Quilt And Textile Repair

Very unhappy with the work done by Karen Stern, owner of Textile Repair Studio. I gave her a silk comforter, hand notted and hand sewn, from what she said was the forties, from Japan, which has been in my family for years. She charged me $ 200.00 to put a binding around it since the edges were frayed. We agreed I did not want a basic zigzag blanket stitch and she showed me a more delicate and pretty stitch on her sewing machine and we agreed to that. I wanted a shiny binding, if possible, to go with the rich green silk. When I picked it up, a week later than she promised, and brought it home I realized the prosaic cotton binding, not shiny, was not sewn down in places on one side. She hadn’t caught both sides of the binding when sewing. For $ 200.00, which I thought excessive for sewing on a binding originally but agreed to, she should have checked her work. It was easy to spot. She never even checked that she did it on both sides! She also used the stitch I told her I didn’t want, having apparently no recollection of our conversation initially. The stitching is all over the place as well. It isn’t straight or even. A very amateurish job for a professional asking good money. I definitely would not recommend her work.

I’ve come to Karen a bunch of times with sweaters and blankets in need of repair. She is always so attentive and makes sure she understands her clients’ needs. Her work is great, she’s a wonderful communicator, and truly a pleasure to work with! Highly recommend.

I found Karen on Unilocal after searching for «stuffed animal repair». Fortunately for me, she owns the market, as there were no other reviews regarding surgery to all-​important childhood stuffed animals who’ve aged over the years.
She is so sweet and amazing at what she does! She genuinely understood the importance of this stuffed bear we have, and not only didn’t make me feel silly about it, but validated the connection we have to the furball. Karen helped me match up the best fabric and color and a few days later called me back in. The work was expertly done and I couldn’t be happier.
For any reparations, when it’s really important that the job is done right, I highly recommend her. Thanks Karen!

What a pleasant experience! After receiving a verbal estimate covering repairs to an antique Hudson Bay blanket, I sent if off to the Quilt and Textile Repair Studio. After examining the actual blanket the price was tweaked a bit, the work was done, and in a few days the old blanket was back at home, good as new. Karen is a gem! Thanks for the wonderful work.

Amazing work on a variety of fabrics!
Karen beautifully mended my cashmere sweater, and even had it ready the next day! The hole was in a very obvious place on the ribbed neckline, so I really appreciate how clean the repair was!
Really wonderful! Thank you!

I took a treasured patchwork quilt from my stepdad’s family to Karen for repairs. I had been using it as a picnic blanket. Big mistake. She explained how she would repair it, why certain fixes were necessary, and gave a very accurate estimate. She is both an artist and fabric technician. Most importantly, she was able to help me date my quilt and explain the origin of the fabric used. She had many jobs in the pipeline but the repairs were done quickly. She emailed with an update when the piece needed some extra work and quoted a $ 50 increase in the estimate. She also gave great advice on how to clean it.
My treasured heirloom (likely made in the 1960s, with fabric from the 40s, 50s and 60s, by my stepdad’s mother) is ready for use. I could not be happier.

Karen in extraordinary. She has fixed countless holes for us and is so amazing that I have family bringing their clothes in from out of town for me to bring to her. She is incredibly fast and has a well set-​up system for drop-​off and pick up.
She has also gone WAY beyond the call of duty, delivering finished work to my front doorstep when she was in the area saving me a trip to Berkeley with my kids in tow.
Karen is truly an artist and a craftsperson. Few nowadays have her skills and talent.

I had a very old heirloom quilt that was in extremely bad shape. I went to Karen on a whim one day to see if there was any hope of repair. I was extremely worried about letting just anyone do repairs as the quilt means a lot to me personally. I instantly knew I had come to the right place. Karen is insanely knowledgable about her craft. She was able to tell where it had come from and how old it was upon looking at it. I didn’t know a whole lot about it and when I called my grandmother to verify the information Karen had been spot on. She has a great respect for quilts and she was as excited about repairing it as I was about having my quilt usable again. The work she has done on my quilt is truly remarkable. It is gorgeous and looks brand new while still retaining the character and structure it had before. I was nearly brought to tears when I saw it completed. She also was able to do the work in record time. My quilt needed a lot of repairs and she did it all in about two weeks. I feel honored and lucky to have found her. She has given new life to a family heirloom that I thought was a goner.

If possible, I would give Karen and her incredible work 10 stars. I had a quilt that was created by my grandmother more than 50 years ago. The years had not be good to it. Seams were splitting and a lot of the patches were falling apart. Karen was meticulous in her reiview and determining what needed to be done. I was amazed at her careful approach making sure that she did what was needed to do an incredible job. She took time to count broken seams, missing patches, and estimated the number of stiches needed… all part of the estimate at no charge. The work is impeccable and is performed with much love and caring. Because my office is near her, she volunteered to deliver it… that was after she washed and ironed it. And her historical knowledge of quilts is amazing. She provided the most incredible and interesting quilt history lesson I’ve ever heard. It was really good stuff. If you have a quilt and you take it to someone other than Karen… shame on you. She’s the best?

Karen is an artisan, practicing a skill, an ART, that is rare in today’s throw away world. She repaired a 100 year-​old French silk slip I’d gotten at an antique shop, and was able to identify the type of silk, how old it was, and that it was for a wedding! Her knowledge is amazing, and the finished work, impeccable.

Karen has saved me/​us hundreds of dollars over the years by repairing lovely silk or wool sweaters, a designer coat, a sari because of moth munchings!!! She’s also very knowledgeable about fabrics, has a good stash to use in repairs and is a kick to talk with — a dry sense of humor.

I’ve gone to Karen with numerous fixes over the years, and can’t praise her enough. I first needed assistance with the repair of my favorite quilt (the quilt looks great and is sitting on my bed today!), and have since come back for repairs ranging from holes in sweaters (I can’t even find the original hole when she’s done) to ripped linings of jackets to moth holes in my adorable Peruvian woven purse. To work with someone who has such an impressive knowledge and enthusiasm for her art is a rare find in this harried world.

Karen restored several antique quilts for us and also did repairs on some items of clothing. She is an artist, and a delightful character, full of knowledge and interesting observations, and she does beautiful work. She will also create handmade labels stating the history of the quilt or item, which is lovely to have. One small note: be very, very clear what you want her to do, or she may take artistic license with some items. She did something unexpected with one small piece and she slightly changed the requested wording on a label, actually introducing an error. That said, I have great respect for her talents and will use her again, and happily recommend her to others.

Nothing is as it seems, especially when it’s seamless. Karen Stern’s impeccable work makes getting my clothes – and other items – repaired a joy. Whether she keeps me in stitches with her tales or using super fine stitches to sew a favorite patch onto my jeans, repair moth holes, perform surgery on stuffed animals, she is a delight to work with. I’ve been going to her for 7 years and recommend her to everyone. You will marvel at her work.