CLARKS SUMMIT — The woman in the teal dress emerged from behind a curtain and stood between two clothing racks. A bridesmaid, she was to wear the dress at an upcoming wedding. She was about to find out if she would have to put it on again before the nuptials.

Jolanta Kaczmarczyk looked the bridesmaid up and down to see if her alterations were on the mark.

Jadwiga Buffton, sitting at a sewing machine on the other side of the room, nodded her approval. The dress looked good, said a companion of the woman modeling it. The bridesmaid agreed. Kaczmarczyk smiled and the woman in teal went behind the curtain to change.

It was a busy Saturday afternoon at Jolanta’s Needle & Thread, which Kaczmarczyk operates inside a small building at 315 N. State St., and there would be about a dozen more moments like these before closing time.

The dual racks are like the IN and OUT baskets on an office desk. The rack near the door holds items that have been altered or mended and are ready for pickup. The one by the sewing machines has the clothing that awaits work. Both recently supported many hangers.

“It’s very busy,” Kaczmarczyk said later, after she’d closed the door to customers and prepared to spend a few hours working on apparel. “This year is the busiest I’ve ever been.”

Kaczmarczyk has been sewing clothing for nearly five decades, taking an indirect path to becoming a professional seamstress.

A native of Poland, Kaczmarczyk arrived in the U.S. with her husband in 1981. They moved to the Scranton area, where her mother-in-law resided. Kaczmarczyk brought with her the ability to sew and alter clothing.

Her mother’s sister had been a seamstress in the old country, and young Kaczmarczyk mimicked her aunt’s movements and taught herself how to sew. She was soon making dresses, pants and blouses.

“At this time in Poland, most people made their own clothes because there was not much in the stores,” Kaczmarczyk recalled.

In 1986, she put up notices advertising her availability as a seamstress for hire. Kaczmarczyk did the work in her home, while watching her two children, and hoped to bring in extra income. Her English then was poor, however, and she found it difficult to communicate with customers.

A quarter-century later, with her children grown and her English greatly improved from years working as a waitress, Kaczmarczyk again returned to the trade of repairing and altering clothing. Jolanta’s Needle & Thread, based in a leased store, opened in late 2012 and Kaczmarczyk is the owner, operator and sole employee.

Buffton, a trained seamstress, is an independent contractor and works mostly from home. Kaczmarczyk lives nearby but prefers to do her sewing in the shop.

Jolanta’s Needle & Thread is open Tuesday to Saturday but Kaczmarczyk is often in the store before and after posted hours. She finds it difficult to work when people are inside asking questions, dropping off articles of clothing or trying on garments.

“Sewing is time consuming,” Kaczmarczyk said. “And I like to talk to people. So, I am only open a few hours.”

Repairs and alterations – such as changing the length of dresses, and letting out or taking in the waistline of pants – account for most of the work done at the business. The customer mix is evenly split between men and women and some people bring antique clothing they found online or in an attic. Others arrive with costumes used in local theater productions.

“There’s nothing we really say ‘no’ to,” Kaczmarczyk said. “We even did diapers for a dog. A rescue Chihuahua.”

If a customer has the time and the money, Kaczmarczyk will take a bolt of fabric and manufacture clothing to order. She enjoys fulfilling these types of requests because the work reminds her of when she made her own apparel while living in Poland.

About 54 months after opening day in Clarks Summit, Kaczmarczyk remains happy with her occupation. There are some stressful moments in her work. Requests to shorten garments can be nerve-racking because excess cloth cannot easily be reattached to the article from which it was trimmed. But most jobs are successful, like the alterations she performed for the bridesmaid in the teal dress.

“I love to sew,” Kaczmarczyk said, “and I’m lucky to do what I like to do.”

With dozens of spools of thread within easy reach, Jolanta Kaczmarczyk sits behind a sewing machine in Jolanta’s Needle & Thread in Clarks Summit. Kaczmarczyk taught herself to be a seamstress many years ago, while growing up in Poland.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_Jolanta-1.jpg.optimal.jpgWith dozens of spools of thread within easy reach, Jolanta Kaczmarczyk sits behind a sewing machine in Jolanta’s Needle & Thread in Clarks Summit. Kaczmarczyk taught herself to be a seamstress many years ago, while growing up in Poland. Charles Erickson | For Abington Journal

Since opening in late 2012, Jolanta’s Needle & Thread has occupied a small building at 315 N. State St. in Clarks Summit. Owner Jolanta Kaczmarczyk prefers the cozy space because a fancier address would raise her expenses and force her to raise prices.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_Outside-1.jpg.optimal.jpgSince opening in late 2012, Jolanta’s Needle & Thread has occupied a small building at 315 N. State St. in Clarks Summit. Owner Jolanta Kaczmarczyk prefers the cozy space because a fancier address would raise her expenses and force her to raise prices. Charles Erickson | For Abington Journal
Polish-work woman taught herself to sew

By Charles Erickson

For Abington Journal

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