Hand Strands
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Hand Strands
Merry has over 30 years of experience in sewing, dressmaking and design. As a child, she started with making doll clothes; graduating to adulthood she created many fashions for her family, friends and her happy customers. Merry studied Dressmaking and Design while balancing personal, family and vocational commitments.

One of her great experiences was designing and sewing costumes for an international music group. This stirred Merry's passion for folk wear from all around the globe. Numerous trips to Peru and the Mediterranean have provided an ethnic canvas from which Merry's ideas are born.
Services
Alterations are an excellent way to keep the wardrobe you want at a great savings. Styles come and styles go, but they always come back as everyone knows! Shortening or lengthening hems and sleeves, taking in or letting out waists, zipper replacements, relinings of your favorite coat all are considerable alterations designed to make you look and feel your best.
A specialized service reserved for very unusual, creative projects such as costumes for musicians, dancers, cosplay, renaissance, etc. Custom work may also apply to soft furnishings for the home such as throw pillows, simple window treatments, and accessories. Having an art background, Merry brings a unique and keen perspective into your fabric projects.
Reviews (12)
Kathryn Donovan
Kathryn Donovan
Apr 15, 2021
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Mary is the sweetest! She altered my prom dress. It came out everything I wanted and more! She was so kind, funny and made me feel comfortable! She’s amazing at what she does! If you need something altered — come to hand strands!
Timothy Morris
Timothy Morris
Jan 24, 2021
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Mary is the sweetest seamstress you'll ever meet, I've always been extremely happy with my service here.
Jade Perron
Jade Perron
Oct 16, 2020
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Dropped of 4 pairs of jeans on a whim - I didn't like the way they fit around the ankle...wanted them to go from strait cut to skinny! She was very welcoming and the jeans are perfect! I will definitely visit this shop again for future alterations!!
Jade Wronowski
Jade Wronowski
Aug 29, 2019
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This shop is fantastic. The owner is incredibly friendly and helpful, and the pricing is very fair. I have had a bridesmaids dress and other dresses altered and have been extremely pleased with the final product. She knows her stuff but also listens to the client and considers their input. Great place!
Emilie M.
Emilie M.
Aug 08, 2019
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I brought a garment all the way from LA to bring to Merry because she had done very nice work in the past but she was unwilling to take 10 min to tell me whether it could even be altered. Her helpfulness was recommending that I Google other places as if i couldn't figure that out on my own.I will look to get the work done somewhere else. Not the kind of helpfulness I expect for a valued repeat customer.
Tori Macdonald
Tori Macdonald
Jul 01, 2019
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She is amazing! My bridesmaids dress looked absolutely perfect and she was able to accommodate me with short notice. Would 100% recommend her!
Susanna L.
Susanna L.
Mar 01, 2019
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My husband and I have taken multiple items to Merry at Hand Strands, and have always been very pleased with her work. She is always welcoming and her work is completed on time and very professional. We have brought items for everything from a simple pants hem to more complicated items like changing the shape of a blouse hem or altering the type of sleeve on a dress. Merry works hard to make sure you get what you want, her work is excellent, and very reasonably priced.
Terry Mccullough
Terry Mccullough
Dec 29, 2018
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Purchased some pajama bottoms that were way to long mary hemmed them up perfectly she is very friendly and both times I dropped off the items that needed an adjustment they were ready on time will absolutely take my business to her
Cassie Cook
Cassie Cook
Aug 31, 2018
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Mary is the best. It’s hard to find someone who can understand you in this industry to listen to your needs. Mary always comes through for me. She’s affordable, fast, and so friendly! I’m a recurring customer and would never go somewhere else!
Kelsey Witham
Kelsey Witham
Jan 02, 2018
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This was the WORST alterations place and quite frankly the worst small business I have ever gone to. Not only did she forget about my appointments not once but TWICE, she decided it'd be a good idea to "run errands" 5 MINUTES before my pick up appointment time and leave me standing outside her shop for 20 minutes waiting for her, only to leave and have to reschedule. On top of that, my alteration is not even straight. I needed a hem on a bridesmaid dress for a wedding in September, and when I brought it home and put it on with my shoes, I discovered the hem she did was uneven.There's a very clear
I. Am Majaro
I. Am Majaro
Sep 18, 2017
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The shop is very organized and clean. She does do a good job with any changes / alterations a garment might need, and her costs are a little less than the average rate, so you will get a savings here. But when she shortened my dress, she pinned it all the way around, and used the pins as the length it needed to be. I'm used to having the front of the garment pinned, then they used that measurement all the way around. I had two dresses that were the same, so I didn't try the other one, as I thought she would use the first dress as a guide. My dress ended up being lower in the back than the front
Deirdre W.
Deirdre W.
Sep 10, 2016
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If you're looking for not only an amazing seamstress but also an amazing person overall you'd be hard pressed to find anyone better than Mary. She is so genuinely great at what she does and it is clear this is what she loves to do.

Trust me it's worth a trip from out of state & she will make your dresses look better than you thought they could.