Jackets & coats re-cut
Taking a jacket in at the waist and sides for shape, sorting the sleeves and shoulders, and re-lining where it needs it, so it sits clean on you.
Tailoring & alterations, Exeter
Tailoring in Exeter
I'm Malina, a tailor and seamstress here in Exeter. Bring me clothes that don't quite fit and I'll re-cut and reshape them by hand until they sit like they were always yours.
The short version
What I do.
Most clothes are cut for an average shape, not for yours, so a jacket pulls, trousers swamp the leg, a dress hangs where it should hug. That's the work I love: taking pieces you already own and reworking them, taking in, reshaping, re-cutting and re-lining, until they fit you properly.
If you're looking for a tailor in Exeter, it's worth being straight about what I do. I'm not a bespoke house and I don't build suits from scratch or do made-to-measure. What I'm very good at is the tailoring people actually need day to day: perfecting the fit and restyling clothes you've already got, quoted item by item and tracked in the app to collection.
What my tailoring covers
Trousers tapered & hemmed
Tapering the leg for a slimmer line, hemming to the right break over your shoes, and taking the waist in or out so they sit where they should.
Dresses & tops reshaped
Bringing the bodice, waist and sides in, reshaping a neckline or straps, and restyling a piece you love so it flatters you instead of fighting you.
The tailoring I do most
It's nearly all reworking clothes you already own to fit you better. Not sure what yours needs? Put it on at the fitting and we'll work it out together.
- Taking jackets in at the waist and sides
- Shortening sleeves and adjusting shoulders
- Tapering and hemming trousers, jeans and chinos
- Taking a waistband in or out
- Reshaping the bodice, waist and sides of a dress
- Restyling necklines, straps and hems
- Re-lining jackets, coats and skirts
- Repairs, re-hems and new zips
How it works
1
Book a fitting
Pop into the workshop or book a time on the Contact page. Bring the piece, along with the shoes or underthings you'll wear it with, so I can set the length right.
2
Measured & photographed
I pin and measure you in person, photograph the garment and write up an itemised ticket, so the price is clear before any thread is cut.
3
Tracked, then collect
Follow your garment from received to ready in the app, with notes and a direct line to me. I'll let you know the moment it's done.
Turnaround
How long it takes.
Most tailoring is ready within a few working days. A simple hem or taper can often be quicker, while taking a jacket in or re-lining a coat needs a little longer to do properly.
Got an interview, a wedding or a trip coming up? Tell me your deadline when you book and I'll do all I can to have it ready in good time. You'll watch it move from received to ready in the app, so a trip into town is never wasted.
What to bring
Come prepared.
Bring the shoes you'll wear with the piece, especially anything with a heel. Length is set to those, and good shoes break very differently from trainers. For trousers or a dress, that one detail saves you a second trip.
If something's part of an outfit, bring the rest along too. A shirt for a jacket fitting, or the underthings you'll wear under a dress, all help me get the proportions right rather than fixing one thing in isolation.
Why Crop Design
One bench, not a factory.
Good tailoring is the best money you can spend on clothes you already own, and it doesn't need a designer price tag. It needs someone who'll take the time to pin it properly. That's what one bench gives you: my full attention, an honest itemised quote before anything is cut, and the same hands from fitting to finish.
I've spent years on this bench reworking clothes other people had given up on, and I treat every piece as if it were my own. Every ticket lives in the app, so you can follow it from received to ready, with photos and a direct line to me. If the fit isn't right when you collect, bring it back within fourteen days and I'll put it right, free.
Clear, honest pricing
Tailoring & alterations pricing
Jeans · Trousers
- Waist£15–20
- Zip£18
- Shorten£12–15
- Taper£18
- Taper & shorten£25
Tops · Skirts · Day dresses
- Hem — shorten · unlined · lined · pleated£16–20
- Hem — top£14
- Zip — dress / skirt£20
- Sleeves — shorten£12–15
- Taking in — dress / skirt£12–20
- Taking in — top£10–16
- Shoulder£8–20
- Neckline alteration£12
Prices are a guide. Every garment is different, so I'll confirm the exact cost at your fitting before any work starts.
Yes. I'm Malina, and I run a one-person workshop in Exeter doing expert alterations and restyling. I pin and measure every piece on you in person, quote it item by item before I start, and you can follow the work in the app right up to collection.
Both, really, because for most people the two are the same thing. My tailoring is reworking clothes you already own: taking jackets in, tapering trousers, reshaping dresses, re-cutting and re-lining. I don't do bespoke or made-to-measure from scratch, but if it's about making a garment fit you properly, that's exactly my work.
It depends on the piece and what it needs, so have a look at the guide above for jackets, trousers and dresses. Everything is itemised and quoted at your fitting before any work begins, so you know the full cost up front with no surprises.
Yes, that's some of my favourite work. I can take a jacket or dress that's the wrong shape and re-cut it to suit you, reshape a neckline, change how something hangs or re-line it. Bring it in and try it on, and I'll tell you honestly what's worth doing.
No, I don't make bespoke suits or do made-to-measure from scratch, and I'd rather be honest than take work I'm not set up for. What I'm very good at is tailoring the clothes you already own so they fit beautifully. If you've a suit that needs taking in or reshaping, that I can absolutely do.
Areas served
Based in Exeter, I look after wardrobes across Exeter city centre, St Thomas, Heavitree, Topsham, Exwick, Pinhoe, Crediton and the surrounding villages.