Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Heath.
Hi Andrea, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been an amateur, self taught sewist for as long as I can remember with a love of embroidery and vintage western fashion in particular. During the height of the pandemic, I put down a good chunk of money on a refurbished Singer 114w103 ChainStitch machine, something I’d wanted for a while… I sat at that machine every day, all day for about a year and taught myself how to use it. It was a fun and frustrating experience. My Singer is about 90 years old. They are incredible machines that were built to last and feature a freehand crank below the machine (no computers here!). Because the machine is hand guided, every piece will be unique.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think one of the toughest aspects was teaching myself to use the machine myself as well as being the mechanic if something should go wrong.
There is no manual, there are few resources regarding it’s operation and, these machines are so old that no one knows how to repair them.
There was a lot of trial and error involved and I’m still learning and loving it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a chainstitch embroidery artist based in Parker, TX. I do hand guided embroidery on a vintage Singer chainstitch embroidery machine. I have a love for vintage embroidery of the bygone eras … vintage western embroidered suits, car club jackets, bowling shirts, etc.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’m all about risk taking. Spending a few grand on my machine (at a time when money was very tight) was a big risk for me. I kept telling myself it would pay off and it has but I had to work at it and it wasn’t easy.
Contact Info:
- Website: chainedintexas.com
- Instagram: @chainedintexas
- Facebook: Chained In Texas
Image Credits
Jeff Stephens
