A Almost Free Alterations

Took a several year old suit in. Styles change so instead of buying a new suit I took one in and had it recut and now it looks like a completely different suit for $ 100. I’ll take that over buying new. Negative reviews about the shop being small… Who cares? They get the job done.

Everyone told me to go to this place. I took in one dress, beaded, that needed a zipper replaced. Clarence, the guy there quoted me $ 312 just to replace the zipper. Seriously? What a rip off.

I have taken all my tailoring needs to this business for about 20 years. From suits, to formal dresses, to jeans. The staff is always friendly and efficient. You will pay more for expedited service. I strongly recommend them to anyone looking for tailoring and alterations.

I highly recommend Almost Free Alterations. I’ve had many pairs of pants hemmed here, and they have all been excellent quality. The owner is a very friendly, funny man. If you need some work done, please come here. You also get a 10% discount each time you return.

Don’t even think about it, their prices are unreasonable. I took my dress in to get it hemmed and they gave me a price of 100+ to get it done in 2 days where at many other stores they were charging me a max of $ 50. Wow, really was an eye opener.

I absolutely loved the work I had done. The owner gave me a statement that I loved.
After asking him «Do you think that’s possible?»
He responded «I like to think we can do anything.»
Great work.

Very nice! Owner came right up and introduce himself! Had easy time! Very knowledgeable!

I went here to get my prom dress altered (day of, so of course it was expensive) and for having only a couple hours to work with, they did an awesome job! It fit perfectly and the left shoulder was slightly off, but again, it was a rushed job. The interior is off-​putting, but their work is very nice.
One other thing, it’s preferable to know Spanish because the lady can’t speak English. However, the manager can be your go-​between if needed. Would come here again.

The place looks like a small sweat shop but the owner/​manager is very knowledgeable and my suit alterations looked phenomenal. All stitches and threads were done very well without any loose ends. He also fixed my pants for a second time free of charge becuase it wasn’t what I was envisioning the first time around. Treats his customers well.

Terrible place!!! When other reviewers call it a sweat shop they aren’t kidding! The name of this place is HIGHLY INACCURATE! I can not believe what they wanted to charge. I brought in about 11 little girl dresses (4T-​5T) for minor sewing where my daughter had ripped the hem and such. I am talking about something that needs less than 3 minutes on a sewing machine. This place wanted to charge $ 10 per piece!!! That’s more than I even spent on some of these items! I can’t believe this place is in business with outrageous prices like that. Oh, AND they wanted at least 5 days to do the work. The little asian woman working for the guy is hunched over and malnourished looking and the shop is absolutely FILTHY! I did not leave my garments there. Avoid this place at all costs, because it WILL cost you big time if you go here!

I like this conveniently located alteration shop. Very friendly and timely service. I have had hems on my pants done and thats about it. Nothing too difficult and the price is fair. Rates are negotiable and he will offer a discount if you ask for one. Repeat business is key :)
Highly recommended.

Don’t know how you screw up cuffs on a sport coat but this clown managed to do it. The cleaners couldn’t even press this mess out. If he spent as much time on his craft as his ‘witty’ banter, he might have something. Never again!

Sweat shop is hitting the nail on the head! Went in, got a price for hemming drapes, then the price was doubled on me. I can’t comment on the quality of the work because I didn’t leave my drapes. Paying twice what I was quoted was not what I had in mind.

This place may not look like much from the outside, or let’s be real… even from the inside, but I took a chance and I’ve now found a new go to alterations location in Bakersfield.
I recently had a dress made with another tailor prior to a wedding I would be attending out of the area. The design was an exact replica of a dress I already owned — only in another color — so I thought it would be relatively easy to pull off. I picked up the dress on Thursday evening only to realize the job had been seriously botched and I was scheduled to leave town on Saturday morning. I called around to see if anyone in town could handle a same-​day job and Almost Free said «Bring it in, we will take care of it.» Take care of it they did… they totally saved the dress! The dress no longer looked like a Jr. High home ec project and looked like the dress I was hoping to replicate. The seams were impeccable and the work was very impressive. Better yet, I paid for 24 hour service and it was done in less than 4 hours!
They offer a sliding pricing scale based on how soon you need your garment so if you want the lowest price possible, take your garment in 5+ days in advance. However, if you need something done FAST, this place can make it happen! The owner is a character… boisterous and loud, but very friendly and likes to joke around.
They did a great job with my sister’s uniform skirts as well. Will review again after I take in the ultimate test for most tailors… hemming premium denim.

First of all, pricing is ridiculous! Just the pants (wedding suit) & Paid $ 70+ for waist, hem, & thighs. Second, quality of tailoring was mediocre and even left un-​stitched section by left leg. Third, didn’t even press/​iron them, gave them back wrinkled (worse than when dropped off). Lastly, very unprofessional service and rude. I should have gone somewhere else. Not recommended unless you desire to spend $$$$.

I went in to get my formal dress done, it was PERFECT!

False advertisement! Almost free, more like almost my whole wallet! Wanted to charge $ 120 to literally cut an inch off a dress strap that I needed for the next day. $ 120 for a 5 minute job that he could have completed… within the time of mine that he wasted lecturing me about why his price was so high for a quick turn around. I would give zero stars if that was an option.

I’ve been here twice: once to get a new suit altered and another time for a zipper repair.
My suit alteration experience went fine. The process is slow, so make some time if you do take something in. The man likes to chat and take his time working. And he’s usually the only one in there helping. The suit was ready in about a week, which was fine for me. But if you need the fixes done quickly, be prepared to pay extra. They charge by the day.
My zipper experience was not horrible, but also not so pleasant. I took in a bag to get the zipper repaired after it came undone. The man said he would have his people take a look at it, and call me later. I left my number and waited. Five days later he called to tell me the bag was ready. OK, but why didn’t he call ahead of time to tell me he could fix it and give me a quote?
I went in to get the bag, which was fixed nicely. But he charged me $ 30, and didn’t call me ahead of time to tell me how much it would be, or even that he was going to be able to fix it. That’s not good business. A simple call and price quote would have been nice so I could decide whether to keep it there to fix, or go somewhere else for business. In this case, I had no choice but to pay what I thought was unreasonable just to get my bag back.
In all, this place is not run very professionally, or consistently it seems. I’m much more comfortable taking alterations pieces someplace else next time.

What a great little sweat shop… Very friendly and fast. I was happy with the alterations on my sleeves and they were done in plenty of time before the event I was attending. $ 25 seems like too much but they did a good job so I will use them again soon.
Have payment ready when you drop off your items (they collect up front) and don’t pay for the expedited service. They try to charge extra for fast service, but they had my work done in less than 3 days anyway. They guarantee it will be done in a week but it took them way less than that.

I love love love these guys!!! VERY friendly the minute I walked through the door. I had my pants hemmed with the original hem and they turned out great :-) they have a customer for life.
Thanks so much,
Patti Christensen