Fredericton seamsters work overtime to fulfil dress demands

There is only one clear path to get around inside Viggila Goldwin's tailoring store in Fredericton that is not strewn with eye-catching gowns.

But that's nothing new for Goldwin and some other tailors around the city at this time of year, when their shops are stuffed with racks of puffy dresses.

There is just one month to go until until high school students go to their proms, and that means it's the season of the seamster.

"This is like Christmastime for me and all those who sew," Goldwin said. "It will be very crazy busy since it's prom season. So that's why it's crowded here, the store is full of garments."

Fredericton seamsters like Goldwin are swamped with prom-dress season in full swing and bridal season approaching. (Prapti Bamaniya/ CBC)

Goldwin owns Inba Designs and is working more than 50 hours a week with the prom rush.

She gets help from her mother and another employee and she says she tries to take everyone who comes in, even if it's the week before the big event.

"I try not to say no. That can mean more work, but life happens and I want people to look good for their proms," she said.

WATCH | Getting through the season — one stitch at a time:

Natalie Noble, of Nobility clothing designs, has her hands full with prom and bridal dresses. (Prapti Bamaniya//CBC)

Some other seamsters are capping their orders. At the beginning of April, Nobility Designs posted on Facebook that it won't be taking any more prom dresses.

"Now starts the "NO" Prom calls," the post says. "I am absolutely fully booked ... I am soon to be working 7 days a week, with 80+ hours a week, just to keep up."

Natalie Noble's next available appointment is in September.

Her studio is in her home, where she also has a closet full of dresses, with barely enough room for her to stand.

"The post is basically to cut down on people … if they physically see the post they're not going to call me and ask me," she said.

Noble works more than 80 hour a week in the rush of prom season. (Prapti Bamaniya/CBC)

Noble is working more than 80 hours a week. She also does bridal dresses, and the wedding season usually picks up in the summer.

"So I literally put that post up and then I said yes to a bride that was getting married in three weeks because I never want to let anybody down. But it's at the point where I physically can't do it any more. And right now I'm working seven days a week to keep up to what I've booked."

Noble says she doesn't always refer the overflow to others "because I know what my work level is, but I don't know what their work level is.

"I'm putting out the best work that I possibly possibly can. So, the people I used to send people to have left the business, retired, or moved out of town."

Hard to find

With schedules jam-packed, someone looking for something simple, such as hemming, can find it tough.

Maisa Leibovitz needed her dress hemmed as soon as possible for an event. She said the alterations place in the local mall said it needed at least a week to do it, so she posted on Facebook.

She was able to find some luck with a home sewing business.

"She was busy, she had quite a few dresses … but it is a dying business," she said.

It starts at a young age

Noble got into sewing because it was part of the elementary school curriculum.

"So I've physically started sewing when I was in Grade 7 and it's just a skill. I don't think they teach in school anymore. So I mean, it makes a lot of people think in class,'Oh, I want to be a fashion designer.'"

Goldwin's mother taught her how to sew as a child in India.

When Goldwin came to Canada, she needed a way to get into the work force and chose to use a skill she already knew, sewing. (Prapti Bamaniya/CBC)

"I learned it as a hobby, all the basics from my mom ... you have to develop an interest at a young age," she said.

"Mostly children learn by watching so they will be able to develop by seeing other people. So it's easy to learn when they are young and if they are interested. But since this is not too common in schools anymore, it's like a lost skill."