Sayings from the Tailor Shop

Saturdays at Teo's Tailor Shop

1Every Saturday, Amara helps out at her grandfather's tailor shop on Pine Street. Grandpa Teo has been shortening pants, fixing zippers, and sewing on buttons there since before Amara was born. He also has a saying for almost everything that happens in the shop. Amara has started writing his sayings in a small green notebook so she will not forget them.

2One busy morning, Mr. Okafor rushed through the door with a pair of gray pants. "My daughter's graduation is tonight," he said, "and these pants are much too long." Amara grabbed the big scissors, ready to start snipping. Grandpa Teo gently took them from her hand. "Measure twice, cut once," he said. He pinned the hems and measured them. Then he measured them a second time. This time he found that one pin had slipped, and the left leg would have ended up half an inch too short.

3While Grandpa sewed, Mr. Okafor sat on the bench by the window. He tapped his foot and glanced at the clock every few seconds. "Don't worry," Amara told him. "My grandpa always finishes on time." Mr. Okafor smiled, but he was on pins and needles until Grandpa handed him the finished pants. He tried them on behind the curtain and came out grinning. "They fit like a glove!" he said.

4That afternoon, Amara noticed that a button on her coat was loose. Only two thin threads held it in place. "I'll fix it next week," she said with a shrug. Grandpa Teo raised an eyebrow. "A stitch in time saves nine," he said. "Sew it now, and the job takes one minute. Lose that button on the bus, and you will spend an hour hunting for one that matches." Amara sighed, threaded a needle, and sewed the button on tight.

5Later, a woman named Ms. Lindqvist brought in an old jacket with faded patches on the elbows. Amara whispered that it looked too worn out to save. Grandpa turned the jacket inside out. He showed her the thick wool and the neat, even stitches along every seam. "Don't judge a book by its cover," he said. "Whoever made this jacket took their time. With a little care, it will last for many more years."

6At closing time, Amara asked if she could sew a whole jacket by herself next Saturday. So far, she had learned only how to sew hems and buttons. "Rome wasn't built in a day," Grandpa told her. "Learn one skill at a time, and someday you will sew a jacket." Then he told her about his first week as a tailor, when he sewed a pocket onto a shirt upside down. Amara laughed so hard that she was in stitches. Before they locked the door, she wrote Grandpa's newest sayings in her notebook.