A STITCH IN TIME MEANS MONEY IN THE BANK

Darlene Winters grew up in a era where clothes were not made for really big people or really tiny people.

Being an example of the latter group, Winters learned the skills of a seamstress early on, first in 4-H clubs and later in home economics classes in school.

"I started out making my own clothes and altering clothes that were too big for me," she said. "Then I started making clothes for by baby sister before she was born."

Today, although she still makes clothes for herself and her husband, Winters mends, darns and makes alterations to clothes brought into Patrick Cleaners, 1215 Broadway.

"I do a little bit of everything," she said. "I replace zippers, hem skirts, take in or let out waistlines, shorten coat sleeves, alter collars -- just about anything.

"But I don't do wedding dresses," she said. "To do something like that, you need all kinds of room and even more patience. I love to sew, but some wedding dresses can try a person's patience."

Winters got started as a seamstress after a reserve police officer friend who opened a dry cleaning business asked her for some help.

"I started part time -- on an as-needed basis," she said, "and pretty soon the need just about outweighed my time."

One of the reasons Winters has so much to do is because working mothers don't have the time to hem a skirt or to let out the waistlines of their husband's pants.

"Most people don't have the opportunity to sit down and sew, and even if they did a lot of people don't have sewing machines," said Winters. "A sewing machine used to be as commonplace in the house as a microwave oven is today. But not anymore.

"With both husbands and wives working all day, there just isn't the time to sit down and mend clothes," she said. "That's why I let my husband do his own clothes now."

One of the things Winters loves about her job is the opportunity to learn more and more about the disciplines of sewing.

"Styles, fabrics and techniques are constantly changing," she said. "By taking something apart to alter it, I can tell how it was put together.

"You learn something every day -- shortcuts, better ways to do things," she said. "That's why I enjoy my job so much."

Although wedding dresses are not Winters' project of choice, Scott City resident JoAnn Gibbar has made them her specialty.

The House of Brides, 238 N. Pacific, has afforded Gibbar her own room, wherein she creates, sizes, resizes, alters and makes just-right masterpieces to be worn on that special day.

"I've been sewing at the job I have now for almost 10 years, but I have been sewing for myself since I was a little girl," said Gibbar. "It's just something I've always loved to do, and now I get paid for it."

Gibbar was discovered by the mother of one of Gibbar's daughter's friends when the seamstress helped out with the bridesmaids' dresses for her wedding.

"Now I do custom fittings, a lot of alterations, and all the hand work involved in fitting a dress to a new bride," said Gibbar. "I do mostly wedding dresses. If I have time, I can work on bridesmaids' dresses or even mothers' dresses for weddings."

Gibbar's teacher -- her 73-year-old mother -- comes in to the shop to lend a hand from time to time.

"There aren't many people out there who can sew well enough to do something like this," Gibbar said. "And even if you find someone, the work is so seasonal -- so on-again, off-again -- that it's hard to find good help."

But her job isn't always easy either, she said.

"I remember this one young woman who came in and bought a dress, and I got to work making the necessary alterations," said Gibbar. "When she came in for the fitting, it was 4 inches lacking around her midsection.

"So I took it apart, added some material on both sides, and put it back together," she said. "When the girl came back to try it on again, she needed 3 more inches in the bodice.

"That time she told me that she had been so nervous about the wedding that she had just been eating constantly. Her wedding is next week. I'm just hoping and praying that it will fit her."

Gibbar admits that there's nothing more satisfying than seeing the finished product, and the smile on the bride-to-be's face that follows.

"I'm a perfectionist," she said. "The other girls in the shop will look at it and say it looks good, but I won't be happy with it."

One of the things that really slows the refitting process is the intricate beading, sequins, pearls and lace on many modern wedding gowns.

"There are some dresses that just have so much lace at the bottom that I knew we'll never be able to properly hem it, so I end up taking it apart at the waist, trimming what needs to be trimmed, and then putting it all back together again," she said. "And believe me, that's a lot harder than it sounds."

Even though she works four days a week at the dress shop, Gibbar still finds time to make clothes for her daughters and herself.

"We just picked out a wedding dress for my youngest daughter," she said. "As soon as this month calms down, I plan to get started on that.

"I really love it though," she said. "Aside from sewing, there's not much else I'd rather be doing."

Although Violet Robert has never advertised her skills in the newspaper or in any bridal shop, she is booked for at least the coming year.

"I've been swamped," said Robert, who works on mostly bridesmaids' dresses out of her Cape Girardeau home. "I used to sew for other people -- like altering suits or regular dresses -- but now I mainly do weddings."

In the coming year, Robert's dresses will appear in at least five weddings.

"I make the dresses from scratch," she explained. "The bride will pick out a pattern and the material, and then I go to work.

"I can get a lot of my supplies myself, but sometimes I'll call on the bride or the bridesmaid I'm making the dress for to go and get something I need," she said. "I work on my dresses every day. It's a full-time job for me."

Robert is making the dresses for two reasons: She loves to sew and she's helping put her youngest daughter through college.

"After she graduates, I probably won't take as much work as I'm taking now," she said. "My husband is retired and it's time for both of us to slow down a little.

"But I won't give it up; I couldn't," she said. "I always have to be doing something, and sewing is what I like best."