Sandra Battye
| Sandra Battye | |
 | |
| Name | |
| Race | human |
| Age | when first encountered, early twenties |
| Occupation | a real Seamstress and victim of frequent humorous misunderstandings |
| Physical appearance | five feet two of pure bantam defiance clutching a large wickerwork sewing basket |
| Residence | Ankh-Morpork |
| Death | |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | |
| Children | |
| Marital Status | when first encountered, single. In the "present day" she is "Mrs" |
| Appearances | |
| Books | Night Watch |
| Cameos | |
A real seamstress.(i.e., one who not only owns a needle but knows how to use it. She is also mushroom-literate.) She appears in Night Watch, where her specialist skills bring in more money than is earned by her flatmate Rosemary Palm. She much prefers to be described, occupationally speaking, as a "needlewoman".
But wherever there are men who are away from the regular society of women, who get.... you know... urges of the sort which only a woman possessed of a range of specifically female skills can satisfy, Sandra Battye will not be short of a living. For men with the urge and the powerful longing, say for a shirt with all its buttons on, or socks with working heels and no holes in the toes, it can be just as confusing and unhelpful to look for a seamstress and, well, be directed to the wrong sort. As Dr. Mossy Lawn once remarked, some people who are looking for a massage really DO only want a massage. Or in this instance, a shirt with all the buttons in the right places.
In these instances, Sandra has a working understanding with the Seamstresses that they will send the victims of misunderstanding down the street to the correct sort of Seamstress, according to stated need and purpose. In fact, Sandra often ends up earning more money doing proper needlework, much to Rosie's chagrin.
Thirty years on in the "present", she and Rosie Palm are still friends, and leave an egg in the graveyard of Small Gods every 25th May, as some things have to be remembered while the lilac is in bloom.
Sandra is still based on Treacle Mine Road and advertises simply for repairs and darning.
Another named Real Seamstress in the canon is Mrs Hotbed.