to zip it as I found out she cut all the fabric away and could not let out the dress as she was suppose to. I am 5'7" and 115 pounds and wear a size 0 dress. Mrs Olsen got nasty with me as she left the room to come back with a check for half of the pre-paid alteration amount thrown back at me. I was told "there's nothing more I can do for you, now leave!" I left crying as I now had no dress to wear for my daughters wedding. I do not want this experience to happen to anyone else. It should be the happiest day of your life. read more

Wonderful experience from start to finish! Thank you for being so attentive. The dress was amazing read more

SewOlsen - Sewing & Alterations Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

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My experience with Sew Olsen was fantastic. Margaret's is a pleasure to work with. She has a good eye for fashion and fit and is a talented seamstress. I also appreciated clear communication, efficient bookings and timeliness. I recommend Sew Olsen for any seamstress work but especially for those special occasion pieces. read more

Margrete is a master at her work. She took a dress I bought off the rack and made it fit to my size. The dress was perfect, every detail spot on down to making sure the buttons all matched. I would definitely recommend for your wedding day, she'll make sure the dress is perfect! read more

Super friendly, talented. Takes the time to explain to you the wheres and whys of what she is doing, which is very helpful. Prices are fair. Work is impeccable. Highly recommend! read more

I highly recommend Margrete Olsen - not only is she a "master seamstress", but also a pleasure to work with. My daughter was in a wedding in June and lost weight after the dress was purchased. Margrete had several fittings with her to ensure the dress was perfect. At what was supposed to be the last appointment, Margrete was still not satisfied with the way it fit. At no extra charge to us, she took the entire top of the dress apart and basically remade it. Needless to say, my daughter looked beautiful at the wedding and was very pleased with how the dress fit her "new" figure! I have since referred two friends to Margrete - one for a simple dress hemming and another to custom make a jacket for a mother of the bride dress. Both were very happy with Margrete's work! read more

Sew Olsen took my $600 J.Crew dress and altered it to look like I spent a fortune on a custom gown. Could not have been happier or more confident on my wedding day! read more