Alameda Sewing Cottage

Thank God for Cathy! I was originally quoted for alterations from the place I purchased my wedding dress. Alterations was almost just as much as I paid for my dress! I immediately knew I had to find someone else.
I will admit, my dress was definitely a toughie to alter. Not only was it A LOT of lace, I was practically swimming in my dress. However, Cathy made me feel comfortable and let me know she was able to do the job. Not only that, she quoted me for a fraction of the price the other place did. I paid alterations in full the minute my first consultation with Cathy was done.
After a few fittings, my dress was perfect in time for my wedding. Thanks, Cathy!

What a wonderful treat! Cathy Marie has a wonderful home where you’ll be greeted with a little sign and your name listed for your scheduled appointment. She has such a friendly face, and a perfect front room to change in. Once in my dress, Cathy Marie immediately began to consider all of the possible ways to fix my oversized corset top. From seams on the outside and inside, I was convinced that she would find both the most direct, but most subtle way to take in the top.
Cathy Marie was both patient and fair, priced just right, and answered all of my questions via email first, which alotted us the perfect amount of time should we need to make changes.
On top of it all, she was so complimentary of the dress, and so friendly to talk over the plans of the big day with. I am so happy I found her, and have already shared her information with other brides to be. I couldn’t be happier and I will send photos as soon as I have them!

Cathy Marie is amazing! I purchased my dress from Monique Lhuillier’s sample sale. I wish I took a before photo, but it was pretty beat up with some tears and stains. Not only was Cathy Marie was able to take it down from a size 10 to a 0, she was also able to make it look brand new, fixing the tears and removing some stained fabric! We had a destination wedding; I hauled this dress through 6 flights to come back with some stitching that came undone. Cathy Marie squeezed me in on short notice and fixed everything up for me so I could wear my dress one more time for my reception. On top of all that, her pricing is definitely reasonable. She is super amazing and such a sweet woman! Can’t go wrong with her! Thanks Cathy Marie!

Cathy was a total gem! I brought my lace gown to her for alterations and she made the entire process wonderful. Scheduling appointments was easy and she was always on time for appointments. She performed alterations on my gown that looked absolutely stunning! I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to make their dress perfect for their special day.

This lady is in demand! Upon arrival to her cute little East End cottage, you see the whiteboard outside the door, showing every half hour back to back time slot from open til close — does Cathy Marie not eat or use the restroom ever?!
The demand is not unwarranted — I found her to be warm and welcoming, and very helpful in figuring out what can be done with a dress.
I brought two in, since I was undecided. She gave me honest feedback and very fair pricing. I left one dress behind for alterations and picked it up about two weeks later.
It was perfect — still a bit long, so she cut a little more off the front while I waited. She gave me a big hug and told me to send photos to her. Basically, she’s your favorite aunt who is a whiz with a sewing machine. Definitely recommended.

Cathy Marie is extremely nice but she altered my rehearsal dress and my wedding dress for my wedding in New York and as soon as I got off the plane, I had to rush them to my mom’s seamstress. I bought the rehearsal dress big to have it altered down and after she was done, it was no where near fitting and she didn’t press the seams. The wedding dress still gives me nightmares. She told me throughout the 10 month alteration process it was the right length with my shoes on but it ended up being about 1.5 inches too long, I actually got tangled and tripped down the aisle. I was also basically swimming in it. Unfortunately, it was too late to have the body altered but the 2^nd seamstress saved the neckline, which was also way too big and was cut unevenly. Put a huge damper on the big day and can’t recommend if it’s a tough job.

So glad that I have found Cathy Marie to do my wedding dress alterations! I brought my gown in as a size 4 to take down to what I believe may be a size 2 or a bit smaller because I am pretty petite. Cathy is a pleasant woman to work with, she is sweet and patient. Sometimes I even feel so comfortable with her, as if she’s my own family member who is helping me into my dress for the big day. What I like most about her are her passion and devotion to making every brides feel most beautiful in her wedding dress. She would give you her full attention, and not trying to rush you out even when the next bride is waiting. She will be sure to have you taken care of first before jumping to her next appointment. Her price seems reasonable to me and her skill is phenomenal. I would recommend her to any brides/​bridesmaids out there who need their dresses altered. I will assure you that you will not be dissapointed!

