BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Deep in the basement home of Brooke Davis, you'll hear a hum and see a foot pedal fast at work.
Brooke's sewing machines have been humming along for more than five decades in Boise. From countless wedding gowns, to all kinds of children's costumes like the Sunshine Express.
Each alteration is a labor of love.
"I put a part of myself into everything I do - sometimes a little DNA with the blood pricks, but I become somebody in their life," she said.
Brooke's latest project, a lace and taffeta wedding dress.
"So I've taken the sleeve that was two inches too long in her body, sewn it in, and then I will re-apply this lace when I get ready to fill in the areas and I will apply the sleeve back on, but I have to drop it, and then put that whole sleeve back on and then hand-put all of this lace back on that was overlapping all of the seams, so it just disappears," she said.
Brooke calls her work a combination of art and science - and there's one instrument she can't live without.
"I'm constantly measuring how big of a seam to take and what direction," she said. "How far to go down. I'm constantly using this! It's your best friend!"
Brooke's had all kinds of requests. She once put a whopping 27 bustle points in a pleated dress and taken plenty down in size.
"I have gone from a 14 to a 2, but mostly it depends on the construction of the dress," Brooke explained. "Because you can't have a dress that is so wide you can't bring it in.. in the center. And so that would be the telling point."
She employs an army of sewing machines. Her workhorse is a basic machine for the majority of projects.
She also has a surger nearby that threads itself and a cover machine for double-stitching.
"It has a blade that cuts off the edge and overcasts it, or surges it at the same time, so you are always cutting when you sew," she said.
Brooke took CBS2 through her maze of materials and rows of projects.
We discovered an antique commercial machine still used for things like jeans and canvas.
"It's very heavy-threaded," she said. "The needle in this is about a 23 and your average needle in your sewing machine is a 10, 11 or 12."
Brooke, at her busiest, logged 17 hours per day, tending to 10 dresses per week. She can't even begin to tally the endless yards of fabric she's cut over the years, but each one has a story.
Some with unexpected outcomes that have woven a special place into Brooke's heart.
"I did a beautiful wedding gown for a gal that was going through chemo," she said. "She had ovarian cancer. And she needed some ports hidden and that kind of thing. And I called her my Audrey Hepburn girl because she was beautiful inside and out. And she lived six weeks."
Her stories continue...
"I had another bride that was coming here for alterations and her fiance came off of a microwave tower and died," she said. "She wore her wedding gown and all the girls wore their bridesmaids dresses to the funeral - they get into your life."
That's why Brooke refers to her clients as family.
And if a nervous bride has overlooked any detail, she has them covered.
It's easy to see why clients have welcomed Brooke into their own hearts.
"She said... You're just like my mom!" Brooke explained about a recent encounter with a client. "And I am! I am such a Mom and a Grandma, that I welcome people into my home and into my heart - and I hear their stories."
These days, Brooke finds herself trimming her work hours. She is indeed a Grandma - making more time for her own relatives.
Their photos watch over her work as she carefully tends to her passion of helping others.
"I want every bride to be happy - and at ease," Brooke said. "Sometimes they don't arrive that way when they get here. But I hope that they leave that way - feeling comfortable and confident in what they're wearing."
Mending and altering a seamstress who can piece together any fabric and the souls who wear them.
Brooke's work goes far beyond bridal and evening gowns.
She's done extensive work for decades for members of Idaho's military, police and fire.
And her work isn't limited to the Treasure Valley.
She made sure Emmett actor Aaron Paul's mother looked stellar in a newly-fitted dress on the red carpet for Hollywood's biggest night... the Academy Awards.
If you'd like to book an appointment with Brooke, she can be reached at: (208) 377-2236.
ncG1vNJzZmihlJa1sLrEsKpnm5%2BifK%2Bx1qxmpaeTlrlwucSnm6Kml2K1prnSZqSeppSeu6h5x56Yq6yjYsGpsYysnJqlo6m%2Fpr%2FSZqafZZKktrSx