America 250: Marcis Fary — A Lifetime of Sewing and Building Community Through Craftsmanship

For Marcis Fary, sewing has never been simply a job. It is a skill she has carried with her since she was 5 years old—a creative craft, a livelihood and, ultimately, a way to serve people in her community.

Today, Fary owns and operates Sew Cotur Designs & Alterations, with locations in Pennsylvania, including Sew Cotur Too in Milford, formerly known as Irene’s Tailoring & Alterations. But her journey to becoming a business owner was anything but traditional.

Fary said her mother taught her to sew when she was a child. She was naturally drawn to creative work, including painting, drawing and sewing, although her mother hoped she would pursue nursing instead.

“I was always an artist since I was little,” Fary said. “I was always good at anything creative, and of course sewing.”

She never studied sewing or fashion design in college. Instead, she learned through years of practice. “I’ve been sewing since five. I always loved sewing,” she said.

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Turning a skill into a livelihood

Fary began doing alterations from home about 20 years ago, when she was raising her children. After being a stay-at-home mother for many years, she wanted to find a way to return to work while using a skill she already knew well.

“I looked at my skill level, and I knew what I could do, and I knew what I could accomplish,” she said. “So that’s why I started doing alterations.”

Her home-based work eventually developed into a business. Before opening her first shop, she worked in a small alterations space inside a ribbon and fabric store, where she served customers while purchasing her sewing supplies there.

Then COVID-19 brought an unexpected interruption. With people staying home and dressing more casually, alterations work slowed dramatically. Fary took a job as a housekeeper.

But sewing found its way back to her.

A longtime connection eventually led to an opportunity to take over an established alterations business. Fary accepted the challenge, renovated the shop and introduced new systems to make it more organized and convenient for customers.

Six years later, she was presented with another opportunity: taking over a long-established tailoring shop in Milford with a 35-year customer base.

“I already knew the other one worked,” she said. “I knew that once I redecorated it and instituted an organizational system and credit card machine, that the customers would respond well.”

They did.

Experience behind the ‘magic’

Customers sometimes bring Fary garments that seem difficult to repair. To her, however, years of experience have made the process almost instinctive.

“Just doing it so long and so often. Experience,” she explained.

That experience includes understanding different fabrics, construction techniques, machine settings and which of her many machines is appropriate for a particular job. Fary has 18 sewing machines, each serving different purposes.

She is still the primary seamstress for both shops, often working long hours to keep up with demand.

Her work has also extended beyond ordinary alterations. Among her projects are specialty sewing orders, including Disney-themed bags used as part of wedding gift packages, as well as costumes and other unusual pieces.

“I do design my own fashions and I do create them and I put them on display,” she said, while making clear that her passion is not the glamour of the fashion industry but the hands-on craft itself.

“I’m addicted to sewing,” Fary said. “You pay me for that instead of me spending money on fabrics and creating all these things I’ll never do anything with.”

More than a hem

For Fary, the value of tailoring goes beyond fixing clothing. It is about helping people feel comfortable and confident at important moments in their lives.

She often gives customers honest advice about whether a garment can be altered successfully—and whether it is worth doing at all.

“I’ll tell you if I can’t do it. Don’t pay me money if I can’t do it,” she said. “I’ll tell you if it’ll work if it won’t work.”

That honesty has helped her build relationships with customers who return not only for alterations, but also for advice.

“I love the customer interaction,” she said. “I make you feel beautiful.”

A skilled trade worth preserving

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Fary believes skilled trades such as sewing and tailoring deserve greater recognition.

“What I wish they would learn: you’ll always need to do alterations,” she said. “If you don’t learn it, you’re up the creek because my generation will die off.”

She hopes younger people will understand the value of learning practical skills and respecting the expertise behind them.

For Fary, craftsmanship is about perseverance, independence and taking pride in knowing how to make something work.

Her message to younger generations is rooted in the same passion that has guided her since childhood:

“Do what you love, and don’t listen to other people. You’ll only get better if you love it.”

And perhaps most importantly, she added: “Be the person you know you are.”