I had a wonderful experience working with Cathy Marie! She is a lovely person, clearly knows exactly what she’s doing, and does truly quality work. My dress was fairly simple, but did have to be taken in several sizes, hemmed quite a bit, and have the sash replaced. She was so patient and helpful and really did everything she could to make sure my dress not only fit me perfectly, but that I felt confident and comfortable in it (I was really nervous about going strapless but she soothed my fears!). I thought I loved my dress before her work, but afterward I was in love with it – and on my wedding day I felt amazing. Thank you, Cathy Marie!!!

I loved working with Cathy Marie to make my wedding dress fit perfectly. She was always on schedule, her work was high quality and she has a beautiful heart!

I hope my experience was because I was a bridesmaid and not a bride, but honestly, that shouldn’t matter. A customer is a customer.
The appointment process was awkward. Via email only. So I sent a few requests but those days were booked. She responded at 6:30am so I emailed back half an hour later to book an appointment. That night, I get a response saying those times are filled. They were filled in less than half an hour?! Instead of playing email tag, an online calendar where customers can book appointments would be EXTREMELY helpful.
The dress was a few sizes too large and I needed it taken in. When I picked up the dress, it still felt loose and I pointed out that the chest was gaping. She told me to wear a bigger bra. A bra ain’t gonna work miracles. Stood my ground and she did a quick stitch.
Now that the wedding has passed, I’m still unhappy with the alterations. The dress was loose, came back wrinkled, and I hadn’t noticed until after I had left, that the back hook was missing. I was holding up my dress the whole night. Luckily, as a bridesmaid, no one was paying attention. For me, it was not comfortable. Looked a mess, felt a mess.
I’d chosen this place because the dress material called for a finer touch than the dry cleaner-​type places. I can’t say that my experience was worth it. Based on the reviews, seems like bridal dresses are her specialty and for everything else, you take your chances.

I had quite a task for Cathy Marie. The dress I bought was strapless, but I wanted sleeves. It’s quite hard to find a short dress with sleeves… at least one that was in my budget. So I bought my dress from The Wedding Party in Berkeley and they said Cathy Marie would be able to take care of me.
Her home/​office was so welcoming… it is very aptly named! My overall experience with her was excellent and I was very please with my dress. I took the dress into her a little over 2 months before the wedding and explained that all I wanted was sleeves. I didn’t need any hemming, or taking in, just sleeves.
I scheduled several appointments right upfront, because matching up our calendars was a bit of a challenge since she only does them on Thursdays and Saturdays. That was fine though, I love planning things in advance. For my second appointment I brought the lace and trim for sleeves/​neckline and she took all of the measurements for them and started cutting the lace into the necessary pieces. On my third visit, less than a month before the wedding, the sleeves/​neckline were supposed to be loosely attached and we were just going to tweak things a little so she could add the trim and tighten things up. To my confusion only the neckline/​shoulder pieces were attached and it was missing the sleeves, which I knew she had measured and cut. I’m not a seamstress though, so I just figured it was necessary to leave those off up to that point. After a little tugging and adjusting to that section she started laying the trim piece along the neckline and cut it to the appropriate length. Then she took the remaining trim and started to place it for measurement around the openings for my arms, which were still without sleeves. At that point, I politely asked, «shouldn’t those go at the end of the sleeves?». She seemed momentarily confused before she remembered putting the sleeve pieces in the bottom of my dress bag. That was supposed to have been my last fitting before the final pickup, but because of this lapse we had to schedule an extra appointment 1 ½ weeks prior to the wedding. I have to say I was a bit nervous that it would be done, but she pulled it off.
Despite that little scare, I was very happy with the overall service and quality of her work. I was also very impressed by the price, not knowing what to really expect I thought her rate was quite reasonable.

