– the blossoming of a budding seamstress
MEET the talented Jasmattie Ledra, well known as ‘Devika’, or the ‘Sewing Lady’, who, though she wasn’t afforded the opportunity to pursue an academic career, made the best of her circumstances, and now excels at sewing without having attended any classes. This 52-year-old has sewn some 14 wedding dresses, along with countless bridesmaids’ dresses. She sewed her five sons’ school uniforms throughout their years at school, until they started working and could afford ready-made clothing; and she sewed her first school uniform when she was just 14 years old.

Rooted in Berbice
Mrs. Jasmattie Ledra grew up in Black Bush Polder, on the Corentyne Coast, in a quite simple and humble Berbician family, with hard-working parents and nine siblings, she being the third-born. Her mother was a seamstress, and being around her and observing her work, Jasmattie developed that skill on her own.
Her first love was not sewing. As Mrs. Ledra puts it, she had a chance to further her education because she was naturally good with her books, but the problem was that her family could not afford to sponsor her in that undertaking.
Nevertheless, she managed to finish her primary education and after writing the then ‘Common Entrance’ examination, secured consecutive places at the Berbice High School, the Lower Corentyne Secondary School, and the Manchester Government Secondary School.
The following year, she wrote the ‘Preliminary Certificate’ examinations and obtained a free place at another school. At age 14, she wrote the ‘College of Preceptors’, an English-based exam, and obtained passes in seven subjects, with four distinctions.
“I could have started to teach right away, but I was too young. And that’s where my education ended, because I had to stay home and help take care of my siblings. This gave me an opportunity to be home and practise some of the things I learned in school.

Hidden talent
“I had to give up what I wanted for the rest (her siblings); and it paid off, because I excelled at taking care of my family. From there and then, the sewing started,” Mrs. Ledra recalled in an interview with the Chronicle.
And by this time, it was not hard for her to sew, because, after sewing her first school uniform, her mother saw her talent and allowed her to continue sewing her own clothes and that of her friends.
Her mother had given up sewing for a time and had become a market vendor. Whilst her mother was at the market, Mrs. Ledra said, she employed that time at home to practise making ‘dolly clothes’ on the sewing machine. She also practised whatever sewing she learned in school.
“One thing I would never forget is when you ‘gathering’ (a sewing technique); if your waist is 25”, the cloth has to be 75”. And till up to this day, I still use that same principle, because, when you want to make a pleated skirt, and if is ‘gathering’, it’s the same thing.
“We get the construction part from my father. When in the farms, he would line the drains with the twine, (and) stick it down with his shovel and fork. When he was finished, the gutter was straight like a line. He used to work very neat, so we get some talent from our mother, and some from our father.”
Mrs. Ledra also credits her father with providing the sewing machine in the home in which she was raised. “If that house didn’t have one, I would not have learned,” she said. In those days, a machine was expensive, and so her father made a down-payment on the machine, and paid an instalment every month.

The GT experience
The only work Jasmattie has ever done since moving from Berbice to Georgetown at the age of 18 was sewing. Prior to marriage, she gained some sewing experience at a few garment-sewing places. After marrying her loving and supportive husband, David Ledra, who never shirked his responsibilities to provide for the family for the past 30 years that they have spent together, and getting her first child, she decided to stay at home and take up sewing to help make ends meet.
Their five sons are Mark, Ryan, Paul, Raul, and the last one, who will soon finish school, the troublesome Joel. In time, even her sons’ friends and teachers came for her to sew their garments.

Satisfaction
The best part of being a seamstress was being able to have enough time for the family, Mrs. Ledra related. “When I got my kids, sewing gave me time to spend with them at home. I was able to cook for them; see that they go to school; come home; and I was always there.”
There are also practical benefits to doing this type of work, she said. “Because you could be able to sew for  yourself, your children, and even your friends. I don’t think I would have found a job that could give me enough money to educate five children to the point that they are now, and still be at home and take care of them.”
Mrs. Ledra said she gets great job satisfaction from working at home, as she can work at her own pace and be there for the family. “When I finish something and see that the person really likes it, I really feel satisfied that I did a job well done.
“And the part I like more is when I see the working people wear their uniforms for a whole year, every day; and the schoolchildren that wear their uniforms every single morning… Even though I would have finished my work and already got paid, seeing them on the road every day gave me a good feeling to know I did that.”

Competence
Asked if there was anything she could not sew, Mrs. Ledra said once the material could go under the ‘presser foot’ of the machine, she can definitely sew it; and any style at that! She even works in the night, at times, to ease her workload. And the family does chores around the house, and even prepares meals, when there is a lot of sewing. Her family would even assist in buying her sewing materials and getting the buttons done.
Mrs. Ledra has never erected a signboard, but that has had no negative impact on her customer base; all her customers want no one but her to sew or alter their clothes. If she is ill and unable to work, some would even prefer to wait until she recovers for her to do their work.
Mrs. Ledra loves sewing, and is willing to accommodate anyone, sometimes at any time of the day. “Sometimes my neighbours might call me at 8 o’ clock in the night to run a little stitch for them. And sometimes someone may come and wake me out of my bed at 6 o’ clock in the morning. But I am always willing to help.”
Mrs. Ledra said she loves her family, and the members are the ones who benefit most from her sewing. Sewing has provided well for her physical needs over the years.