Chalked and pinned
Clothing alterations in Albany, CA
A seamstress on site at 814 San Pablo Avenue, for hems, seams, zippers and pockets, serving Albany and Berkeley.
Chapter 01
A hem too long, a jacket with no pockets
Most alterations start with a garment that is almost right. The trousers pool over your shoes, the sleeves cover your knuckles, a zipper has quit halfway up, or the dress hangs a little loose through the waist. Royal Cleaners handles all of it at the counter on San Pablo Avenue: hemming, shortening sleeves and pants, taking in or letting out seams, replacing zippers and basic repairs.
Sometimes the job is something a store never offered in the first place. One Google reviewer brought in a windbreaker that had no pockets and asked Jeanette to add them. Six years later the same customer came back with a second jacket and the exact same request. That is the kind of work the seamstress here takes on, and it is why people keep a favorite garment instead of replacing it.
Altering is usually kinder to your budget than rebuilding a wardrobe, and it lets you keep the pieces that already feel like yours. Whether it is a work blazer, a winter coat or something you wear once a year, bring it in and ask.
A charcoal trouser leg pinned at a chalked hem beside a sewing machine foot, tape measure, pincushion and navy thread
Try it on, pin it, chalk it
A good alteration begins with the garment on you. At the counter you put the piece on, the length or fit is marked with pins and chalk, and the seamstress works from those marks rather than from a guess. The sewing is done on site, in the same shop where your dry cleaning is tagged and pressed, so there is one place to drop things off and one place to pick them up.
Timing depends on the job. Minor work like hemming pants is often done in a day or two. More involved alterations take a little longer, and you are given an estimated pickup date when you drop the garment off, so you know before you leave when to come back.
On price, a shortened hem starts at $16.00, and other work is quoted when you bring the item in. For something specific, call (510) 323-4167 before you come by and describe what you need.
Chapter 03
When it is not quite right, bring it back
The shop wants you to love how the clothes fit. If an alteration is not what you pictured, bring it back in and it gets adjusted. Nobody at the counter treats that as an inconvenience.
The same hands handle formal wear. Reviewers mention a black-tie dress taken in along two seams, a zipper replaced, and a bridesmaid dress hemmed for a wedding, all by the seamstress here. If you have an event coming up, say so when you drop it off so the date is built into your pickup.
Royal Cleaners has been family run for over 60 years and is now in its third generation. The counter is open Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM and Saturday 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM, closed Sunday, with street parking nearby.
“Jeanette is very clever and does wonderful work.” Jhon jacob jingle Heimer smith, Google review.
Other work that comes through the same door
- Dry cleaningSuits, sweaters, skirts and the jackets that come back from the seamstress ready to be pressed.
- Vintage clothing and wedding wearHeirloom dresses and formal pieces, cleaned and preserved with extra care.
- Services and pricesHems from $16.00, pants from $7.00 and the rest of the counter list in one place.