Cathy Marie was very sweet and welcoming with my wedding dress fitting. She felt my dress didn’t need any major alterations and we went with a simple hem and bustle. She steamed and hand ironed my dress. She didn’t try and up sell me and her prices were beyond reasonable for her quality of work. She has a strong expertise in her craft and I felt beautiful in my wedding dress, thanks to her help!

I found Cathy Marie via Unilocal and am so happy I did. She altered my rehearsal dress for my wedding (which is next week!) as well as another dress I plan to wear to a friend’s wedding.
She is very friendly and flexible when it came to my schedule. She is also quick and does a wonderful job. Both my dresses fit perfectly now (one dress had too big a bust and the other dress had cap sleeves that were too loose and big).
And as a bonus, the fitting room in her home is full of beautiful bridal dresses, which is always fun to look at.

I bought my wedding dress at The Wedding Party in Rockridge, and they recommended that I contact Cathy Marie at the Sewing Cottage to have my dress alterations made. Cathy was lovely to work with and clearly very good at what she does. She has a very cute alterations studio in her home in Alameda.
Cathy expertly took my dress in in all the right places so that it was elegant, beautiful (and comfortable!) for my wedding. I received so many compliments on the dress! Thank you, Cathy Marie!

I went to FOUR different shops when shopping around for someone to alter my wedding dress. I was looking for the best combination of price, skill and customer service and am so so happy I went with Cathy Marie’s results. She has the sweetest bedside manner — patient, very cheerful and as excited as the bride is to make sure the dress fit perfectly. I went to a couple other people who came off as brash, unenthusiastic, or seemed like they really didn’t want to do the job.
I needed pretty extensive alterations — straps, back taken in, hips, hem, removing cups, bustle, etc — and all were executed beautifully. I also asked Cathy to make my veil into a 2-​tier version and it was gorgeous.
Make sure you are really specific about exactly what you want to change. If something isn’t up to par, speak up and Cathy will help you figure out how to make the dress fit 100%!
Super convenient parking outside, easy scheduling.

Cathie Marie has been truly amazing! Really flexible with scheduling and did a FANTASTIC job on the key hole that I wanted added to my dress. A helpful tip when working with her though, would be to send her an email reminder of what you would like done. If you are unclear on what needs to be done, or show any hesitation she won’t make a move until you confirm. Otherwise she is phenomenal!

I was introduced to Cathy Marie through The Wedding Party bridal boutique in Oakland as I prepared for my wedding on May 17. She was very sweet and fun at our first meeting so i immediately felt at ease. My dress was pretty form-​fitting and I was taking a lot of toning classes to get the fit just right, which resulting in my losing some weight. So what was originally tailoring just around the shoulders and the hem turned into her having to bring things in a little in the back. All said, she executed everything just perfectly, and her changes to the hem looked beautiful with my heels and when the dress was bustled. I plan to go back to her to fix small snags on the dress that happened on the big day so I can sell it! She’s awesome — thank you Cathy Marie!

Cathy Marie is a wonderfully talented woman. I came to her with a beautiful, HEAVY, couture gown that was about 4 sizes to big for me. Im not sure what she did but my dress was amazing. Her work is well worth her prices

Long overdue review owed to Cathy Marie! Cathy Marie altered my wedding dress back in July 2012. She was referred to me by the wedding party bridal shop in Berk. Not only did she do an amazing job, she was kind and super sweet. She gave me great feedback on how to alter the dress and what would look best on me. I had a great experience and went back to have her fix another dress (which she did last minute for me — so nice of her!) and she also cleaned my wedding dress. She got out every single grass and dirt stain.
She is now my go to person for all alterations.

Cathy Marie is a really talented, professional and skilled seamstress. I brought her my beautiful wedding dress needing a last-​minute adjustment. She knows what she’s doing, and was very friendly as well. I’d trust her with any wedding dress!
Her home functions as her business, and is located in a residential area in Alameda. I had bridesmaids in town (as I said — very last minute!) so was able to bring them along with me — there was just enough space for the 4 of them to wait inside for me.
All in all I had a lovely experience, was delighted with the final product and would absolutely recommend her.